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The american dream portrayed in films
The american dream portrayed in films
Movie analysis about american dream
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The Farce of the American Dream in Hawkes’ Original Film, Scarface
In film, many times the auteur often uses the medium to convey a moral or make a social commentary. In the case of Howard Hawkes’s original version of Scarface, there is more being portrayed through the characters then merely the story. Hawkes makes a statement about the façade of organized crime, and the farce of the American Dream.
Organized crime has developed a stigma regarding its power and influence, especially during its hay day in the 1930’s. The mob has always been viewed as a powerful “family-like” organization. In Scarface, Hawkes brings the mafia into a seemingly more realistic light. By overturning Lovo’s position of power, Tony represents the idea of “every man for himself,” within a supposed organized group. The viewer steps into a cut-throat world of power hungry men, all trying to get rich quick. In this world, Hawkes asks, how can you organize men towards any goal if they all seek personal gain?
One might say that they are attempting to cheat the American Dream.
“The World is Yours,” symbolizes the true nature of the American Dream. The idea that you could come to a free world with nothing, and build yourself up, is the essence of what Tony and his gang are driving towards. However, at the climax of the film, the spectator perceives Tony to have everything he claimed he wanted throughout the film. He obtains power, wealth and privilege, yet he is invariably alone. Perhaps, Hawkes in commenting on the disappointment that this country was for many immigrants who heard tales of a place with endless possibilities for their family. However, when they arrived, found the endless hours of labor only took them further away from what was most important: the family.
The characters in these films were savvy, secretive and wealthy unlike the gangsters seen in Little Caesar and Scarface: The Shame of the Nation. Brian De Palma’s Scarface (1983) payed homage to the original, and although they follow roughly the same storyline, De Palma’s remake is more reminiscent of The Godfather films than its predecessor. Tony Montana (Al Pacino), the film’s main character, worked his way up from poverty by selling drugs and committing horrifying acts of violence in order to attain the power, wealth and woman he so desired. In his 1983 review of Scarface, Pulitzer prize winner, Roger Ebert states “Al Pacino does not make Montana into a sympathetic character, but he does make him into somebody we can identify with, in a horrified way, if only because of his perfectly understandable motivations” (RogerEbert.com). More than fifty years later, Ebert expresses similar thoughts to those of Robert Warshow, esteemed film critic and author of “The Gangster as a Tragic Hero.” “…We [the audience] gain the double satisfaction of participating vicariously in the gangster’s sadism and then seeing it turned against the gangster himself.” (Warshow) These sentiments are exactly what the censorship of the 1932 version intended to prevent, yet Scarface (1983) did not receive the same scrutiny. Despite the mixed reviews that Howard Hawk’s original Scarface: Shame of the Nation and Brian De Palma’s
According to Karl Marx Capitalism depends on the sale of commodities. If enough commodities are not sold companies can not grow or survive. This means that they must find a way to sell their products or they will perish. This problem gave way to advertising- a way for companies to present their product in a way that makes potential consumers desire them. The Propaganda campaign grew extremely fast, as a staggering one hundred seventy five billion dollars a year is spent on advertising. Advertisements of which could exist for anything, from pencils, laptops, plates, food and sports. Advertisements can be found anywhere - beneath your feet, on a building, on TV, on the internet, in a magazine and more.
Slobodan Milosevic and many others who were born in WW2 have had troubled childhoods, Milosevic’s parents committing suicide which would traumatize any adult . He rose through the ranks of Tito’s communist party and survived the late 60’s purges where he became a close ally to the 1980’s party leader Ivan Stambolic. When Slobodan Milosevic was president of Serbia, Time Magazine interviewed him in 1995 just after the Dayton peace accords. His interview focused on four key actions that were affecting former Yugoslavia. Firstly, the atrocities that ethnic Serbs were perpetrating against Bosniak’s. Secondly his national speeches that focused on Serbian nationalism that gained him enough power to force the party leader Ivan Stambolic out of office. Thirdly his alliances with Serb nationalists and paramilitaries in other states such as Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia had implicated him in sending military munitions to these nationalists. Fourthly, the Time Magazine interview is important because it show’s Milosevic’s Machiavellian nature as someone who will lie directly to people on atrocities that his government had been supporting to sustain his power.
South, David. The History of Organized Crime: Secrets of The World’s Most Notorious Gangs. New York: Metro Books, 2013. Print.
... Mafia, had helped criminals obstruct the justice system (10,13). It was claimed to be “impossible to get a jury of men courageous enough to try criminals” because of their power and ruthlessness (10,14). This prevented any violent criminals from being incarcerated and kept many of them on the streets to keep creating violence. Crime groups such as the Mafia run by Torrio controlled elections for their benefit, like in Cicero in April 1924, where gunman and mafia members stood outside election ballots to intimidate the voters (11,909). Criminals such as Dion O’banion, an Irish bootlegger, were treated as celebrities. When O’banion died in 1924, his funeral was attended by nearly 20,000 mourners (12,137). It was clear that due to the power and wealth that the illegal smuggling had given criminals, law and order was certainly at the mercy of organized crime (12,137).
