Gangster Life Portrayed in the Movie, Scarface
As an exile from Communist Cuba, ….Montana…wha you say? You say wrong Scarface? Maybe I say you wrong, man. Maybe I say you in wrong place at wrong time chico. Maybe I no even speak to you, maybe I let someone else talk. I got someone you should meet. Say hello to my lil’ frie…. I’m sorry, let me start over.
There is a thin line that exists between the depiction of a villain and a gangster that Hollywood has mastered walking on. While villains and gangsters may do many of the same things in movies, like stealing and killing, they each do them for different reasons. Villains enjoy crime because that is what gets them off; some may feel they are doing society a favor, like Uncle Charlie in Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt, and others are more simply portrayed as naturally evil or mentally ill. But Gangsters are doing what they do for something American society can relate to—to make a living and, ultimately, get to the top.
This “business” aspect of organized crime is what the movie industry has latched on to in the Gangster genre. In Scarface, Tony Camonte is in the business of selling beer to the town watering holes. Of course, he doesn’t so much sell the beer as force it on the bar owners at jacked up prices. And just like any other business, there is competition for dominance in the market. And for this dominance, or rather monopoly, ringleaders do not think twice about taking their competition out – not by buying them out or forcing them into bankruptcy, but by sending a squad out to murder them.
Like most things captured on film for the purpose of being marketed, the richness of gangster life, with sex, money, and power in surplus, is glorified, and thus embraced by the audience. And as a rule, if something works Hollywood repeats it, ala a genre. What Scarface and Little Caesar did was ultimately create a genre assigning powerful qualities to criminals. Such sensationalism started with the newspapers who maybe added a little more color here and there to sell a few more copies, which is portrayed in Scarface’s two newspaper office scenes. Leo Braudy denounces genres as offending “our most common definition of artistic excellence” by simply following a predetermined equation of repetition of character and plot. However, Thomas Schatz argues that many variations of plot can exist within the “arena” that the rules of the genre provide.
As we open our eyes to the world around us, we see that crime comes in many different shapes and sizes. Organized crime is really not much different, it is a larger scale of individuals with the same goals, to commit criminal acts, normal for money or profit. As early as the 1700’s immigrants have been submitted to organized crime. They migrate to the United States and other countries in search for a better life but sometimes get caught up in the American system of wanting money and power and feel as though the illegal way is the only way of achieving this.
People are often remembered for being overly successful, extremely talented, or insanely wealthy; but there are exceptions to every rule. Being a fearless outlaw is not the ideal way to gain fame, but John Dillinger managed to do so. Dillinger’s fearless charisma, led him to go above and beyond to provoke law enforcement. Not many criminals have succeeded in the way John Dillinger did during the 1920s and 30s. He managed to put society in awe due to his obstreperous acts of rebellion. Being one of the most infamous criminals from his time, Dillinger had a huge influence on crime, and has greatly impacted gangsters all over the country.
MagLev technology is entirely different from any form of transportation in operation today, but the basic principles that lie at the foundation are not beyond the understanding of the beginning electricity and magnetism student. It is in the application of these principles to design and optimize an actual train that things get hairy. The basic idea has been researched since the mid-sixties, but it is only now that economically feasible prototypes are being built and governments are seriously looking towards magnets to propel us into the next century. Leading the race is Germany. Their design, the Transrapid 07, is ready for commercial production. It utilizes conventional electromagnets and forces of attraction to levitate the train. A good web site to find out more about German plans for their design is http://transrapid.simplenet.com/index-e.htm
Countless things have been written about Al Capone were merely fictitious, such as he was born in Italy, when actually he was the first Capone to be born in the United States. When Gabriele Capone came to the United States, he owed no one and was able to read and write in his homeland language. This helped him to get a job and work until he could save enough money to open his own barbershop. He brought with him his 27-year-old wife, Teresa and their two sons, Vincenzo Capone and Rafaele Capone. Later another son, Salvatore Capone was born in 1895, finally the fourth son born in 1899 was Alphonse Capone. Later in 1906 when Gabreile became an American Citizen, all of the family took American names. Vincenzo became James, Rafaele became Ralph, and Alphonse became Al. Later children were John, Albert John, Matthew Nicholas, and Rose. With this large loving family, what made Alphonse become a major figure in Organized Crime? Was he a child who was abused by adults? Was some genetic strain of violence passed on to the child before he was born? No he was not, the Capone family was a quiet conventional family. Al Capone did very well in school until the sixth grade when he lost his temper and hit the teacher and she hit him back, resulting in Al being expelled from school. Al was never going to go back to school again.
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
The gangster genre within films in America has accomplished numerous positive criticisms and constant willing audiences due to containing outstanding spectacles and mind-blowing action. The Godfather, being second on the IMDb Top 250 Movies, has set a new popular concept to life within the Mafia from their point of view. Doing so, creating a positive association. Yet within Italy, the same topic contains a complete different view. Movies such as I Cento Passi demonstrate unenthusiastic view by those whom are outside yet negatively affected by those members. Unlike American films, the gangsters are not as often viewed at the protagonist and are the main causes for the problematic events. But how different is Italian Mafia and American Mafia in cinema?
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.
"Trying to finish it once and for all, Pedro Vicario sought his heart, but he looked for it almost in the armpit, where pigs have it" (Marquez 118). What ultimately causes Santiago Nasar to sacrificially die? In Latin America, Pablo and Pedro Vicario are Angela's twin brothers who fully immerse themselves into machismo to defend Angela's honor after she is returned on her wedding night for losing her virginity beforehand. The blame is immediately placed on Santiago Nasar by Angela, a long time friend of the Vicario's who is known for sexual harassment to his servants and late night trips to the whorehouse. The race to murder Santiago in defense of honor occurs with no successful preventions from the townspeople. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the author illustrates how the Vicario brothers' ids were the primary motivators in the death of Santiago, in order to portray how brutality ultimately sealed Santiago's fate.
