Tuesday, 30 March 2010
Thursday, 25 March 2010
Critical Investigation (Second-Draft)
The ‘hero is a man who wants it all, but doesn't want to go through the normal channels to get it. A typical gangster in these stories doesn't have time to advance slowly through the ranks - he wants it all, and he wants it now’[1]. Closely examining the conventional codes of several gangster films such as Goodfellas, The Godfather, Scarface and contemporary films including The Business and American Gangster, I have analysed the everyday life portrayed by the protagonists in gangster films hence leading me to perform an investigation into how criminal lifestyles are glamorised in gangster films.
Glamorised representations of gangsters tend to be reflected in a range of gangster films, including contemporary text ‘American Gangster’. The protagonist in the film plays a lead anti-hero role of a gangster; throughout the movie Frank Lucas (Danzel Washington) enables the audience to associate the impact of his actions to implicate the role of a gangster due to the stereotypical conventions, often brutal that his character fulfils. Considering Frank is the lead mob boss of his organization, the audience are therefore likewise to understand the criminal figure allied with gangsters. The conventions of Frank’s personality in American Gangster includes him wearing ‘smart suits, murder, weapons and luxury items associated with the lifestyle such as cigars and fine liquors’[2]. Principally the way in which audiences recognise Frank’s representation as a gangster is simply by the hypodermic needle theory seeing as his glamorous lifestyle manipulates the audiences, ‘injecting messages into their minds’[3] of the luxury life an individual can live once performing the deviant role of a gangster.
In particular, during a powerful scene[4] during the film, Frank exits a café after gazing out it’s window and discovers his enemy walking along the street of the café outside. Upon catching up with him, Frank confronts him about debts that he owes but his enemy demands longer time to pay his amount outstanding. The protagonist does not approve of his command at that moment, which he then fires his hand held pistol and in cold blood kills his enemy in public. Evidently, the gangster genre iconography with the use of the gun prominently shown communicates a murdering aspect of the lead character. Given that he also fires the firearm in public illustrates how he cannot be stopped by law enforcements and effects the society in which society it is set. Again, Frank’s character is glamorised as being victorious after committing a horrific execute as he is allowed to simply vanish and enrage with impurity.
To some extent, people may agree that particular films categorised under the Gangster genre ought to be banned or certainly restricted from viewing due to the casual murdering and the criminal offences stereotypically portrayed by the lead gangsters as part of their nature. Often typical ‘conventions of a 1930’s gangster genre are smart suits, acts of violence, murder, weapons, and luxury items associated with the lifestyle such as cigars and fine liquors’[5]. Despite films aging since the 30’s, they still have an influencing effect on today’s society. The thuggish mentality the gangsters portray with their weapons (props) are in actual fact considered as being socially concerning to the people public as young as 10 years old. Children aged ‘10 and 11 will be lectured against gun and knife crime under an Operation Trident programme’[6]. This should hopefully ‘prevent them getting involved in gangs, drug dealing and violence in some areas of the capital’[7] city.
However, on the other hand others may find gangster films exceptionally entertaining due to the illegal misdeeds as well as the accessories the gangsters are affiliated with, which can connote their lives as being excitingly triumphant. Audiences are said to ‘like the concept of genre because of its reassuring and familiar promise of patterns of representation and variation’[8]. Lifestyle elements of the gangster genre are often repetitively glamorised again and again and can be used over a long period of time. For instance in a gangster film, ‘we expect to see some, or all, of the following elements, which will also properly have been in a gangster film from the 1930s: guns, villains, violence, urban meetings, mafia, beautiful women’[9].Following the concept of the Gangster genre as being appealing to some, the movies part of the genre are therefore thought as being entertaining considering they can be described as being a ‘source of information and knowledge’[10]. This is primarily because the illegal antics preformed by actors such as the way they ‘operate outside the law, stealing and murdering their way through life’[11] inform us the gangster traits. Unmistakably they are not usual norms that are considered in modern society hence empathizing on viewings. Therefore when watching gangster movies, the lifestyles portrayed by characters necessitate viewers to enterprising the uses and gratifications theory. Considering gangsters seem to break the law as part of their lifestyles, this relies innocent viewers to empathises the text by the ‘social or psychological needs’ of individuals’[12]. The uses and gratifications approach ‘springs from a functionalist paradigm in the social sciences (Blumler & Katz 1974)[13].
