America’s Mafia: From Real Life to Big Screen And Back Again
analytical Essay
2446 words
America’s obsessions with the mafia and mafia-style films have existed for decades. The ability for an audience to connect on a deep level with a character of shady morals and seedy behavior is a requirement for gangster films to be successful. Hollywood has been able to successfully take real life mobsters and make them larger than life on the big screen. Though not all mafia films created are taken directly from real life, most movies have some essence of reality buried within the plot. To understand this obsession with the mafia, it is necessary to understand the beginning of the Mafia’s presence in America. The Great Depression and Prohibition helped usher in a new kind of violent criminal: The Mobster. Mostly of Italian American descent, mobsters in the 1920’s and 30’s, controlled a great portion of the organized crime in areas such as New York and Chicago. The paradox of prohibition is that instead of creating a clean cut and law abiding society by banning alcohol it helped to foster one of the most crime filled era’s in America’s history. Prohibition helped to establish the crime bosses of legend. Detroit was interestingly the first city to ban the sale of alchohol in public. By the year 1918, the city was dry as a bone. The next year, 1919, the prohibition law would go into effect. This gave the city an entire year to build an underground network to transfer hooch from other cities to Detroit. This underground network created a virtual river of booze. The prohibition era also created a cross country network of crime bosses that for the first time in the history of organized crime worked together for a single cause: Buy, trade and sell alcohol. Al Capone’s business in Chicago was dependent on supplies com... ... middle of paper ... ...of life and death: women and the Mafia. (London: Verso, 1996.) 52. PILEGGI, NICHOLAS. "The New York Times: Best Pictures."The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., 15 Aug. 1971. Web. 18 Mar. 2011. . Theoharis, Athan G., Tony G. Poveda, Susan Rosenfeld, and Richard Gid Powers. The FBI: a comprehensive reference guide. (Phoenix, Ariz.: Oryx Press, 1999) 68. Puzo, Mario. The Godfather. (New York: Putnam, 1969) Joseph Bruce Gorman, Kefauver: A Political Biography (New York: Oxford UP, 1971) 77. Qtd. in Gus Tyler, Organized Crime in America: A Book of Readings (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 1962) 344. "National Criminal Justice Reference Service." National Criminal Justice Reference Service. http://www.ncjrs.gov/ (accessed March 25, 2011).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that america's obsessions with the mafia have existed for decades. hollywood has successfully taken real life mobsters and made them larger than life on the big screen.
- Explains that the great depression and prohibition helped usher in a new kind of violent criminal: the mobster.
- Analyzes how mario puzo's novel, the godfather, opened a new generation to an authentic and compassionate view of italian-american organized crime.
- Analyzes how the sopranos, created by david chase, presented gangsters in a different light than had been previously seen.
- Analyzes how the sopranos portrays an italian-american family involved in the mob yet maintaining a family life and responsibilities. in 2004, an article was posted on msnbc in response to the movie shark tales.
- Opines that the portrayal of italian american women is less than desirable and did cause controversy. in public enemy (1931), the most remembered scene was filmed with james cagney smashing a grapefruit in the face of mae clark.
- Opines that women should not be touched by another man within the mafia family. the godfather portrays carmen as a weak, nibble fool who is abused by her husband physically and emotionally.
- Opines that women have played key roles in the mafia. carmine galante was chauffeured by his daughter nina, jennifer graziano was arrested for drug dealing while a graduate student at new york university, and bonnie parker of "bonnie and clyde" fell victim to the life of organized crime.
- Explains theoharis, athan g., poveda, rosenfeld, and powers. the fbi: a comprehensive reference guide.
- Explains how a senate committee was set up to investigate organized crime in america in 1950, despite his fear that it had to justify its existence by doing something sensational. the valachi papers and mario puzo's novel established the mafia in mainstream pop culture
- Analyzes how hollywood's portrayal of a real-life mobster, including al capone, and john gotti, has changed over the years.
- Cites the website of the society for the study of multi-ethnic literature of united states (melus).
- Cites gus tyler's book, organized crime in america: a book of readings, and the national criminal justice reference service.
