How The 'Gangster' Culture Has Had An Abiding Influence On The Conventions of its Genre?
Introduction
"With
their guns blazing and tyres screeching, the 'Gangster' has become
one of cinema's coolest villains. Ever since their first appearance
during "The Great Depression" of the 1930s.
Gangster
movies provided a cinematic escape into diegesis of the gangster,
with a life of luxury, adventure and crime. Crafted out of the
sensational exploits of real-life gangsters like Al Capone, John
Dillinger, Henry Hill and 'Baby Face' Nelson.
[1]
Projector
= Images of Gangster Films with Title of Presentation
The
REAL Mafia
According
to Hughes, probably the most significant moment in history that would
give gangster films their cultural significance, is the prohibition
era of the 1920’s. With the combination of prohibition, and the
influx of immigrants that poured into the United States, organized
crime was destined to flourished. Gangsters like Al Capone created
real life stories fit for the movies. Such as the “St. Valentines
Day Massacre”, where men employed by Capone, dressed as police
officers and brutally murdered a rival gang with Thompson sub-machine
guns. Even real life Mafioso figures are used across the gangster
genre these include criminals such as John Dillinger, George Jung,
Pablo Escobar, John Gotti andHenry Hill.
Thus,
the gangster film was born, and it was 1930’s Hollywood where
classic films like Scarface,
Shame of a Nation directed
by Howard Hawks, and starring Paul Muni made their stake in gangster
film history.
The
1960’s found the gangster film in an interesting time. The
cutthroat killers that were portrayed in the 30’s, 40’s, and
50’s, were now becoming super agents, such as Ian Fleming’s book
adapted for the screen Dr.
No,
and also caper films such as Ocean’s
Eleven,
which depicts a heist of five casinos.
This
powerful quote from De Palma's Scarface (1983) not only connotes the character of Tony
Montana but how we as spectators view the 'gangsters' of our world.
[7]
References
to these figures prove that they've had an impact upon society and
the genre itself. But how can we define the gangster genre?gster genre?
Projector
= find images of these figures
Steve
Neale's Theory of Genre
Steve
Neale's reassessment in the nature of Genre in 1980. He suggests that
films follow "systems of orientations, expectations and
conventions that circulate between industry, text and subject."
Meaning that these elements define its genre of which is constantly
"modifying, transforming and restructuring".
[3]
Plot,
motifs, setting, characters, themes and props are the conventions
that define
what
is known as a genre. From the earliest gangster films to the most
recent, these conventions remain. This is not to say that the genre
does not change because as society has evolved so have films and the
different genres that exist in film. Genres have seen redefinition
and experimentation, but thoose six conventions still provide the
fundamental idea of what genre is and how it is defined.
[8]
Projector
= Image of Steve Neale and a few Elements of the Gangster Genre
The
American Dream
We
can utilize semiotics to analyze how the gangster film genre
reinforces meanings from existing ideology in American society. One
of these meanings from society that get reinforced by the gangster
film genre quite often is the pursuit of the American dream. The
American dream was a success story of becoming wealthy, influential,
and having everything you need by working hard, and taking risks with America being the 'Land of Oppotunity'.
These rags to riches stories have been disseminated through out the
public over time, and have been absorbed into the American culture.
[5]
Horatio
Alger or 'pursuit of the American Dream' success stories turned
upside down in which criminals live in an inverted dream world of
success and wealth. Often from poor immigrant families, gangster
characters often fall prey to crime in the pursuit of wealth, status,
and material possessions (clothes and cars), because all other
"normal" avenues to the top are unavailable to them.
Although they are doomed to failure and inevitable death (usually
violent), criminals are sometimes portrayed as the victims of
circumstance, because the stories are told from their point of view.
[10]
This
montage scene from Scarface (1983) is a great depiction of the
protagonist Tony Montana (Al
Pacino) the
American Dream of a gangster. Do you notice any features already
previously mentioned within this scene?