Again, the gangster lifestyle could perhaps be viewed as being exhilarating given that they usually tend to do whatever they feel satisfied with (e.g. not caring if breaking the law). As the gangsters seem to exploit living a wealthy and joyful lifestyle, the audience would therefore perhaps adore the behaviour that is portrayed by them considering viewers may be restricted by law to perform some of the actions of the gangsters in reality such as murders. Seeing as audience pleasure from viewing the entertaining lifestyles, clearly Richard Dyer’s ‘Theory of Utopian Solutions’[14] is intentionally perceived given that gangster films give the intention of making the text seem astounding for the viewers. ‘Dyer (1992) proposed that media texts helped make up for some of the deficiencies of modern life. Intensity; most people’s lives consist predominantly of routine, such as going to work or collage, raising family etc’[15]. Clearly media texts see to offer world where exciting things happen as a matter of course, and this is therefore pleasurable for the audience. One of the key pleasures of the media texts is seeing worlds where people can drop whatever they are doing and peruse adventures without any apparent financial cares. We also like to see ‘glamorous and exotic locations and lifestyles that contrast with our own’[16].
The criminal is always the one ‘gaining status, and this rise on the social ladder makes him, in Schatz's definition, "the perverse alter-ego of the ambitious, profit-minded American male". The expensive clothes, flashy cars, and attractive women visually signalthe criminal’s growing status he acquires’[17]. The more activities such as killing and robberies for example the gangsters usual perform, the more professional they are distinguish as being a gangster. Simply after gagsters obtain large sums of money, at that point they can afford to splurge out their black money on luxuries such as a tiger brought by Tony Montana in Scarface (1987).
A prime example of a gangster film that illustrates the main gangster to be living a glamorous lifestyle would perhaps be one of the greatest drug trafficking gangster films of all time, Scarface[18]. The films reflects the time it was directed as Miami (setting) had huge numbers of deaths leading from cocaine addition as well gang wars. Effectively the movie had in fact illustrated the life of many of the rich and famous also living within Miami at the time given that the lifestyle of Tony Montana (protagonist) is an exaggerated view of the American Dream. Unmistakably the audience is able to see the dramatic lifestyle change he face since he is a deprived individual whom suddenly becomes a multimillionaire within a period of 12 months. Semioticly viewers can distinguish how capital empowerment has changed the way Tony lives after a ‘study of signs’[19] his life includes from a materialism perspective. Living a lavish lifestyle as he has it all, the essential such as a house (mansion in his case) in addition to numerous delights such as bright coloured designer suits, jewellery, technology (T.V. in bath tub, CCTV), a tiger as a pet and performance cars.
The gangster film is all about ‘law, order and crime, but unlike any other crime and police genres, it focuses upon the figure of the gangster. Therefore, while the gangster film is about law, order and crime it commonly takes a specific angle on the subject no matter which is represented through the character and the narrative of the gangster. It concentrates as much on power and corruption and the ambiguities of law enforcement as it does on the need for justice to prevail and for the gangster to be punished. This arises from its concern with the criminal rather than the police and how it treats the social world of crime and its relation to the institutions of law and order’[20]. Unmistakably with the misdeeds represented by the gangsters and possibly the law enforcements at times, the genre therefore gives the impression that characters (not only gangsters) are victorious and rewarded in some sort of way after breaking the law. The ‘media censorship’[21] could be considered as being limited seeing as gangster films tend to promote crime. Gangsters also violate the law are seen as living a lavish lifestyle superior to the officers that obey the law correctly.
In particular, the 2001 movie ‘Training Day’[22] illustrates the protagonist’s sidekick as leading a role of undercover police detective in California but however commits offences similar to the victims he targets to arrest (street gangsters). In a city where streets are overrun by drug dealers, the narrative includes the protagonist and his sidekick to commit several crimes throughout the movie thus illustrating the law enforcement fulfilling the role of being gangsters in order to earn a few extra dollars in order to become rich similar to the stereotypical gangsters.
Gangster films ‘are morality tales: Horatio Alger or 'pursuit of the American Dream' success stories turned upside down in which criminals live in an inverted dream world of success and wealth. Often from poor immigrant families, gangster characters often fall prey to crime in the pursuit of wealth, status, and material possessions (clothes and cars), because all other "normal" avenues to the top are unavailable’[23] to them.
