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Moral Corruption In The Godfather And Goodfellas

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Moral corruption is a notable and recurrent theme of gangster films. The protagonist usually has an initial innocence, or ignorance of the means and ways of the life of crime. He gets involved with this world out of necessity due to financial problems, or comes from a social or ethnic background, where crime is an easier and more profitable way of living than legitimate business. In the beginning of his involvement the hero is reluctant to use violence and hesitant to manipulate people, as evidenced in The Godfather and Goodfellas. But as his ties with the world of crime strengthen and he gets caught up in it, he becomes disillusioned with the usefulness of morality, and starts to see his own survival and domination as more important than morality in the conventional sense. The rise to power comes to be the most crucial goal, and moral principles are an obstacle to it. The more powerful the hero becomes, the more rapid is the decline of his ethics. This engrossment in power is demoralizing and causes the hero to dissociate from healthier aspects of life, such as his …show more content…

The first one is his emotional and psychological failure: by the end of the fifteenth episode of the fifth season he is alone, isolated, alienated and rejected by his wife and children who are now appalled by his actions. He is wanted by the police and he is hiding in a mountain cabin in New Hampshire. All his great schemes and plans have failed, his so much desired money is in the hands of Uncle Jack’s neo-Nazi gang, his brother-in-law is dead because of him, and his cancer has reappeared. He is in a state of inaction, waiting for his death to come. His motivation to act again and bring a conclusion to his unfinished deeds, comes through the reappearance of Elliot and Gretchen who talk in a derogatory way about him on a TV show. They put his hurt ego again in motion and instead of surrendering to the police he decides to go back to

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The film Donnie Brasco tells the story of Joe Pistone, an undercover FBI agent who investigates a large crime family in New York City. Pistone goes undercover as Donnie Brasco, who is a new member of the Bonanno crime family. His new companion and mentor is Lefty Ruggiero, who has been a member of the family for years. Lefty teaches Brasco the ins and outs of being a member of a gang, and a bond between Lefty and Pistone form. As time goes by, Pistone becomes more involved with the Mafia and does not realize he is starting to become a real criminal instead of an agent.

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Director of The Outsiders (1983), Francis Coppola, used the relationships among gang members and between gangs to explore causes of delinquency and criticize the stereotypes surrounding lower class gang members. Like Coppola, Robert Agnew understood that middle and upper classes commit crimes as well, therefore his theory claims that external stressors, such as unmet expectations or negative stimuli, cause delinquency. Over the course of the movie, both the affluent “Socs” and the underprivileged “Greasers” experience aggravations that provoke criminal behavior. Two of the main characters, Ponyboy Curtis and Johnny Cade, show that despite outside stressors and labels, a “delinquent” can still be considered a hero.

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A trait simply described as the overestimation of oneself can be a quintessential element in understanding a character’s downfall. People such as Chris McCandless, Oedipus and Tiger Woods are key examples when trying to relate, understand, and analyze what we know today as “Hubris”. The connections that can be made between each of these characters describe the very nature of how a hero will ultimately meet their bane as a result of being blinded by their own flaws. The death of Chris McCandless was an extremely controversial subject that involved many different people. The justification of his death can be argued in a way .

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When a character lacks integrity, he faces the fear of not being able to do what is right for

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Contrastingly, an official hero has mature and stable qualities. He views the law as a means to justice. His community respects him as he often occupies a local government position and cultivates a stable family life, often married to a like-minded wife and have several children. American movies mirror the culture’s curious gratification for an outlaw hero who unlawfully saves a situation, though it would shun the hero if he committed

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Just like the scene from Goodfellas where a young Henry Hill gets pinched for the first time and everyone is waiting for him outside of the courtroom and Jimmy Conway says to him, “never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut.” After this first arrest, John quickly filled his rap sheet with charges such as burglary, disorderly conduct, and unlawful assembly when he was caught during a gambling raid, but that didn’t stop him.1 John continued to essentially do what he wanted due to never getting severe sentences each time he broke the law. In 1962 John Gotti became familiar with how to value goods and the operations of a shipper warehouse when he began working for a trucking company as a truck driver helper. This exposed him to a whole world of theft and how to successfully steal without being caught.

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During the 1920’s gang related crime was a serious issue. The leader of all this violence and corruption was a man named Al “Scarface” Capone (“Al Capone”). This organized crime, dehumanization, and corruption, became the ultimate image of Chicago for people throughout the world. He was largely immersed in things like gambling, prostitution, and the illegal sale of liquor. He was not convicted for any of his crimes, even the St. Valentine's Day massacre of 1929, until he was imprisoned for tax evasion (Horan).

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For example, the United States have tried on numerous occasions to cure disease or the hunger epidemic on its own. The influence that America’s government may have on an individual who has a large sense of self can cause what is called a hero complex. The hero complex is a phenomenon affecting people who seek recognition, usually by creating a desperate situation which they can resolve. This can include unlawful acts, such as arson. Obviously, this may cause issues within a society such as the one in Fahrenheit 451.

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However, though the film may appear somewhat bit apologetic towards Mafia, and undoubtedly has insider 's point of view, it still has the flavor of legitimacy, necessary for the viewer to possess a crucial relations towards the characters and their virtuously questionable actions. The incredibleness of the film is not only in some references towards real life mobsters and mob connected stories and

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The 1920s were a time of poverty and strife. This, though, could be avoided at the cost of one's own morality. Due to the fact that the 1920s were a time full of struggle, the mafia and its bosses were able to provide illegal services and established themselves as one of the most powerful groups within America at the time. The mob's capacity to prey on the weak and disenfranchised elements of society during the 1920s and beyond was one of the main factors that contributed to their success.

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In spite of getting away with various destructive acts, justice eventually catches up to him. Through all the mayhem and cruelty, Sarty acts on his instincts to do what is right by halting his father’s actions. The story centers on moral values and the actions a person is willing to take. Regardless of a person’s upbringing, it is up to that individual to do what they think is right and

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The lower-class subculture has a unique set of values and beliefs, which are invariably in conflict with conventional social norms. An example of cultural deviance applying to criminal behavior because the theory reflects how the subculture is attractive to many youths in the inner city because role models such as drug dealers, thieves, and pimps are so readily observable. The scene from Goodfellas that applies to cultural deviance theory is where Henry talks about his dad not understanding that he was a part of something and how he felt he finally belonged

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The film "The Godfather" is an excellent one. A story about revenge, family, and corruption all combined into a masterful work of art. Gangster's are more often than not portrayed as a "bad" guy, this is the reason why, I believe, that filmmakers who make movies in this genre may have a hard time in soliciting sympathy from the viewers for the characters in the film. In the movie "The Godfather", I found it easy to feel sympathy for the characters. This was achieve by how Francis Ford Coppola portrayed the Corleone family.

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Deviance has many functions in society. Although deviance violates social norms, without it, we would not have rules, so it helps form, guide, and shape society’s norms and goals. Social norms are different from culture to culture. Norms that may be acceptable in one culture may be frowned upon in another. Emile Durkheim quotes that “deviance and deviant behavior is an integral part of all healthy societies (Adler, 2014, p74).”

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