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- Social Effects Of Organized Crimeexplanatory essayWhen Americans hear the names Al Capone, Pablo Escobar and even Tony Soprano voluminous thoughts come to mind, one recollection being the organized crime that all of them were involved in. Popular culture has ingrained the image of the mafia or the mob when we think of organized crime. In order to understand how organized crime came to grow so productive, one must understand what exactly organized crime is. It is hard to tell where or when organized crime in the United States began, but there is a clear timeframe that organized crime began to spread and multiply. Before there were speakeasies and bootleggers, there was the 18th amendment that outlawed the sell and consumption of Alcohol. It was a simple notion of supply and demand. Many Americans
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the 18th amendment outlawed the sale and consumption of alcohol, which fueled organized crime.
- Explains that organized crime is a social order that seeks to operate outside the control of the american society and their government.
- Explains that prohibition solidified organized crime and allowed it to grow immensely. prohibition came about after the ratification of the 18th amendment in 1919.
- Explains that the 18th amendment did not diminish the desire americans had for liquor. crime organizations provided a simple supply and demand issue.
- Explains that american gangsters used bootlegging funds to exploit politics and solidify the verification of the old idea that money can buy power.
- Explains that prohibition was a cataclysm for organized crime to progress and cultivate. the use of bootlegging changed the status, respectability, and power of crime organizations.
825 wordsRead More - Synthesis Essay: The Harmful Effects Of The Prohibitionanalytical essayThe role played by the American government and the lax law enforcement during the prohibition era was, in large part, responsible for organized crime and gangs flourishing so much at the time.
In this essay, the author
- Explains the role played by the american government and lax law enforcement during the prohibition era was responsible for organized crime and gangs flourishing at the time.
- Analyzes how the government and the organized crime syndicate had a profitable symbiotic relationship that kept the gangs alive and thriving.
- Analyzes how the american government and police force were ineffective in demolishing organized crime.
449 wordsRead More - John Gottiexplanatory essay‘The American mafia is often portrayed as the invisible and omnipotent criminal of the movie melodrama" ( Cummings and Volkman 4). "It is neither of them, but the American mafia is one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in the world" ( Cummings and Volkman 4). When the American mafia first started people did not pay much attention to the criminal acts that they did and the unholy morals that they stood for. That was until a man from Chicago by the name of Al Capone took the mafia from rags to riches from the late nineteen twenties well into the nineteen thirties. Thanks to Mr. Capone, the American mafia was well known, and became a great force to be dealt with in the world. Mr, Capone also made men of the mafia among the most socially mobile people in America.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the mafia has always been feared and respected. they are respected for the power they posses to do what they want whenever and with whomever they please.
- Explains that the american mafia is often portrayed as the invisible and omnipotent criminal of the movie melodrama.
- Explains that there are mafia families all over the world, some of which run their businesses in the countryside.
- Explains that the mafia is similar to a business where men run their own business and do as they please.
- Explains that the caporegime is the manager of the mafia family, and the last members are the associates, who are non-italian and italian-americans.
- Explains that the gambino family of new york is the most powerful, richest, and most feared mob family.
- Explains that john gotti is the most notorious of all organized crime leaders at age fifty-nine.
- Explains that john gotti's parents came to new york to make a better living for themselves, fannie and john sr.
- Explains that john gotti was born on october 27, 1940, and was the fifth child of thirteen siblings. the family lived in harlem where it was infested by every parent's nightmare.
- Explains that john gotti, jr. was in a league of his own. he was surrounded by gangs for his money and was warned not to become sbirru.
- Explains that john gotti was a violent person when he was younger. his school record had nothing but acts of fighting with other students, and his father and mother had to work so hard to feed so many children.
- Describes how gotti and his gang started to hang out at the night clubs and restaurants owned by the mafia, and the older wise guys would make them pick up messages and do other jobs.
- Narrates how john gotti married victoria di giorgio, who was a high school dropout and her parents didn't agree with her choice.
- Analyzes how gotti gambled even though his money was short. the bosses promoted him to hijacking, killings, and other crimes, but gambino's reign didn't last forever.
- Analyzes how gotti grew on castellano so much that he was appointed as capo in 1980. he was the number one suspect, but the fbi didn't have any evidence.
- Explains that gotti brought in his own men and started to conduct business the way he always wanted. the gambino mob had some of his closest companions such as "salvatore (sammy the bull) gravano."