In
GoodFellas, according to Henry Hill, "Being a gangster was better than being President of
the United States". With this ideology its a way of these
gangsters trying to legitimise their acts. The opening scenes define
how we view the gangster – but through Henry's eyes making its seem
an aspiration. "As far back as I can remember, all I ever wanted to be was a gangster"
Red
& Black
Black
and Red are present in almost every film whether its the marketing
campaign or the film itself. They are used as a signifiers such as:
BLACK:
This connotes the darkness and "Underworld" of organized
crime that the Mafia represent. The underworld is where the gangster
must make their living. It is a world that the audience is most often
not familiar with, but it is a world that exists all the same.
[8]
RED:
This connotes the violence of the Mafia culture,
representing anger and blood.
These
colours are used in costumes, sets, cars and even lighting - in a way
as such we subliminally acknowledge and understand this
Here
are some examples of Red & Black in advertising Gangster films:
Introduction
"With
their guns blazing and tyres screeching, the 'Gangster' has become
one of cinema's coolest villains. Ever since their first appearance
during "The Great Depression" of the 1930s.
Gangster
movies provided a cinematic escape into diegesis of the gangster,
with a life of luxury, adventure and crime. Crafted out of the
sensational exploits of real-life gangsters like Al Capone, John
Dillinger, Henry Hill and 'Baby Face' Nelson.
[1]
Projector
= Images of Gangster Films with Title of Presentation
The
REAL Mafia
According
to Hughes, probably the most significant moment in history that would
give gangster films their cultural significance, is the prohibition
era of the 1920’s. With the combination of prohibition, and the
influx of immigrants that poured into the United States, organized
crime was destined to flourished. Gangsters like Al Capone created
real life stories fit for the movies. Such as the “St. Valentines
Day Massacre”, where men employed by Capone, dressed as police
officers and brutally murdered a rival gang with Thompson sub-machine
guns. Even real life Mafioso figures are used across the gangster
genre these include criminals such as John Dillinger, George Jung,
Pablo Escobar, John Gotti andHenry Hill.
Thus,
the gangster film was born, and it was 1930’s Hollywood where
classic films like Scarface,
Shame of a Nation directed
by Howard Hawks, and starring Paul Muni made their stake in gangster
film history.
The
1960’s found the gangster film in an interesting time. The
cutthroat killers that were portrayed in the 30’s, 40’s, and
50’s, were now becoming super agents, such as Ian Fleming’s book
adapted for the screen Dr.
No,
and also caper films such as Ocean’s
Eleven,
which depicts a heist of five casinos.
This
powerful quote from De Palma's Scarface (1983) not only connotes the character of Tony
Montana but how we as spectators view the 'gangsters' of our world.
[7]
References
to these figures prove that they've had an impact upon society and
the genre itself. But how can we define the gangster genre?gster genre?
Projector
= find images of these figures
Steve
Neale's Theory of Genre
Steve
Neale's reassessment in the nature of Genre in 1980. He suggests that
films follow "systems of orientations, expectations and
conventions that circulate between industry, text and subject."
Meaning that these elements define its genre of which is constantly
"modifying, transforming and restructuring".
[3]
Plot,
motifs, setting, characters, themes and props are the conventions
that define
what
is known as a genre. From the earliest gangster films to the most
recent, these conventions remain. This is not to say that the genre
does not change because as society has evolved so have films and the
different genres that exist in film. Genres have seen redefinition
and experimentation, but thoose six conventions still provide the
fundamental idea of what genre is and how it is defined.
[8]
Projector
= Image of Steve Neale and a few Elements of the Gangster Genre
The
American Dream
We
can utilize semiotics to analyze how the gangster film genre
reinforces meanings from existing ideology in American society. One
of these meanings from society that get reinforced by the gangster
film genre quite often is the pursuit of the American dream. The
American dream was a success story of becoming wealthy, influential,
and having everything you need by working hard, and taking risks with America being the 'Land of Oppotunity'.
These rags to riches stories have been disseminated through out the
public over time, and have been absorbed into the American culture.
[5]
Horatio
Alger or 'pursuit of the American Dream' success stories turned
upside down in which criminals live in an inverted dream world of
success and wealth. Often from poor immigrant families, gangster
characters often fall prey to crime in the pursuit of wealth, status,
and material possessions (clothes and cars), because all other
"normal" avenues to the top are unavailable to them.
