Goodfellas Character Analysis

Admiration of the Outlaw Character in Modern Media

What does the modern outlaw look like? Do they dress in green or in dusty cowboy hats? Are they male or female? Do they rob from the rich to give to the poor? In the early part of the 21st century what does it mean to be an outlaw hero, and where can they be found? The Robin Hood-esque outlaw figure, the one who fights for justice and protects the oppressed, is a dying image; or what author Paul Kooistra would call a “relics of the past” (160). When honesty considered, many outlaw heroes like Jesse James, Belle Starr, and Billy the Kid are seen through nostalgic lenses. They are representatives of varying periods in time. Outlaw follow eras, from the good ol’ days of medieval England to the

The movie, narrated from Henry Hill and his wife's point of view, tells the story of the rise and fall of a young couple and their family within the New York gangster culture during the seventies and eighties. The main character, Henry is drawn into the mobster lifestyle when he is only12 years old, and he lives most of his adolescent life running guns and drugs, stealing and murdering. And yet, despite the bloody violence, cursing, and drugs, Goodfellas is a cult classic that parents enjoy passing their love for down to their children. Thousands of people enjoy this movie; they quote it, they re-watch it, they live it. Goodfellas was an extremely popular movie when it was released in 1990 raking in $46,261,759; and it has only grown in popularity since its 25th anniversary re-release in 2015.

Another classic gangster movie is Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather. The Godfather, like the Robin Hood tale, is a story that people in the United States just know. It’s just a fact of the culture. The movie is so ingrained in popular culture that even those who have never actually seen the movie still know it by its many monikers, including the quote—”I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.” The Godfather made $268,355,541 worldwide in 1972; whereas, The Godfather trilogy only made a total