- Explains that gotti and his crew took care of everything that brought in the profits. the genovese family were enemies of the gambino family.
- Narrates how the fbi tried to convict john gotti after the incident with gigante — he was arrested for the '86 shooting of union chief john f. o'connor.
- Opines that john gotti was a man of great power and respect. he brought money into new york and helped out their economic growth.
- Cites citedblum, howard, cummings, and ernest volkman. goombata: the improbable rise and fall of john gotti and his gang.
- Cites kurins, andris, and joseph f. o'brian's "boss of bosses: the fall of the godfather: the fbi and paul castellano".
2851 wordsRead More - Todays Mafiaanalytical essayTodays Mafia Although many arrests have been made, organized crime and the Mafia are still very active. Organized crime and its families, particularly the Italian mafia, have increased their illegal activities significantly over the past few decades. The Mafia and organized crime go hand and hand, one cannot be spoken without the other. Both of these forms of criminal actions have been recognized since the late 1800's, and police say it is not disappearing too fast.(Widener 6) Migration from Italy, has brought over many Italian criminals and crime tactics. The Italian Mafia has always been based on the island of Sicily and the southern mainland provinces of Calabria and Campania.
In this essay, the author
- Narrates how luciano was arrested for extortion, theft, and murder. a brain tumor was discovered on the left side of his brain and he died in 1967.
- Quotes trimble, alan, "top sicilian mafia boss gives evidence." reuters, 23 aug. 1996.
- Describes worsnop, richard, and eleanor goldstein's "mafia crackdown."
- Explains that organized crime and the mafia have increased their illegal activities over the past few decades. migration from italy, has brought over many italian criminals and crime tactics.
- Analyzes how organized crime and its families, especially the italian mafia, have increased their illegal activities over recent times.
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In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the godfather, famous for glorifying the mafia, reflects the concerns of criminology within organized crime.
- Explains that the criminal code of canada defines organized crime as a group of three or more people who have the main purpose of committing offenses that would result in the receipt of material benefit by the group.
- Explains that c-95 and c-24 are criminal organization amendments to the criminal code, but focuses strictly on the citizenship act, which denies citizenship to those with relations to security and organized criminality.
- Explains that organized crime is a major problem in monetary terms and it costs the loss of billions of dollars every year.
- Analyzes how alcohol prohibition promoted the expansion of illegal trafficking and organized crime. alcohol prohibition produced multinational criminal empires due to the high demand.
- Explains that organized crime provides goods and services that are in demand, but criminal penalties limit the supply more than the demand and create monopoly profits for the criminals.
- Analyzes how theorist edwin h. sutherland focuses on criminal acts and the idea of the human "self" as a social construct.
- Explains that organized crime is not necessarily a victimless crime. it has ties to illegal activities like prostitution and human trafficking.
- Explains that some academics consider organized crime to be a social institution, while rawls disagrees, stating that justice is the first virtue of social institutions.
- Compares martha nussbaum and john rawls' ideas on what liberalism should entail to best serve society. they both support the notion that an individual's capacity to make choices for themselves should be respected.
- Analyzes nussbaum's goal to emphasize human dignity and basic capabilities. she would not advocate organized crime, regardless of whether or not it was victimless.
1272 wordsRead More - THe Mafiaopinionated essayExactly what is the Mafia? Mafia, more specifically the Italian-American Mafia, is a group of criminals organized into "families," and operating primarily in North America. Also known as La Cosa Nostra, at one time there were 26 families in the United States - roughly one for each major city. The Mafia composed of bosses of numerous families, mostly New York, was the overseeing authority for all of the other La Cosa Nostra families. New York City is the place of origin for organized crime in the United States. Currently, there are five families in the New York City outfit of the La Cosa Nostra. The five families are, the Gambinos, Genovese, Colombo, Bonanno, and Lucchese crime families. There is even a family in Denver who had its last known whereabouts in January 1999, Clarence Smaldone is still alive and considered the underboss of a two-member mob family. The most important day in most mobsters life, the day they get made and become a full member La Cosa Nostra. To become a member of the family one would have to be recommended by a Mafia member. After that they go through a ceremony this ceremony is usually done in the basement of a fellow mobsters house. The mobster is told that this is a secret society and there is one way in and one way out. You come in on your feet and you go out in a coffin. Then their is the final initiation where everybody holds hands and the boss (in Italian) says, "In honor of our brotherhood, I untie the knot," and everybody lets go. The the new made guy stands and joins hands in the circle and again the boss says, "In honor of our brotherhood, I tie the knot." Then one is at full loyalty to the Mafia. If they asked one to leave their mother while on a death bed would one come? Or if they asked one to kill your own brother, would you? One would have to or die them selves. If so which finger would you use to pull the trigger with.