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.
more clearer when put in the light of an analysis of how the mafia enterprise
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.
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.
Organized crime has always been occupied with a negative label. Perhaps this is due to the constantly changing environment in America as well as the social state of its homeland, Europe. Our society is convinced that the so-called Mafia is a family of pure criminals, pimps, and murderers. Whatever the opinion, there is no doubt that the Mafia played a big part in the history of America and the way Americans view crime today. "The origins of the secret society known as the Mafia are believed to be as old as the 9th century" (Mafia History). During the 9th century, the Mafia's main purpose was to strengthen themselves against enemies, which invaded their homeland in Sicily. It was supposed to create a strong feeling of togetherness between all Sicilians. "This idea of family was carried through in the structure of the organization, which had a strong hierarchical layout" (Mafia History). The Mafia is said by many to have perhaps the best system of power, than any other group or government known today. One can compare a physical representation of the family almost to a family tree dated all the way back through many generations. Certain people operated the system, but without the help of the people with the less power, the Mafia would be very weak. To put it another way, a leader cannot lead without followers, and the followers cannot follow without leaders. This is why the Mafia was hard to overcome. Although when many think of the location of the Mafia, Chicago and New York often come to mind, but actually the Mafia has been traced back through 26 major cites in America. Within every city were many Mafia families each with it?s own government. "At the head of each family stood the Dons or Bosses. Next in line to the Dons was the Underbosses, who were second in command. Followed by the Consigliere or counselors. And last were the men who did the dirty work for the Mob, the Soldiers. The Soldiers were the one?s who would enforce discipline over both members and non-members through the use of intimidation, assaults, and murder" (Living Large 3). All the members of the society were expected to go through a ceremony that often was compared to the baptism ceremony. "The induction ceremony is the most important day of a mobster?s life, the day that they become full members of La Cosa Nostra" (Mafia Life). "The ceremony for the newcomers was som...
“I don’t trust society to protect us, I have no intention of placing my fate in the hands of men whose only qualification is that they managed to con a block of people to vote for them.” This quote from The Godfather, which is famous for glorifying the Mafia, reflects the concerns of criminology within organized crime. Using ideas from Sutherland, Rawls and Nussbaum, one might argue that the relationship between organized crime and the governance relating to it plays a significant role and influence on society.
Organized crime is a collective result of the commitment, knowledge, and actions of three components: (1) Criminal groups, who are core persons tied by racial, linguistic, ethnic or other bonds; (2) Protectors, who are persons who protect the group’s interests; and (3) Specialist support, which are persons who knowingly render services on an side-job basis to enhance the group’s interests. In order to thrive, an organized crime group needs many different elements. First, it needs an ensured continuity of members, clients, supporters, funds, etc. Additionally, it needs structure, criminality, violence, memberships based on common grounds, and a willingness to corrupt a power and profit goal. Generally, mafia organized crime groups disguise themselves behind the ownership of a legitimate business to avoid questioning from the Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.) regarding any financial sources. The ille...
To implement a recycling program requires a collection process that includes the containers to gather the materials, the trucks to transport them to the processing site, and the manpower to manage the program. Unfortunately, recycling is more of a business than an attempt to save the environment. The value of the material being recycled overshadows the negative impact of dumping items into the landfill. At a point in time, the demand for recycled paper declined, so recyclers stored the material in hopes that values would increase. “The hope is that eventually the markets turn around and that the materials is sold, but I have heard of instances where it gets landfilled, because a community doesn’t have the demand or the space or the company to deal with it, “ says Gene Jones, the executive director of Southern Waste Information Exchange (Westervelt,
The American Dream is the belief that anyone can rise from rags to riches. The movie, Gran Torino, does an excellent job demonstrating the achievement of the American Dream. The movie demonstrates these ideas through Thao Vang Lor, and Walt’s Gran Torino. Thao fulfills the American Dream in the movie and the car serves as a symbol of the dream for both Thao and Walt. Thao is a classic example of a boy being able to rise from unfavorable circumstances toward a future with many opportunities.
An important part of recycling is conservation. Conservation helps keep unneeded waste out of landfills in the United States (Conserve Energy Future 2). As Americans, an average person throws away 4.8 pounds of waste daily. This adds up to over 1750 pounds in a year alone, for one person. In 2006, Americans generated 251 tons of waste (Riedel 11). Of this waste over 50 percent could be recycled into new materials to be used again. In doing this, recycling will tremendously