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The change in gangster films
American gangster film analysis
Gangster movies in hollywood essay
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When one thinks of a gangster they may think of speakeasies and classy cars or maybe drive-bys, but they will always imagine a man who is not afraid to get his hands dirty to grasp for a higher place on the social ladder. They will think of a man portrayed in a genre of cinema more American than any other, the gangster film. This genre began in the early thirties and has been re-adapted each decade to fit a new time. Although gangster films may mold themselves to fit into a certain cultural era, they still stay deeply tied to the foundations of the genre and its historical relevance to the american dream. This is apparent when comparing the differences and similarities between The Public Enemy and American Gangster. To better understand this comparison one needs to understand the origination of some of the classic conventions of the gangster film genre.
The classic gangster film focusing on a host of norms defined by some of the first gangster films. This genre originated as an escapism from the negative depression era. People would flock to see the gangsters go from rags to riches with their glitzy lifestyle and beautiful women. As Shadoian puts it, “The gangster’s fizzy spirits, classy lifestyle, and amoral daring were something like Alka-Seltzer for the headaches of the depression” (Shadoin 29). Not all this came easily for the gangsters though, bloodshed is defined as a part of business with guns a constant motif. Despite these negative outcomes, it’s easy to see how this genre was such a great elusion from the everyday where the American Dream seemed like it might not even exist anymore.
The Public Enemy and American Gangster both follow the classic gangster film plot convention of rags to riches, a lust to achieve the Ame...
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...e and every changing history. The United States adapts and changes as certain eras come and go, but hold true to certain values, just like the gangsters do. It seems then, that many conventions of the gangster film genre are part of a bigger metaphor for conventions of American history. A country who started from very little and became a world super power through, what some would say, questionable means. One can hope that the one convention that doesn’t hold true is that of the rise and fall of the gangster.
Works Cited
Barry, , Keith, and Grant, ed. Film Genre Reader III. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2003. Print.
Shadoian, Jack. Dreams and Dead Ends The American Gangster FIlm. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2003. Print.
Silver, Alain, and James Ursini, eds. Gangster Film Reader. Pompton Plains, NJ: Limelight Editions, 2007. Print.
In “The Thematic Paradigm,” University of Florida professor of film studies, Robert Ray, defines two types of heroes pervading American films, the outlaw hero and the official hero. Often the two types are merged in a reconciliatory pattern, he argues. In fact, this
with all the iconography, as outlined by film theorist McArthur, such as the physical appearance of the characters, the urban environment in which the fiction is played out, and the technology at the characters? disposal; principally the guns and cars. But the physical threat comes in the form of Ghost Dog and not the ageing Mafia, the genre of Gangster seems to be the backdrop for a story of higher morals and greater levels of fate. The way of the Samurai is brought in terms of comparison with today?s society and exposes the gangsters as frauds when it comes to living by methods of violence.
On a cold Halloween night in 1963, in the film Halloween, a six-year-old boy named Michael Myers was seen stabbing his older sister to death with a gigantic kitchen knife then leaving to stand outside the house with a blank expression on his face. As a result he was sent to Smith Grove’s Mental Hospital which he escapes from 15 years later to go after 17 year old Laurie Strode and her friends Lynda and Annie. Warshow’s essay, The Gangster as Tragic Hero, depicts American society’s need to show public cheerfulness and maintain a positive morale as well as its desire for something more sinister, something more brutal. This desire to indulge in the forbidden fruit of sadism and cruelty is what makes the gangster persona so appealing to the nation. He is the man of the city. He emerges from the crowd as a successful outlaw and his only aspiration is success through brutality.
Gallman, J. Matthew. "Gangs Of New York (Film)." Journal Of American History 90.3 (2003): 1124-1126. America: History and Life with Full Text. Web. 2 May 2014.
Gangs of New York is a war-packed film directed by Martin Scorsese that takes place in New York during the Civil War. This 2002 film is about a young Irish immigrant, named Amsterdam, who returns to the Five Points to get revenge on William Cutting, a powerful gang leader who murdered his father. One scene that really sticks out within the film occurs during the draft riots that took place in New York. Although this particular scene is historically accurate, there are some parts of the scene itself that seem to have a bigger impact overall. The parts that create this impact show how important this dark period was and how violently this event played out in the real world.
