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Hollywood Hype
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This 1977 hit made a star of actor John Travolta, whose character, Tony Manero, an uneducated working-class kid, cares only about his hair, appearance and week-end dancing skills. His ethnicity, represented by his racist and misogynistic friends, is seen as stultifying rather than inspiring. Note: The modern term "Guido," used to mock young Italian men who like to party, has its roots in Tony Manero's character.
Indeed, "Tony" is now a knee-jerk name for dumb Italians (Tony Soprano).
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Joe Truth
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In 1997, British writer Nik Cohn admitted that his 1976 piece in New York Magazine, "Tribal Rites for a Saturday Night," which was the basis for "Saturday Night Fever," was largely fictional. English disdain of Italians, a staple of British journalism, found its way into America.
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