Although they are doomed to failure and inevitable death (usually
violent), criminals are sometimes portrayed as the victims of
circumstance, because the stories are told from their point of view.
[10]
This
montage scene from Scarface (1983) is a great depiction of the
protagonist Tony Montana (Al
Pacino) the
American Dream of a gangster. Do you notice any features already
previously mentioned within this scene?
In
GoodFellas, according to Henry Hill, "Being a gangster was better than being President of
the United States". With this ideology its a way of these
gangsters trying to legitimise their acts. The opening scenes define
how we view the gangster – but through Henry's eyes making its seem
an aspiration. "As far back as I can remember, all I ever wanted to be was a gangster"
Red
& Black
Black
and Red are present in almost every film whether its the marketing
campaign or the film itself. They are used as a signifiers such as:
BLACK:
This connotes the darkness and "Underworld" of organized
crime that the Mafia represent. The underworld is where the gangster
must make their living. It is a world that the audience is most often
not familiar with, but it is a world that exists all the same.
[8]
RED:
This connotes the violence of the Mafia culture,
representing anger and blood.
These
colours are used in costumes, sets, cars and even lighting - in a way
as such we subliminally acknowledge and understand this
Here
are some examples of Red & Black in advertising Gangster films:
According
to Hughes, probably the most significant moment in history that would
give gangster films their cultural significance, is the prohibition
era of the 1920’s. With the combination of prohibition, and the
influx of immigrants that poured into the United States, organized
crime was destined to flourished. Gangsters like Al Capone created
real life stories fit for the movies. Such as the “St. Valentines
Day Massacre”, where men employed by Capone, dressed as police
officers and brutally murdered a rival gang with Thompson sub-machine
guns. Even real life Mafioso figures are used across the gangster
genre these include criminals such as John Dillinger, George Jung,
Pablo Escobar, John Gotti andHenry Hill.
Thus,
the gangster film was born, and it was 1930’s Hollywood where
classic films like Scarface,
Shame of a Nation directed
by Howard Hawks, and starring Paul Muni made their stake in gangster
film history.
The
1960’s found the gangster film in an interesting time. The
cutthroat killers that were portrayed in the 30’s, 40’s, and
50’s, were now becoming super agents, such as Ian Fleming’s book
adapted for the screen Dr.
No,
and also caper films such as Ocean’s
Eleven,
which depicts a heist of five casinos.
This
powerful quote from De Palma's Scarface (1983) not only connotes the character of Tony
Montana but how we as spectators view the 'gangsters' of our world.
[7]
Steve
Neale's reassessment in the nature of Genre in 1980. He suggests that
films follow "systems of orientations, expectations and
conventions that circulate between industry, text and subject."
Meaning that these elements define its genre of which is constantly
"modifying, transforming and restructuring".
[3]
Plot,
motifs, setting, characters, themes and props are the conventions
that define
what
is known as a genre. From the earliest gangster films to the most
recent, these conventions remain. This is not to say that the genre
does not change because as society has evolved so have films and the
different genres that exist in film. Genres have seen redefinition
and experimentation, but thoose six conventions still provide the
fundamental idea of what genre is and how it is defined.
[8]
[8]
 |
| Reservoir Dogs (Tarantino 1992) |
 |
| Carlito's Way (De Palma 1993) |
 |
| Donnie Brasco (Newell 1997) |
 |
| Eastern Promises (Cronenberg 2007) |
 |
| GoodFellas (Scorsese 1990) |
 |
| Heat (Mann 1995) |
 |
| Little Caesar (LeRoy 1931) |
 |
| Mean Streets (Scorsese 1973) |
 |
| Scarface (De Palma 1983) |
 |
| The Godfather Part I (Ford Coppola 1972) |
£$
Money $£
The
ultimate point of the Mafia is to make money. 'Families' or 'gangs'
use a variety of activities to accomplish this. One of the most
common is also one of the simplest -extortion.
