Examining 19th Century Immigration in 'Gangs of New York'

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The film Gangs of New York is set in the mid-19th century when violence rises for power during this time of massive political corruption and rise in a cultural melting pot. The film easily portrays the sociological issues that took place in this period. In 1846, there was a mass of Irish immigrants that migrated into the city, which many natives distasted. Lots of the issues that rose in this city were narrated through the main protagonist’s, Amsterdam, narration to the audience. From this, the viewer can comprehend that the issues the immigrants faced are similarly accurate to the historical context behind this film like discrimination, social marginalization, and stagnant assimilation in the city. Moreover, the film not only portrays a historically accurate picture about the immigrants One of the main concepts that the film illustrates is poverty and social marginalization between the immigrants and the natives. In the beginning of the 1820’s, Irish immigrants migrated into the states. These immigrants were part of the New Immigration, but this group contained Italians, Poles, Russians, Hungarians, Greeks, and other nationalities from southern and eastern Europe. In addition, in the film, Amsterdam explains that “since in the time of the Great Famine, [Irish immigrants] came streaming off the boats” (Gangs of New York, 2002). These emigrated individuals mainly lived in a neighborhood called “The Five Points”; it has been mentioned multiple times in Gangs of New York. This impoverish neighborhood was described by Amsterdam as the “Murder’s Alley” or “The Gates of Hell”. Which was true by its

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