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Examples Of Criminal Representation In Mafia/Gangster Films

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Criminals Representation in Mafia/Gangster Films
In the eyes of the American people, the Mafia has long existed as an infamous figure. Organized crime in America has its roots in the nineteenth century, during the Prohibition era. The unforeseen consequences of the eighteenth amendment brought about the age of gangsters and organized crime. The definition of organized crime is a group of people, usually powerful gangs or families, who intend to commit crimes on a large scale. The crimes range from one extreme to the other such as “loansharking, especially to addicted gamblers; Las Vegas casinos and tourism; trash-hauling and construction companies; coin-operated slot machines and laundromats; and schemes for kickbacks, extortion, truck jackings, …show more content…

The Godfather is a film that was directed by Francis Coppola and is about the Corleone family and unfolds the struggles they must face. The film depicts the time from 1945 to 1955. The movie starts with Vito, who is the head of the family, watching over his daughter's wedding in Sicily. Michael, Don Vito’s son, had just returned from WWII. Michael, the main character, is forced to become the head of the family after the death of his hot-headed brother. This causes a split between him and his family so he can protect them. This film shows the evolution of the criminal protagonist. Michael is a war veteran at the start of the movie and holds a high moral code. He wishes to stay away from his family and even says "That’s my family… Not me" (Coppola). There is a lot to admire about Michael. He is compassionate but pressured into his family dealings. He decides to kill two men for his family which leads to his descent into stone-heartedness. Unlike the older gangster movies, the protagonist is not completely unforgivable and has some redeeming qualities. Michael is shown as more of a victim than an assailant in the film. He has been separated from his conventional life, needing to choose between staying innocent and protecting his family. In the end, he is forced to be a cold-blooded killer without the glory or glamor that is associated with the Mafia life. Micheal lost …show more content…

(2016, September 30). Research Into the Crime Genre – Character Archetypes | Finlay McGarry’s A2 Media Studies Blog. https://a2mcgarryf.wordpress.com/2016/09/30/research-into-the-crime-genre-character-archetypes/
Scripts, I. (2021, November 29). How to Write a Gangster Movie: The Expectations of the Genre. Industrial Scripts®. https://industrialscripts.com/gangster-movie/
Jacobs. (2019). The Rise and Fall of Organized Crime in the United States. The University of Chicago Press Journals. Retrieved February 17, 2023, from https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/706895#:~:text=The%20Italian%20American%20Cosa%20Nostra,in%20the%201970s%20and%201980s
The Era of Gangster Films | American Experience | PBS. (n.d.). The Era of Gangster Films | American Experience | Official Site | PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/dillinger-era-gangster-films/ https://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug02/gangsters/angels.html. (n.d.). https://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug02/gangsters/angels.html
Angels with Dirty Faces. Directed by Michael Curtiz, performances by James Cagney and Pat O’Brein, final cut, Warner Bros., 1938
The Godfather. Directed by Francis Coppola, performances by Marlo Brando, Al Pacino, and James Caan, final cut, Paramount Pictures,

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“Never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut” (Quotes from Goodfellas, n.d.). This quote from the 1990 critically acclaimed film Goodfellas encompasses some of the main foundations the American Mafia is built upon. And although this film was a major motion picture created in Hollywood, it was based on a true story and kept most of the key aspects of the Mafia’s culture. The role that family played in each individual sect across the country was unified in the sense that it was, by far, the most important to every member of the American Mafia. In the Mafia’s prime (approximately 1920-1985), it shared enough values with the dominant American culture, while maintaining a good amount of differences, to be considered a U.S. co-culture.

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He is portrayed as the stereotypical criminal who has grown violent in life. When he kills the family so casually it seems as if it’s routine,“‘Good afternoon,’ he said,” (8). In a sense, one could see he is detached from his own morality. As he carries on a conversation with the grandmother we learn that he doesn’t see his actions as right or wrong, “‘I found out the crime don’t matter. You can do one thing or you can do another, kill a man or take a tire off his car, because sooner or later you’re going to forget what it was you done and just be punished for it,’”

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Presumably one of the most famous and talked about movies in history was “The Godfather,” published by Paramount Pictures and directed by Francis Ford Coppola in 1972. The movie shattered multiple records and was the first film ever to earn one million dollars a day. The plotline of “The Godfather” details a mob drama based on Mario Puzo’s novel. The movie explains a story about an Italian crime family and their refusal to be part of a drug community in exchange for mafia protection. The film depicts a vivid and interesting plotline that details public hysteria in the 1970s and gives audiences an insight into criminal activity such as mafia groups and drug deals.

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The definition of organized crime is “a group of individuals working together to illicit profit through illegal and often violent methods”which during the 1920’s, organized crime was becoming more prevalent which had a huge impact on people in these cities where it was happening. Major gangsters like Al capone, Bonnie and clyde, or baby face nelson were Bowman 2 notorious for robbing banks, killing civilians or just causing mayhem in the streets by having wars with other gangs. One group of radical gangsters named Bonnie and Clyde, they robbed about a dozen or so banks before they were ambushed by local louisiana police and killed. Some organized crime rings were not just created to cause chaos in the streets. In particular the notorious group out of New york city known as the Forty thieves which were just irish immigrants trying to get work and survive.

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The use of archetypes in gangster films is a common practice that allows the audience to identify with the characters and their motivations, often rooted in the pursuit of the American dream. The archetypes in gangster films are typically characterized by their ambition, their willingness to take risks, and their determination to succeed at all costs, embodying the ideal of the self-made man who achieves success through hard work and perseverance. In Scarface, the protagonist, Tony Camonte, represents the rags-to-riches archetype, a character who rises from poverty to wealth and power. His obsession with the American Dream drives his actions throughout the film, as he pursues wealth, power, and status in the criminal underworld of Chicago. Thomas Schatz argues in his book "The Gangster Film" that the genre is characterized by "immoral [codes of] behavior” (16) and extraordinary people, who have abandoned conventional codes of morality and often embrace a life of crime as a means of achieving success in a society that has failed them.

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The movie Godfather came out in 1972 and was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The movie begins with Don Vito Corleone, played by Marlon Brando, the head of a New York Mafia "family", overseeing his daughter's wedding with his wife Carmela. His beloved son Michael, played by Al Pacino, has just come home from World War II and does not want to become part of his father's sketchy business. All of Michael's family is involved with the Mafia, but Michael just wants to live a normal life. A drug dealer by the name of Virgil Sollozzo is looking for Mafia families to his protection in exchange for a profit of the drug money.

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