Extortion is forcing people to give up their money by threatening
them in some way. Mafia "protection rackets" are extortion
schemes. They tell a shop owner that they need to pay them $100 a
week so they can "protect" them from criminals who might
demolish the shop or hurt their family -- the implication being that
the Mafia members themselves are these criminals.
[6]
From the success of the Godfather trilogy over the years, part of their merchandising campaign stretched far enough to make game to play on on mainstream consoles such as PS3 and X-Box 360. A big part of the game in gaining your wealth is extorting business, this clip of the game defines the way Mobster go about extorting business (a little over the top).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MuxXC_7Uy0&safe=active
Another example of extortion occurs in Scorsese's Goodfellas
(1990)
where Gangsters Henry (Liotta and Jimmy (De Niro) are trying to get the money of Wig
shop owner Morrie and end up threatning him and choking him with a telephone wire until he says he will pay up.
Projector
= Images of Gangsters and show clip from GoodFellas
Iconography
Iconography
is probably one of the key elements of defining the gangster genre,
covering many elements such as the automobile. It is the means
whereby the hero carries out his work and it becomes like his
clothes, the visible token of his success. One of the classic
gangster genre convention is the gangster working his way up to a
high priced luxury automobile. This can be seen not only in the
gangster films of the 1930s but in almost every film that can be
classified a gangster film. The car, even more so than the clothing,
jewellery, and house is the ultimate status symbol for the gangster.
[8]
"Gangster's
have always gain power through fear of force. In most cases, the
gangster genre always contains characters of a mentally psychotic
nature. This just adds to their brutality as people"
[9]
The
use of these 'props' within the gangster genre are now iconic
features to connote the lifestyles the characters lead. From
influences such as John Dillinger and Al Capone - Fedora hats and pin
stripped suits, cigars and jewellery with flashy cars all connote the
excessive wealth from their criminal activities. Their suits gave a
sense of legitimacy to their crimes by making it out as if it was
just business. For instance in "GoodFellas' where young Henry
returns in his suit and shined shoes his my says in shock "My
God! You look like a gangster!"
[6]
Gangster/crime
films are usually set in large, crowded cities, to provide a view of
the secret world of the criminal: dark nightclubs or streets with
lurid neon signs, fast cars, piles of cash, sleazy bars, contraband,
seedy living quarters or rooming houses. Exotic locales for crimes
often add an element of adventure and wealth.
[10]
[10]
Projector
= Print screen these settings, one from each movie
Omerta
Several
elements of Mafia life that have lasted for centuries first developed
during the transition from a feudal to a modern form of government in
Sicily. The phrase = cosa
nostra --
"our way" -- was used to describe the lifestyle of a
Mafioso in Sicily. The shroud of secrecy that surrounded Mafia
activities in Sicily became known as 'omerta',
the code of silence. Mafia bosses used this code to protect
themselves from the activities of the criminals below them in the
organization. The practice of recruiting young boys into the Mafia,
culminating with a final test, also stems from Sicily.
[9]
This
scene from GoodFellas
(1990)
elaborates the importance of Omerta
amongst Gangsters - Jimmy gives young Henry a piece of advice he
should never forget.
Similarly
in The Godfather, Don Vito has to remind Santino to "Never tell
anyone outside the family what you're thinking"
Omerta
is a way for these men to keep their illegally organized crime to
themselves and if any of them get "pinched" they know to
not be a "rat" or they'll get "whacked"
Conclusion
The
appeal of the gangster genre lies in its presentation of the
individual (usually male) achieving the good life through criminal
means, and then dying or achieving some kind of redemption. This
portrayal of the "bad guy" as a charming but violent
individual is something which appeals to many people as a means of
vicariously living out fantasies about being bad. Normal law-abiding
citizens get a great deal of pleasure from seeing the gangster break
the law without ever daring to do so themselves. This makes the genre
morally problematic of course, but does provide a clue to the fact
that audiences often identify with both individuals fighting against
a system, and families who stick together, both of which are
presented by the gangster film. Just as the culture of the
gangster has evolved, its genre has swiftly followed, from its early
beginnings with 1920s to the present, its generic features such as
its mise-en-scene, story as well as cast is something the audience is
now accustom to making comparisons and connections as most elements
have been maintained over due time.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Research
FILMS
Source
1.