Throughout history, crime has existed in many different forms and has been committed by not only individuals, but by groups as well. Crime is something that knows no boundaries; it exists in all cultures, is committed by all races, and has existed in all time periods. Crime exists as a part of the economic institution and is a lifestyle for many people. Crime also exists in both organized and un organized forms. Since the early 1900's, "organized" crime has existed in the United States. The following will show where, when, and why the Mafia came to the United States, who organized it in the United States, and how it differed from its origins in the European mafia. By showing this you will see how this specific type of organized crime has In the ninth century, Arab forces occupied Sicily. The native Sicilians were oppressed and took refuge in the surrounding hills. The Sicilians formed a secret society to unite the natives against the Arab and Norman invaders. This secret society was called Mafia after the Arabic word for refuge. The society's intentions were to create a sense of family based on ancestry and Sicilian heritage. In the 1700's, pictures of a black hand were distributed to the wealthy. This was an unspoken request for an amount of money in return for protection. If the money was not paid, the recipients could expect violence such as kidnappings, bombings, and murder. By the nineteenth century, this society grew larger and more criminally oriented. In 1876, Mafia Don Rafael Palizzolo, ran for political office in Sicily. He forced the voters to vote for him under gunpoint. After being elected into office, he promoted Mafia Don Crispi as Prime Minister. Together the two put Sicily under government control and funneled government funds to the society known as the Mafia. In the 1800's, New Orleans was the largest Mafia site in the United States. It was while investigating the murder of an Italian immigrant that the current Police Chief, David Hennessey discovered the existence of this secret society. Police Chief Hennessey was assassinated before this murder case could go to trial. Twelve men were charged with this assassination but were lynched by a newly formed vigilante group. The Italian Ambassador demanded that the vigilantes be tried. President Harrison who disproved of the vigilantes and gave a large cash settlement to the families ...
The Godfather is the “dark-side of the American dream story” (Turan, pp2). The film follows the practices of a fictional Italian mafia family, the Corleone’s. Though most Americans do not condone the practices of the Italian mafia, they cannot deny that Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather is a cinematic masterpiece. This film gave insight to a mysterious way of life that the average person does not have knowledge of. As the audience is educated about the mafia they also are introduced to many stereotypes.
Some people may say that it is true that Pablo and Pedro Vicario are guilty of murdering Santiago Nasar because he is believed to have “deflowered” their sister, Angela. However, this is wrong because the entire Colombian town was focused on honor and machismo, and this resulted in the entire town being guilty. The author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, of the novel, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, suggests through the main character, Santiago Nasar, that honor and machismo are dangerous qualities to cherish in a town. Also, it is proven that although there is usually one or two murderers, many people, even a whole town, can be involved in one way or another. It is what the people choose to do about the situation,
The first principle being that people react to things on the basis of the meanings they have for them. To begin to determine the meanings people have for online dating, it would be helpful to look at the type of sites they are searching on, joining and essentially advertising themselves on. Someone who frequents a site like ‘match.com’ likely has very different meanings and intentions in regards to online dating than someone on a site like ‘Ashley Madison’ where the goal is simply to have an affair. In Blumer’s second step, where people derive meaning from their social interactions, sociologists might look at the type of social interactions between peers both online and off. They could be engaging in this activity because they know other people who have been successful, or maybe they have simply been unsuccessful through conventional routes. Maybe they feel the need to find someone because their friends are in relationships and they have a desire to fit in utilizing whatever means necessary. The third step is an interpretive process; that is the person takes everything they have learned about the meanings tied to online dating and adds their own interpretation to it. Maybe someone interprets online dating as simply the only way to get a date now, or maybe their interpretation is that it’s one of many methods used to try to to meet
In this bloody scenery, Santiago is seen being murdered by Angela’s twin brothers Pedro and Pablo Vicario. Though the audience does not truly know whether or not Santiago has taken Angela’s virginity, or in other words the Vicario’s family’s honor, the passage illustrates the toll Santiago must pay for this rumor- death. Marquez uses the gruesomely detailed murder in order to paint Santiago as a Christ figure. Throughout the passage, Marquez creates a violent mood with aggressive diction such as, “attacked,” “spurt of blood,” “knifing,” “stabs,” “exploded out,” and “wild cut.” Marquez describes such minor yet crucial details in order to describe how vividly gruesome Santiago’s death was. Much like how Jesus was nailed to the cross through the palms of his hands, Santiago was also stabbed “through the palm of his right hand.” However when Pedro Vicario stabbed Santiago, the knife came out clean, indicating Santiago’s innocence.
Norcie, G., De Cristofaro, E., & Bellotti, V. (2013). Bootstrapping Trust in Online Dating: Social
There are those websites which allow users to search for their preferred partners through the use of keywords while in other systems, the system selects the partners. This uses mathematical algorithms to help in the identification of potential partners. Online dating has developed of a very long period of time since the 1700’s when media was first used for dating. There have also been personal adverts which were posted on newspapers. In 1980’s there was the emergence of video dating and involved the use of video cassette recordings. Statistics suggest that among the heterosexual couples who met between 2007 and 2009, over 20 percent of them became lovers through online dating (qtd. in Finkel et al. 27). Use of online dating is increasingly becoming very common with various people engaging in it. For instance, more than 1300 websites are currently used in the United Kingdom. There is enough data to show that online dating is being used by many people currently. For instance, more than ‘30 percent of the Americans who were married between 2005 and 2012 met through the use of internet dating’ (qtd. in