Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Impact of TV shows and movies on society
Impact of TV shows and movies on society
Cinema and society
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Impact of TV shows and movies on society
Films have proven to have significant impact on the ways in which we perceive or make sense of the society in which we live in. In an increasingly post-literate society, where aliteracy is becoming commonplace, there is no doubt that film is considered to be a major medium in the ways in which people inform and educate themselves. The use of film as a tool to understand history is becoming a popular approach and is a much-debated topic among historians who question the legitimacy of using films as a historical source. This essay will argue that film can be used effectively as a historical source in relation to studying ideas about gangsters. This will be demonstrated through examining the representations of gangsters in films and will also attempt to address to what extent these portrayals of gangsters can be considered accurate or realistic. Finally, this paper will conclude with a discussion on the inherent challenges and opportunities, which prevail when using film as a historical tool.
Gangsters are integral parts of history and have emerged as iconic figures of the industrial twentieth century and represent a culture of mobility, urban space, access and individual life. The gangster is also regarded as an anti-social figure as he is the focus for liberation from hierarchy and the past that society and ideology wish to repress. Therefore we can see that the film gangster represents a seminal figure in the history of twentieth-century culture and forms the focus for a range of tensions that have dominated the discourses of industrialized society. Gangsters are prominent characters in popular culture such as the genre of film with movies that often feature the glorification of their criminal actions and lawlessness often in ...
... middle of paper ...
...ocess of examining films should also involve the process of the careful selection of evidence and weighing of value.
In conclusion, film can portray the general ideas and attitudes towards gangsters at the time and can act as a good representation. Film can serve as a good reflection of the period in which they were made. Hence, as historians, we need to extricate the historical value from films and distinguish these facts with other historical evidence. Good films such as D.W. Griffith’s Musketeers of Pig Alley can make valuable contributions to our historical understanding. However, merely watching a film is not enough and it is up to us to develop from these general ideas about gangsters and use other historical documents from the time in which these events occurred and use primary sources such as print media to construct an accurate understanding of gangsters.
John Singleton’s 1991 film Boyz n the Hood is a portrayal of a struggling black community in South Central, California. The film most closely follows the lives of Tre, Doughboy and his brother Ricky, all of which are young black men who are presumed to be in their senior year of high school. While the 1990’s may have been a time of economic prosperity for the masses, the underbelly of the country struggled. The film aims to carve out a place for the strife of black communities in the cinematic canon by shedding light on the urban landscape that traps its inhabitants. This exploration of the myth of upward mobility is intertwined with a multitude of issues that affected black America at the time. Through plot and symbolism, Singleton poignantly touches on all these subjects. However, I offer the criticism that he should have simply picked one or two of these issues instead of trying to cram them all into one film.
The Great Depression is when the film industry boomed with new types of movies like: gangster films and musicals. They were both born in the Great Depression. Most films show the hardships of the time period. Some of the films display this very well for example Modern Times staring Charlie Chaplin. One of the more well-known gangster films was The Public Enemy.. These films have very different views of the time period but still have things in common. This paper will compare Modern Times and The Public Enemy.
[1] Within the last few decades, we have generated a great number of “historical” films reaching the American public. With these “historical” films come the question of whether or not the film portrayed history in an accurate manner; if not, why were the facts manipulated the way that they were. Unfortunately, this question is usually answered in the negative, and the audience is left with a fictional account of a factual happening, thereby giving the viewing public mixed messages concerning the issues raised within the film. Film used in this manner can be a dangerous tool in the hands of powerful people with agendas and ulterior motives.
Gallman, J. Matthew. "Gangs Of New York (Film)." Journal Of American History 90.3 (2003): 1124-1126. America: History and Life with Full Text. Web. 2 May 2014.
Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather both depict life in organized crime, but where Goodfellas addresses criminals with little “morals” and their everyday life, The Godfather centers on the opulence of the mob bosses and the preservation of their power while holding the value of family and loyalty above everything. Francis Ford Coppola uses Soviet-inspired montage in the beginning and end of The Godfather as a means of commentary to draw focus on the fine line the Corleone family straddles when justifying their mob activities by claiming it is moral by associating it with family and loyalty. The characters in Goodfellas justify their sprees of violence with the thought that being a gangster gives them license to do whatever it is they please.
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.
This paper will cover issues that young minorities encounter in the movies; Crips and Bloods: Made in America (2008), Gran Torino (2008), A Better Life (2011). Movies will be summarize, and compare and contrast youths experienced. Criminological theories shall be utilized to further elaborate issues. Finally steps and theories will be utilized towards solving issues, also possible methods to correct the issues will be addressed in the end.