GoodFellas
(1990, Martin Scorsese, Warner Bros. Pictures)
Based
on a true story, GoodFellas depicts the rise and fall of Henry Hill.
as he makes it big trough his involvement with one of New York's most
powerful Mafia families. I chose to use this as my primary film, as I
had studied it in the AS course when we looked at American cinema. It
contained all the classic elements of the gangster genre and is
critically acclaimed as one of the most influential gangster films
ever made. The story is based on the novel Wise
Guys by
Nicholas Pileggi - an autobiography of the Irish-Italian mobster
Henry Hill. Therefore, this film almost filmed as a documentary of
Henry's life where he claims the film is "95% accurate" I
believe it would give me a great starting point into the world of the
mafia and it's influence on American Cinema.
Source
2.
The
Godfather Part I (1972, Francis Ford Coppola, Paramount Pictures)
Adapted
from Mario Puzo novel, The Godfather follows the story of Michael (Al
Pacino), son of the Mafia Boss and 'godfather' Don Vito Corleone.
However, Michael refuses to enter his father's ruthless business of
gambling, extortion and prostitution yet when rival gangs murder his
father, Michael gets more deeply involved in this dark society for
revenge. Known as the most iconic Mafia film in cinema with mass
merchandising still going on today with the film even impacting the
way Italian-Americans thought of themselves, I knew this film would
contain all the iconic elements of a Mafia film as they have been
many quotes, similar characters, sequences all 'copied' from this
film it would be interesting to identify how these elements have
developed from this film and the way Coppola depicts them.
Source
3.
Scarface
(1983, Brian De Palma, Universal Pictures)
As
a remake from the original 1932 film closely based on Al Capone
Scarface:
The Shame of Nation, This
film may not be based upon the Italian Mafia culture itself but it
does exemplify all the characteristics of a typical gangster film
such as a psychotic protagonist with rise and fall narrative of
immigrant who comes over from Cuba in search for the American Dream.
I first watched this film when I was 14 and had never seen anything
like it before as it was so explicit and graphic with a huge amount
of swearing ( the 'F' word is used over 222 times in the film). Since
then I had noticed similar depictions of violence and discrimination
to woman as well as drug use in many American gangster films and knew
there was a huge cult behind this film it would be a great asset to
my research of the gangster genre
Source
4.
The
Sopranos (1999-2007, David Chase, Home Box Office)
Even
though this isn't a film, The Sopranos is renown for its authentic
and realistic depiction of the lifestyle of a gangster, it follows
the life of Mafia boss,Tony Soprano, giving the spectator an
insight to his family life, his 'business' family and his coping with
his panic attacks. It's the most successful TV series made having
mass popularity all over the world. By watching this series it
enticed me to find out more about Mafia and the way their lives are
so different. Ray Liotta even states the success of gangster films is
due to the fact it draws the spectator into a world of luxury and
risk, something most people wish they had. The authenticity of The Sopranos comes from the real
Italian American cast including actors, even from Goodfellas such as
Lorraine Bracco and Micheal Imperioli and even cameo appearances from
the likes of Martin Scorsese. Just from watching 'The
Sopranos' you
notice all the classic elements of an Italian gangster film with
flashy suits, graphic violence, extortion, money, guns, police, naked
women, even the water they drink is Italian imported (Pellegrino).
The Mafia culture is the basis of this show and this TV has great use
of gangster iconography using quotes and scenes from many gangster
films such as "The Godfather" trilogy and "GoodFellas".
BOOKS
Source
5.
A
Cinematic History of Gangsters & Detectives, Mark Wilshin,
Raintree, 2005
I
chose to use this book as it had great information on the shaping of
the gangster genre and the way criminals and detectives have evolved
in American cinema since the 1930s. It had real life events profiles
which were used in film but this book didn't focus on the Mafia as
such, it was a much more broad view of criminality of gangster
characters. I found it a great source to use as it not only pointed
out the traits of a typical gangster but how the development of the
genre followed the evolution of the real life gangster.
