Analysis Of Gangs Of New York

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Gangs of New York is a war-packed film directed by Martin Scorsese that takes place in New York during the Civil War. This 2002 film is about a young Irish immigrant, named Amsterdam, who returns to the Five Points to get revenge on William Cutting, a powerful gang leader who murdered his father. One scene that really sticks out within the film occurs during the draft riots that took place in New York. Although this particular scene is historically accurate, there are some parts of the scene itself that seem to have a bigger impact overall. The parts that create this impact show how important this dark period was and how violently this event played out in the real world. The draft riot scene starts out with a group of men all crowded around …show more content…

In the article “Taking It to the Streets” by Richard Brookhiser, he states, “The angry poor were Irish Americans, and they lashed out not only at the police and other authority figures but at equally poor black New Yorkers” (20). As just states, Irish Americans were angry and took it out by starting these draft riots. They targeted everyone, especially the blacks because they found it unfair that they were the ones chosen to be drafted. The Irish Americans were the cause of the start of the draft …show more content…

The impact of the riots targeted many people, including the wealthy and many cultural groups. Many lives were taken in those four days, changing peoples lives dramatically. Without a doubt, the draft riots were a violent and deadly event in history. The reason behind having this particular scene filmed historically accurate is to show viewers how important this dark event actually turned out to be and to show how everything unfolded throughout this specific time

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