How Is Goodfellas Related To The Mob Film Genre

Goodfellas’ revision to the mob film genre and Goodfellas’ cultural significance and its relationship to society.

Mob genre films also known as gangster films, have been on the big screen from the get go of American cinema. When I think of gangster genre, I think of Goodfellas directed by Martin Scorsese. Believed to be one of the greatest gangster films and even one of the greatest films ever made.

Goodfellas utilizes main conventions in the genre, yet adds a twist to the film. This twist pulls the viewer in because it’s not like an ordinary gangster film. One might ask, what makes a film a gangster film? Things like values, subject matter, Iconography, certain cinematic techniques, common plot and thematic elements that reoccur make a film genre. The

It did have guns, violence, expensive Cadillac cars and nice suits, however the way Scorsese told the story was something new. We got to a personal level with the protagonist, we heard his thoughts and emotions, witnessed his weak moments. This was not explored in the genre as in depth as it was in Goodfellas. The audience doesn’t get the immediate sense of a rise of power because the protagonist is doomed never to reach nobility as we do see in such films as Scarface and Public Enemy. The Protagonist, Henry Hill, would have never been a leader or boss of the mob family due to his Irish inheritance. So right of the bat, it is not a film of the management of organized crime, like such films as The Godfather. Goodfellas rather followed the story of a middle man in an organized crime family. This was a brilliant idea because the audience didn’t witness the stress and management of the mafia but rather the ludicrous lives these characters lived. The audience witnessed this wild, violent, free way of life that was glorified in a sense. The viewer is captivated and is caught in this world and likes