Visions of Sicily

Originally produced for PBS, these programs celebrate Italy and the Americans who came from there. Each set contains three programs. The Italian Americans includes interviews with prominent Italian Americans as well as vintage film clips and family photographs to explore superficially Italian American culture and the immigrant experience. All three programs cover basically the same topics: food, music, amore, family, religion, cultural contributions, and icons (most of the latter will be familiar only to baby boomers and their parents). Clearly designed for an Italian American audience, the films feature a persistent use of "we" that can be inclusive and comforting or exclusive and annoying. These feel-good films are unabashedly laudatory. If you're Italian, you'll feel proud of your heritage; if you're not Italian, you'll wish you were. By the same token, the programs also risk perpetrating old stereotypes and can be a bit boring. Visions of Italy-covering the north, the south, and Sicily-provides a unique and engaging alternative to the traditional travelog. Comprised entirely of aerial views, the programs are visually stunning and inspire travel to the areas if only to assuage the irritation of never seeing anything up close. Although narrated, they offer little substantive information but instead provide a pleasant feast for the eyes. Both sets are appropriate for public libraries, but only Visions of Italy is universally recommended.-Michelle Visser, Univ. of Colorado Lib., Boulder (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.