New Jack City, noted as ‘the crime film of the 90’s’,serves as an important episode for African-American people in America. Set in New York city, the film depicts the story of a success-driven antagonist Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes) who builds an empire powered by organized crime, drug trafficking, and Black delinquent young adults trapped in the cycle of crime. Ronald Reagan’s economic policy coupled with the popularity of crack-cocaine in the inner city creates inconsistencies and untapped markets in the poor community which Nino Brown brilliantly capitalizes on and exploits. His empire is able to successfully cut out the middle men in the drug trafficking market and centralize their operation in a single low-income housing complex inhabited
He was the “most powerful crime boss of his day” by 26, a mindless brute turned criminal mastermind (Sifakais, “Capone, Al,” The Encyclopedia, 157). The legendary Al Capone is one of the most well known mob leaders today and his legacy will continue on, but the infamous leader of the Chicago mob started off as a very different person. Before he was a businessman with the greatest empire in Chicago, he was just one more brutish bodyguard to the real masterminds (Sifakais, “Capone, Al,” The Encyclopedia, 157). Beginning with his expulsion from school and him meeting Johnny Torrio, Capone’s succession to Torrio’s throne culminated in their takeover of Big Jim Colosimo’s empire and the aftermath of an ambush during a gang war.
Another common theme of this wildly intoxicated era was that of the gangsters. In the twenty-first century when the word gangster is uttered, often times images of minorities in baggy clothes comes to mind. However, when discussing the Prohibition Era the lives of gangsters are seen as much more glamorous, and none were more glamorous than that of the ultimate American gangster, Al “Scarface” Capone. Capone’s name brings to mind images of pinstripe suits, underground bars, bootleggers, flappers, and gun fights. His image embodies that of the Prohibition Era and his influence throughout society carries through it. Alphonse Capone is the ultimate American gangster.
The Godfather is most notably one of the most prolific films of its time. This "gangster" film displayed many transformations of permeating color to give the viewer observable cues in its mise en scene that drew one right into the movie. The dramatic acting set the tone of the film with a score that lifted the viewer right out of their seat in many scenes. The directing and cinematography made The Godfather ahead of its time. The nostalgic feel of family importance and the danger of revenge lets us into the life of the Mafia. Even though no other techniques would have given the viewer a feeling of inside the mob like the mise en scene of the power the godfather held, the characters are reinforced literally and figuratively because the story views the Mafia from the inside out, and the cinematography of the film gives it a dangerous and nostalgic feel.
This American crime novel, turned film, covers the trying life journey of Vito Corleone and his family from his escape on a near attempt of his life and the death of his father, to his survival and the uprising of his family business in New York City. As the Corleone family tries to make a large business deal with another New York Crime family, the Roth family, things get complicated as Pentangeli who was what mobsters call a capo regime, or a high up employee of the gang, asked his boss (Michael Corleone) to help defend New York against the Rosato Brothers. Seeing as though, the Rosato brothers were associates of the Roth family and he didn’t want to mess up their business dealings, Michael refused and later had an assassination attempt on his life, in his own home. Later, Michael finds out that Roth is the one behind all of the attempts on him and his business’ life, but not before Roth figures out a well built plans to peg Michael on extortion with Pentangeli as the key w...
A crux of the gangster genre is the gangster’s low class status. The system offers the gangster no way to dig himself out of poverty, so he must work outside the system to save himself. As Regeneration declares, “the prizes of existence go to the man who has the most daring in defying the law, and the quickest fist in defending his own rights.” (Walsh, 10:19) In the cinematic world, this choice has a price.
Whereas in the 70's the films were about the Mafia and the Mob this is
In the article “The Thematic Paradigm” exerted from his book, A Certain Tendency of the Hollywood Cinema, Robert Ray provides a description of the two types of heroes depicted in American film: the outlaw hero and the official hero. Although the outlaw hero is more risky and lonely, he cherishes liberty and sovereignty. The official hero on the other hand, generally poses the role of an average ordinary person, claiming an image of a “civilized person.” While the outlaw hero creates an image of a rough-cut person likely to commit a crime, the official hero has a legend perception. In this essay, I will reflect on Ray’s work, along with demonstrating where I observe ideologies and themes.
The 1920s was an era of profound cultural conflicts. During the late 19th century and early 20th century, a wave of Italians migrated to America in search of better economic opportunities. In New York City alone, the Italian population grew from 20,000 in 1880 to a substantial 500,000 by 1910, which accounted for 10% of New York City’s population (Mafia in the United States). After the Prohibition, many Italian’s joined together to form the Mafia: an Italian-American crime organization that ruled the underground liquor trade. With members like Al Capone and John Gotti, the Mafia became a well-known and well-feared people among the public. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, reveals traces of the Mafia and their illegal business in the backdrop of the novel through the main character himself. A man desperate for money, Gatsby resorts to bootlegging to acquire his wealth, which gets him involved with suspicious characters, such as Meyer Wolsheim. Fitzgerald’s purpose for the creation of the character Meyer Wolfsheim was to epitomize the grim reality of the American Dream, a subject almost completely averted within the novel, which therefore allowed for the death of Gatsby, the figure of dreaming and reaching for the unattainable, by it’s harsh truth.
Cottrell, Robert C. "Mafia/Organized Crime." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 3. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. 237-240. Student Resources in Context. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.