Overall, dating back since 1912 when first ever gangster film ‘The Musketeers Of Pig Alley’[24] was released, the ideologies have always remained the same until present releases. Corruption in Gangster films plays a key role of their lifestyles as it illustrates how the gangsters relate to a hegemony perspective; successful and dominant individuals oppose to faithful citizens. Corruption demonstrates how characters are influenced and can therefore reflect how the audience are influenced and globalised by elements in the movies and can show how far the teens are willing to go in order to achieve their aspiration (lavish lifestyles).
Glamorised representations of gangsters tend to be reflected in a range of gangster films, including contemporary text ‘American Gangster’. The protagonist in the film plays a lead anti-hero role of a gangster; throughout the movie Frank Lucas (Danzel Washington) enables the audience to associate the impact of his actions to implicate the role of a gangster due to the stereotypical conventions, often brutal that his character fulfils. Considering Frank is the lead mob boss of his organization, the audience are therefore likewise to understand the criminal figure allied with gangsters. The conventions of Frank’s personality in American Gangster includes him wearing ‘smart suits, murder, weapons and luxury items associated with the lifestyle such as cigars and fine liquors’[2]. Principally the way in which audiences recognise Frank’s representation as a gangster is simply by the hypodermic needle theory seeing as his glamorous lifestyle manipulates the audiences, ‘injecting messages into their minds’[3] of the luxury life an individual can live once performing the deviant role of a gangster.
In particular, during a powerful scene[4] during the film, Frank exits a café after gazing out it’s window and discovers his enemy walking along the street of the café outside. Upon catching up with him, Frank confronts him about debts that he owes but his enemy demands longer time to pay his amount outstanding. The protagonist does not approve of his command at that moment, which he then fires his hand held pistol and in cold blood kills his enemy in public. Evidently, the gangster genre iconography with the use of the gun prominently shown communicates a murdering aspect of the lead character. Given that he also fires the firearm in public illustrates how he cannot be stopped by law enforcements and effects the society in which society it is set. Again, Frank’s character is glamorised as being victorious after committing a horrific execute as he is allowed to simply vanish and enrage with impurity.
To some extent, people may agree that particular films categorised under the Gangster genre ought to be banned or certainly restricted from viewing due to the casual murdering and the criminal offences stereotypically portrayed by the lead gangsters as part of their nature. Often typical ‘conventions of a 1930’s gangster genre are smart suits, acts of violence, murder, weapons, and luxury items associated with the lifestyle such as cigars and fine liquors’[5]. Despite films aging since the 30’s, they still have an influencing effect on today’s society. The thuggish mentality the gangsters portray with their weapons (props) are in actual fact considered as being socially concerning to the people public as young as 10 years old. Children aged ‘10 and 11 will be lectured against gun and knife crime under an Operation Trident programme’[6]. This should hopefully ‘prevent them getting involved in gangs, drug dealing and violence in some areas of the capital’[7] city.
However, on the other hand others may find gangster films exceptionally entertaining due to the illegal misdeeds as well as the accessories the gangsters are affiliated with, which can connote their lives as being excitingly triumphant. Audiences are said to ‘like the concept of genre because of its reassuring and familiar promise of patterns of representation and variation’[8]. Lifestyle elements of the gangster genre are often repetitively glamorised again and again and can be used over a long period of time. For instance in a gangster film, ‘we expect to see some, or all, of the following elements, which will also properly have been in a gangster film from the 1930s: guns, villains, violence, urban meetings, mafia, beautiful women’[9].Following the concept of the Gangster genre as being appealing to some, the movies part of the genre are therefore thought as being entertaining considering they can be described as being a ‘source of information and knowledge’[10]. This is primarily because the illegal antics preformed by actors such as the way they ‘operate outside the law, stealing and murdering their way through life’[11] inform us the gangster traits. Unmistakably they are not usual norms that are considered in modern society hence empathizing on viewings. Therefore when watching gangster movies, the lifestyles portrayed by characters necessitate viewers to enterprising the uses and gratifications theory. Considering gangsters seem to break the law as part of their lifestyles, this relies innocent viewers to empathises the text by the ‘social or psychological needs’ of individuals’[12]. The uses and gratifications approach ‘springs from a functionalist paradigm in the social sciences (Blumler & Katz 1974)[13].