In this essay, the author
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- Opines that the mafia has no mercy for any one just look at what happened to joe iannuzzi.
- Opines that numbers rackets and other types of illegal gambling provide the economic base for some of the uglier forms of organized crime.
- Explains that the mafia's role in u.s. organized crime was diminishing due to the gradual breakup of italian-sicilian communities and their assimilation into the larger american society.
1054 wordsRead More - The Dangerous Rise of Government Surveillance: The Patriot Actanalytical essayGranick, Sprigman. "The Criminal N.S.A." The New York Times. N.p., 27 June 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.
In this essay, the author
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- Analyzes how the vieques island protests were subjected to a redefinition of domestic terrorism by the bill.
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1107 wordsRead More - Homicide Rates in San Jose, Californiaanalytical essaySchoville, Chuck, Brian Novotny and Andrew Eways. Bureau of Justice Assistance. "Surenos 2008 Special Gang Report." . Rocky Mountain Information Network, 2008.
In this essay, the author
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- Explains the similarities between the norteos and the sureas — they are both street gangs that originated in california.
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- Explains that the city of san jose laid off sixty-seven police officers, citing the state's budget crisis as a reason for the increase in murders and violence.
- States that san jose police lay off 67 cops due to budget cuts.
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- Opines that the fbi is a force to be reckoned with with 35,437 employees and 7.9 billion dollar budget.
- Explains the federal bureau of investigation's brief history of the fbi.
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- States that the fbi originated from a force of special agents created in 1908 by attorney general charles bonaparte during the presidency of theodore roosevelt.
- Describes how hoover's progressive vision and futuristic outlook made the bureau of investigation the premier law enforcement agency in the united states.
- Explains that the fbi is charged with investigating over 300 federal offenses, from counter-intelligence to tribal law. the behavioral science unit is tasked with the popular "criminal profiling".
1676 wordsRead More - Prohibition In The 1920's Essayanalytical essayPeople of the United States saw not only opportunity in prohibition but a need to make a penny with the Great Depression in the midst. This led to bootlegging (the illegal distribution of liquor, often illicitly distilled), to the financial advantage of organized crime. "Prohibition". 2015. In The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide. Abington: Helicon. With illegal actions happening in the Country, there were kingpins that wanted to capitalize on that possible investment and bring themselves into wealth and power. Prohibition brought the bootlegger into being as a new kind of criminal, epitomized by the career of the notorious Al Capone. This is the time to acquire your Wines and Liquors. Prices are advancing daily and will continue to advance whether Prohibition becomes effective July 1,1919, or January 20, 1920 Prohibition". 2009. In Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase and Fable. Al Capones' reign was throughout the city and the boroughs of Chicago, however there were bootleggers all throughout the entire country. In 1920 during the height of Prohibition, Capone’s multi-million dollar Chicago operation in bootlegging, prostitution and gambling dominated the organized crime scene. Capone was responsible for many brutal acts of violence, mainly against other gangsters.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the woman's christian temperance union (wctu) was founded in 1874 and spread rapidly after 1879, when frances willard became its leader.
- Analyzes how the united states saw opportunity in prohibition and the need to make a penny with the great depression in the midst. prohibition brought the bootlegger into being, epitomized by the career of al capone.
- Explains that the 18th amendment was repealed after the 1929 economic crash, but courageous organizations like the women's organization for national prohibition reform and the association against the
- Explains that the nation was divided on how prohibition was taken, some thought it was a success and others viewed it as political failure. after the great depression, the 21st amendment ratified prohibition.
- Explains that prohibition was a nationwide ban on alcohol, which was put in place by the united states government and led by self-proclaimed "dry" crusaders.
1022 wordsRead More