New Jack City, noted as ‘the crime film of the 90’s’,serves as an important episode for African-American people in America. Set in New York city, the film depicts the story of a success-driven antagonist Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes) who builds an empire powered by organized crime, drug trafficking, and Black delinquent young adults trapped in the cycle of crime. Ronald Reagan’s economic policy coupled with the popularity of crack-cocaine in the inner city creates inconsistencies and untapped markets in the poor community which Nino Brown brilliantly capitalizes on and exploits. His empire is able to successfully cut out the middle men in the drug trafficking market and centralize their operation in a single low-income housing complex inhabited
He was the “most powerful crime boss of his day” by 26, a mindless brute turned criminal mastermind (Sifakais, “Capone, Al,” The Encyclopedia, 157). The legendary Al Capone is one of the most well known mob leaders today and his legacy will continue on, but the infamous leader of the Chicago mob started off as a very different person. Before he was a businessman with the greatest empire in Chicago, he was just one more brutish bodyguard to the real masterminds (Sifakais, “Capone, Al,” The Encyclopedia, 157). Beginning with his expulsion from school and him meeting Johnny Torrio, Capone’s succession to Torrio’s throne culminated in their takeover of Big Jim Colosimo’s empire and the aftermath of an ambush during a gang war.
Another common theme of this wildly intoxicated era was that of the gangsters. In the twenty-first century when the word gangster is uttered, often times images of minorities in baggy clothes comes to mind. However, when discussing the Prohibition Era the lives of gangsters are seen as much more glamorous, and none were more glamorous than that of the ultimate American gangster, Al “Scarface” Capone. Capone’s name brings to mind images of pinstripe suits, underground bars, bootleggers, flappers, and gun fights. His image embodies that of the Prohibition Era and his influence throughout society carries through it. Alphonse Capone is the ultimate American gangster.
The American Mafia, particularly Chicago, rose to power through its success in the illegal liquor trade during the 1920s Prohibition era. Once Prohibition ended, the Mafia began delving into other criminal ventures, examples like drug trafficking and illegal gambling, at the same time, routing themselves in labor unions and businesses such as construction and New York’s garment industry. The Mafia’s violent crimes, secret rituals and notorious characters such as Al Capone and John Gotti have fascinated the public and become a part of popular culture. Later on in the 20th century, the government implemented anti-racketeering laws to convict high-ranking mobsters and weaken the Mafia. However, it remains in business today.
In the early 1800’s there was a conclusive distinction in social classes, and the issue with gangs grew. Gangs were formed by their resembling ethnic backgrounds. They joined together to protect each other and also to entertain themselves and support money together. For gangs, crime and robbery were the way to “even the odds” (Gangs In The 1800s). Gangs did not want to be left behind by the society, therefore, they needed to do something that they could get beyond and continue to live in the society. There was a gang in Manhattan, began in the
Classic narrative cinema is what Bordwell, Staiger and Thompson (The classic Hollywood Cinema, Columbia University press 1985) 1, calls “an excessively obvious cinema”1 in which cinematic style serves to explain and not to obscure the narrative. In this way it is made up of motivated events that lead the spectator to its inevitable conclusion. It causes the spectator to have an emotional investment in this conclusion coming to pass which in turn makes the predictable the most desirable outcome. The films are structured to create an atmosphere of verisimilitude, which is to give a perception of reality. On closer inspection it they are often far from realistic in a social sense but possibly portray a realism desired by the patriarchal and family value orientated society of the time. I feel that it is often the black and white representation of good and evil that creates such an atmosphere of predic...
In the article “The Thematic Paradigm” exerted from his book, A Certain Tendency of the Hollywood Cinema, Robert Ray provides a description of the two types of heroes depicted in American film: the outlaw hero and the official hero. Although the outlaw hero is more risky and lonely, he cherishes liberty and sovereignty. The official hero on the other hand, generally poses the role of an average ordinary person, claiming an image of a “civilized person.” While the outlaw hero creates an image of a rough-cut person likely to commit a crime, the official hero has a legend perception. In this essay, I will reflect on Ray’s work, along with demonstrating where I observe ideologies and themes.
The film Gangs of New York is set in the mid-19th century when violence rises for power during this time of massive political corruption and rise in a cultural melting pot. The film easily portrays the sociological issues that took place in this period. In 1846, there was a mass of Irish immigrants that migrated into the city, which many natives distasted. Lots of the issues that rose in this city were narrated through the main protagonist’s, Amsterdam, narration to the audience. From this, the viewer can comprehend that the issues the immigrants faced are similarly accurate to the historical context behind this film like discrimination, social marginalization, and stagnant assimilation in the city.