Again, the gangster lifestyle could perhaps be viewed as being exhilarating given that they usually tend to do whatever they feel satisfied with (e.g. not caring if breaking the law). As the gangsters seem to exploit living a wealthy and joyful lifestyle, the audience would therefore perhaps adore the behaviour that is portrayed by them considering viewers may be restricted by law to perform some of the actions of the gangsters in reality such as murders. Seeing as audience pleasure from viewing the entertaining lifestyles, clearly Richard Dyer’s ‘Theory of Utopian Solutions’[14] is intentionally perceived given that gangster films give the intention of making the text seem astounding for the viewers. ‘Dyer (1992) proposed that media texts helped make up for some of the deficiencies of modern life. Intensity; most people’s lives consist predominantly of routine, such as going to work or collage, raising family etc’[15]. Clearly media texts see to offer world where exciting things happen as a matter of course, and this is therefore pleasurable for the audience. One of the key pleasures of the media texts is seeing worlds where people can drop whatever they are doing and peruse adventures without any apparent financial cares. We also like to see ‘glamorous and exotic locations and lifestyles that contrast with our own’[16].
The criminal is always the one ‘gaining status, and this rise on the social ladder makes him, in Schatz's definition, "the perverse alter-ego of the ambitious, profit-minded American male". The expensive clothes, flashy cars, and attractive women visually signalthe criminal’s growing status he acquires’[17]. The more activities such as killing and robberies for example the gangsters usual perform, the more professional they are distinguish as being a gangster. Simply after gagsters obtain large sums of money, at that point they can afford to splurge out their black money on luxuries such as a tiger brought by Tony Montana in Scarface (1987).
A prime example of a gangster film that illustrates the main gangster to be living a glamorous lifestyle would perhaps be one of the greatest drug trafficking gangster films of all time, Scarface[18]. The films reflects the time it was directed as Miami (setting) had huge numbers of deaths leading from cocaine addition as well gang wars. Effectively the movie had in fact illustrated the life of many of the rich and famous also living within Miami at the time given that the lifestyle of Tony Montana (protagonist) is an exaggerated view of the American Dream. Unmistakably the audience is able to see the dramatic lifestyle change he face since he is a deprived individual whom suddenly becomes a multimillionaire within a period of 12 months. Semioticly viewers can distinguish how capital empowerment has changed the way Tony lives after a ‘study of signs’[19] his life includes from a materialism perspective. Living a lavish lifestyle as he has it all, the essential such as a house (mansion in his case) in addition to numerous delights such as bright coloured designer suits, jewellery, technology (T.V. in bath tub, CCTV), a tiger as a pet and performance cars.
The gangster film is all about ‘law, order and crime, but unlike any other crime and police genres, it focuses upon the figure of the gangster. Therefore, while the gangster film is about law, order and crime it commonly takes a specific angle on the subject no matter which is represented through the character and the narrative of the gangster. It concentrates as much on power and corruption and the ambiguities of law enforcement as it does on the need for justice to prevail and for the gangster to be punished. This arises from its concern with the criminal rather than the police and how it treats the social world of crime and its relation to the institutions of law and order’[20]. Unmistakably with the misdeeds represented by the gangsters and possibly the law enforcements at times, the genre therefore gives the impression that characters (not only gangsters) are victorious and rewarded in some sort of way after breaking the law. The ‘media censorship’[21] could be considered as being limited seeing as gangster films tend to promote crime. Gangsters also violate the law are seen as living a lavish lifestyle superior to the officers that obey the law correctly.
In particular, the 2001 movie ‘Training Day’[22] illustrates the protagonist’s sidekick as leading a role of undercover police detective in California but however commits offences similar to the victims he targets to arrest (street gangsters). In a city where streets are overrun by drug dealers, the narrative includes the protagonist and his sidekick to commit several crimes throughout the movie thus illustrating the law enforcement fulfilling the role of being gangsters in order to earn a few extra dollars in order to become rich similar to the stereotypical gangsters.
Gangster films ‘are morality tales: Horatio Alger or 'pursuit of the American Dream' success stories turned upside down in which criminals live in an inverted dream world of success and wealth. Often from poor immigrant families, gangster characters often fall prey to crime in the pursuit of wealth, status, and material possessions (clothes and cars), because all other "normal" avenues to the top are unavailable’[23] to them.
