The Departed Film

Crime Through the Eyes of Film Many films and literature today portray a theme of crime to their audiences. These portrayals of crime often hold unrealistic ideas and misconceptions about the consequences that these crimes carry. More often than not, the person who commits the crime, or is involved in the crime, will suffer little to no repercussions for their actions. By not underscoring the consequences of unlawful behavior, movies and literature often glorify criminals as heroic figures who hold advantages over citizens and law enforcement. In the movie The Departed, directed by Martin Scorsese, the Massachusetts State Police attempt to infiltrate an irish gang in Boston. In order to do so, they place an undercover cop in the gang, Billy

What the police do not know, is that one of their other officers, Colin Sullivan, is supplying information to the leader of the gang, Frank Costello. Costello’s goal is to utilize his inside sources with the Massachusetts State Police to avoid repercussions for his actions. In one particular scene, Frank Costello and his mob are on their way to pick up a large quantity of drugs. While in the car, Costello gets a call from Colin Sullivan saying that two undercover police cars are following them to their destination. Using his connection with the Massachusetts State Police, Frank Costello orders Colin Sullivan to “Get rid of the fucking tail”(Scorsese). After the phone call is made, Sullivan walks to his captain's office and demands the tail be dropped. Captain Ellerby agrees to Colin Sullivan’s request, and the undercover cars veer away from Costello and his

In George Orwell’s short story “Shooting an Elephant”, the main character is faced with a decision to shoot an elephant that previously caused destruction in the city. When the main character is notified of an escaped elephant, he leaves with a 44 Winchester Rifle and a horse to find it. Once he finally reaches the elephant, it is grazing in a field and presents no apparent danger to civilians. As he stands at the edge of the field, the narrator explains how “It was an immense crowd, two thousand at the least and growing every minute”(Orwell). As more and more spectators continue to gather around him, he begins to feel “not afraid in the ordinary sense, as [he] would have been if [he] had been alone”(Orwell). While more citizens group around the main character in anticipation that he will shoot the elephant, his confidence begins to grow. The gathering crowd gives the main character a feeling of power and importance. The influence of the crowd leads the main character to murder the elephant while it peacefully grazes in the field. After the narrator took the shot, only the “devilish roar of glee”(Orwell) could be heard from the crowd. Orwell’s use of diction by using the word “devilish” and “glee” illustrates how the main character has left the crowd pleased with his murder of the elephant. This happiness that fills the crowd after the death of the elephant underscores the main character as a heroic