Source
6.
Screening
The Mafia: Masculinity, Ethnicity and Mobster from The Godfather to
The Sopranos, George S. Larke-Walsh, McFarland and Co Inc., 2010
This
source was almost perfect for my small research task as from the clue
in the title, it contained studies on all 4 of my focus films. It was
easy to understand and in most cases had a too much detail upon each
element of the gangster genre. It had great detail on why the
gangster have been depicted the way they have and why it has changed
so much over the years. This book contained a range of perspectives
too as well as quoting from other sources which gave an all round and
unbiased view towards the points made in the book. Unfortunately due
to this book being a google eBook I couldn't make use of the entire
book so I could of had more factors to include in my presentation.
Source
7. Criminal
Record: An Introduction to Crime Movies. Crime Wave – The
Filmgoers' guide to great crime movies. London: I.B. Tauris by
Hughes. H, 2006
This
source provided me with a brief general summary of the evolution of
the gangster genre. It contained vast analysis of the meaning behind
the progression to genre. However I only need information that was
given to me in its opening chapter as this book mainly concentrated
on gangster films in the last 30 or so years but it mainly
regurgitated points made in'Screening
the Mafia....'book.
Hughes did provide me with a more personal side of the gangster life
rather than the family/group/gang angle. Thus, Mafioso figures were a
dominating factor in this book.
INTERNET RESOURCES
Source
8.
"Humanising
the Gangster. An Examination into their character"
This
source was a thesis from Nicholas Kirby, who had a lot to say about
the development of how the characters the gangster have played have
been its main iconographic convention and arguing how these
contribute to the success of their films. He
had comments to make about each 3 films of my case study films which he
made references to their vast similarities yet their poignant
differences. It took a lot of time to deduce and find the information
I was looking for. What I didn't like about it was that it had almost
to many examples to prove its point making his argument about one
area seem to go on for pages. However this just reinforced the fact
that there is so many repeated conventions and codes that infiltrate
and evolve the genre. I shaped some of my presentation in his sense
of sub-heading making it clear what I was trying to express.
Source 9. “How the Mafia Works” Article http://people.howstuffworks.com/mafia5.htm
This
source was written by Ed
Grabianowski, who is a freelance writer from Buffalo, N.Y. He
previously worked as a newspaper reporter and attended school at SUNY
Plattsburgh and Kansas State University. This article covered the
mafias iconic history from how it began back in Sicily and spread
once Italians immigrated to America. A great feature of this article
was the key definitions they had for roles within the Mafia, their
way of life as well as their criminal activity. Although it didn't
provide information on the actual film side of the Mafia (yet it did
say they had promoted their image) it enable me to understand how we
view the Mafia and how they're depicted in features. A lot of what is
mentioned in this article does make reference to each of my focus
films thus I feel this source was a vital part in shaping my
presentation.
Source 10. Crime and Gangster Films http://www.filmsite.org/crimefilms.html
The film site website contained mass amounts of information for all forms of generic films so I knew this website would be a reliable a trustworthy source. I thought it was very well structured as it gave you a factual history on their generic features and concentrated and focused on specific examples which I thought was a useful touch. It gave a more professional and analytical approach to the crime genre and I quoted a lot from this source and it connoted my presentation perfectly. However, due to the source being so factual it was key to pick out the right aspects of the crime genre for the elements to be related to my key films, apart from that it was a very strong and valid source to use.DISCARDED SOURCES
I
discarded these sources for a few minor reasons, one being that I
would've run over the word count by using involving them in my
presentation. Another reason being that most of these sources were
from other people's blogs who had been studying around the same idea
of the Mafia/Gangster films. Thus I felt it was fair to steal the
work someone else had put in the effort to research – also 2 of
them didn't have any references to sources so it was difficult to
interpret what their own words where compared to something that was
source based. On the other hand one of the blogs, the 'frankums101'
was the most reliable of the 3 but it mainly regurgitated
information I was already aware of or hand already been adapted into
my presentation. Therefore, these were the reasons why I discarded
the sources.