Overall, dating back since 1912 when first ever gangster film ‘The Musketeers Of Pig Alley’[24] was released, the ideologies have always remained the same until present releases. Corruption in Gangster films plays a key role of their lifestyles as it illustrates how the gangsters relate to a hegemony perspective; successful and dominant individuals oppose to faithful citizens. Corruption demonstrates how characters are influenced and can therefore reflect how the audience are influenced and globalised by elements in the movies and can show how far the teens are willing to go in order to achieve their aspiration (lavish lifestyles).
[1]http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/143685/the_independent_moviemaker_understanding.htm
[2] http://www.slideshare.net/Jthomas1/the-effect-of-gangster-culture-on-the-gangster-film-genre-presentation
[3] http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A770951
[4] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI8PFLRSjVQ
[5] Sanders, Jon, (2009). pg. 158
[6] http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/nov/13/primary-anti-gun-workshops
[7] Ibid
[8] Rayner, Philip Wall, Peter and Kruger, Stephan. pg. 55
[9] Ibid, pg.55
[10] Wilson, Pauline and Kidd, Allan, (1998). pg.34
[11] http://www.slideshare.net/newestprod/film-genres-presentation
[12] http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/short/usegrat.html
[13] Ibid
[14] Andrews, Maggie and Stevenson, Elspeth, (2009), pg.144
[15] Ibid, pg.144
[16] Ibid, pg.144
[17] http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/egd_01/egd_01_00212.html
[18] Scarface, 1983, Brian De Palma, U.S.A.
[19] http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/sem01.html
[20] Strinati, Domonic, (2000), pg.55
[21] http://www.bbfc.co.uk/about/
[22] Training Day, 2001, Antoine Fuqua, U.S.A.
[23] http://www.filmsite.org/crimefilms.html
[24] The Musketeers Of Pig Alley, 1912, D.W. Griffith, U.S.A.
Friday, 19 March 2010
Critical Investigation; Next Steps & Targets
Next Steps:
Primarily the first intentional improvement I will need to make would be improving my writing style. Improving both my spelling mistakes and grammar, the would enhance my writing style and the way the whole critical investigated structure. As well as grammar, more media language must also be included such as key terms, media theories and debates. I ought to include as many of the three factors given that my essay is brief from a media perspective. My first draft simply explained but does not relate to neither of the three media influences. Along with the corrections, my footnotes must be altered considering I have stated the names of books.
Targets:
My next draft I summit must ensure to receive one grade higher after making the several changes. Not only the grade above but perhaps by changing my essay with a variety of improvements (stated in above paragraph) and including more research, my critical investigation is therefore likewise to possibly achieve my minimum target grade.
Again further research must be preformed considering my study was brief in terms of books. In order to advance my researching skills, I will need to obtain five more quotes from books, which I must then include all five into my essay.
My next draft I summit must ensure to receive one grade higher after making the several changes. Not only the grade above but perhaps by changing my essay with a variety of improvements (stated in above paragraph) and including more research, my critical investigation is therefore likewise to possibly achieve my minimum target grade.
Again further research must be preformed considering my study was brief in terms of books. In order to advance my researching skills, I will need to obtain five more quotes from books, which I must then include all five into my essay.
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Presentation Evaluation
W.W.W.:
Understanding the entire concept behind our production considering the PowerPoint had illustrated a clear M.I.G.R.A.I.N. analysis of our linked production. This demonstrated our knowledge about our idea as well as understanding our primary viewers. By each slide presenting a sufficient amount of relevant information that was explained, it made our proposal clear of what we intend to do.
Not much information was illustrated on each slide, which primarily key words were mostly stated, which were then elaborated upon. Rather than the audience having to read tons of information of slides, they beneficially listened to our entire idea as we thoroughly explained all the different elements about what we intend to show in our documentary. Using the key words on the presentation as a guide, this assisted us to remember what to talk about when fluently describing our proposed production.
In particular our institution slide could be considered as our best slide in comparison to the rest of the power point. It was carefully explained to the audience in detail and had justified the group’s decision to approach the 'Channel 4' broadcasting institution to sponsor and distribute our '4docs' 4 minute long documentary. Not only the slide show but channel 4 as a institution itself was a sensible idea given that have broadcasted several medium of our kind (documentaries) in the past.
Overall the presentation was well presented bearing in mind not much information was stated on the different slides thus demonstrating our individual speaking skills as well as allowing us to express our overall personal ideas about the production.
E.B.I.:
Several improvements could have been made which includes our slide show to incorporate some sort of issues and debates in relation to our linked production. In particular, a major issue we missed out from our discussion was the model of 'moral panics' in society regarding teenagers. We explained how teenagers’ behavior is deviant but excluded wider context facts such as how their behavior affects society as a result.
Despite our speaking skills explaining our points thoroughly, our presenting skills could be improved seeing as we lacked with giving eye contact with our audience. By not engaging with our audience, they may perhaps felt insulted thus suggesting them to not taking our linked production idea serious. Additionally if we were to include some sort of examples such as pictures and video links it could have assisted our explanations by acting as examples.
Understanding the entire concept behind our production considering the PowerPoint had illustrated a clear M.I.G.R.A.I.N. analysis of our linked production. This demonstrated our knowledge about our idea as well as understanding our primary viewers. By each slide presenting a sufficient amount of relevant information that was explained, it made our proposal clear of what we intend to do.
Not much information was illustrated on each slide, which primarily key words were mostly stated, which were then elaborated upon. Rather than the audience having to read tons of information of slides, they beneficially listened to our entire idea as we thoroughly explained all the different elements about what we intend to show in our documentary. Using the key words on the presentation as a guide, this assisted us to remember what to talk about when fluently describing our proposed production.
In particular our institution slide could be considered as our best slide in comparison to the rest of the power point. It was carefully explained to the audience in detail and had justified the group’s decision to approach the 'Channel 4' broadcasting institution to sponsor and distribute our '4docs' 4 minute long documentary. Not only the slide show but channel 4 as a institution itself was a sensible idea given that have broadcasted several medium of our kind (documentaries) in the past.
Overall the presentation was well presented bearing in mind not much information was stated on the different slides thus demonstrating our individual speaking skills as well as allowing us to express our overall personal ideas about the production.
E.B.I.:
Several improvements could have been made which includes our slide show to incorporate some sort of issues and debates in relation to our linked production. In particular, a major issue we missed out from our discussion was the model of 'moral panics' in society regarding teenagers. We explained how teenagers’ behavior is deviant but excluded wider context facts such as how their behavior affects society as a result.
Despite our speaking skills explaining our points thoroughly, our presenting skills could be improved seeing as we lacked with giving eye contact with our audience. By not engaging with our audience, they may perhaps felt insulted thus suggesting them to not taking our linked production idea serious. Additionally if we were to include some sort of examples such as pictures and video links it could have assisted our explanations by acting as examples.
Progress Report
Week 1 (27th Feb - 5th March):
After watching two half an hour documentaries (Ross Kemp On Gangs and ), me and the group compared both texts and have taken several genre conventions from both texts. The codes and conventions we decided upon primarily consisted of the codes that were similarly illustrated in both texts (e.g. during the opening sequence, an over the shoulder shot of presenter whilst they’re explaining). After studying the several conventions, they were then demonstrated in our production as we drawed out our storyboards. In total we managed to draw around sixthly camera shots, which illustrated to be half of our five minute moving image production.
Week 2 (6th - 12th March):
Thus far, me and the group are aware of what shots we need to capture seeing as we have now complete our entire storyboard of the production but however still need to improvise the dialogue. Therefore, we have scripted the dialogue of the interviewees in order to for their answers to relate towards our critical investigations. Having only the interview participants’ questions as well as their answers planned out, we have simply conducted the interviews and filmed all of the three individual interviews this week. Not only the interviewing aspect being complete this week, we have additionally captured a few random shots of various elements associated to the theme of our production (e.g. Graffiti, Teenagers wearing hoodies, Locations etc.).
After watching two half an hour documentaries (Ross Kemp On Gangs and ), me and the group compared both texts and have taken several genre conventions from both texts. The codes and conventions we decided upon primarily consisted of the codes that were similarly illustrated in both texts (e.g. during the opening sequence, an over the shoulder shot of presenter whilst they’re explaining). After studying the several conventions, they were then demonstrated in our production as we drawed out our storyboards. In total we managed to draw around sixthly camera shots, which illustrated to be half of our five minute moving image production.
Week 2 (6th - 12th March):
Thus far, me and the group are aware of what shots we need to capture seeing as we have now complete our entire storyboard of the production but however still need to improvise the dialogue. Therefore, we have scripted the dialogue of the interviewees in order to for their answers to relate towards our critical investigations. Having only the interview participants’ questions as well as their answers planned out, we have simply conducted the interviews and filmed all of the three individual interviews this week. Not only the interviewing aspect being complete this week, we have additionally captured a few random shots of various elements associated to the theme of our production (e.g. Graffiti, Teenagers wearing hoodies, Locations etc.).
Week 3 (15th – 19th March) :
This week we have successfully competed the interviewing aspect of our documentary as we enquired about the scripted answers to be answered as responses during the filming process. It has been a long procedure considering that several locations were required in order to perform the actual interviews and the numerous amounts of shot types whilst filming the interviews from different angles. As well as the mise-en-scene, timings for filming were crucial this week as they had to be met with the schedule. This was mainly because the group had to work around the individual schedules of the actors timings that they were available.
This week we have successfully competed the interviewing aspect of our documentary as we enquired about the scripted answers to be answered as responses during the filming process. It has been a long procedure considering that several locations were required in order to perform the actual interviews and the numerous amounts of shot types whilst filming the interviews from different angles. As well as the mise-en-scene, timings for filming were crucial this week as they had to be met with the schedule. This was mainly because the group had to work around the individual schedules of the actors timings that they were available.
Week 4 (22nd-26th March & 29th March-2nd April):
At this point in time all the filming aspect of my group’s entire project has been completed. Therefore, this entire week is simply be dedicated towards editing whole of the captured footage. As all the filming is complete, the only job left to complete is the editing process which will simply be preformed during the entire week and yet continued over the following week. The primary purpose behind the editing aspect of the production long is purely because various shots ought to be combined together as well as different effects being put into place.
Week 5 (5th April-9th April):
During this week, a majority of the production should be complete, which at this point requires the group too only embrace insignificant amounts of edits. The editing process this week primarily consists of adding in the non-diegetic sounds such as theme music, voiceover of the documentary’s narrator in addition to the diegetic sounds such as beeps during swearing of characters.
At this point in time all the filming aspect of my group’s entire project has been completed. Therefore, this entire week is simply be dedicated towards editing whole of the captured footage. As all the filming is complete, the only job left to complete is the editing process which will simply be preformed during the entire week and yet continued over the following week. The primary purpose behind the editing aspect of the production long is purely because various shots ought to be combined together as well as different effects being put into place.
Week 5 (5th April-9th April):
During this week, a majority of the production should be complete, which at this point requires the group too only embrace insignificant amounts of edits. The editing process this week primarily consists of adding in the non-diegetic sounds such as theme music, voiceover of the documentary’s narrator in addition to the diegetic sounds such as beeps during swearing of characters.
The Group's Action Plan
Week 1:
Moving Image research, looking into our genre (e.g. documentaries such as Ross Kemp On Gangs) in order to understand the codes and conventions much better. Not only taking notes about the codes and conventions, but additionally preparing similar shots for my practical production. The various shots will be planned by conducting a storyboard, which it will include captions stating key scenery and sound. Prior to the storyboard, a brainstorm will be created, stating the production’s different mise-en-scene, props and actors my production hopes to will include.
Week 2:
Week 2:
Prior to filming the production’s interviews, a script will be planned before. Whilst creating the script, the scripting will involve what questions my group intends to ask the interviewees as well as the stereotypical answers that we intend to receive from the teenage delinquents that we interview. In addition to our written up plan, we will begin our filming process. This involves capturing several shots of random locations as well as props that will be imbedded in the documentary as part of the medium’s codes and conventions.
Week 3:
This week the filming process of my production will officially be carried out as my group will start the interviewing aspect of our documentary. We intend to film the three individuals during this week, which interviewees’ roles simply include answering the questions asked by the documentary presenter (interviewer). The footage we manage to capture will then be uploaded on the computer and ready for editing. Due to our research conducted during week 1, we should be confident of the codes and conventions of the types of camera shots and what we ought to include when conducting an interview for a documentary.
Week 4:
A diverse variety of shots filming several different things such as locations, props, people, mise-en-scenes ect. will primarily be filmed this week. As a group we also aim to complete our filming process this week considering we ought to only film random variations oppose to our main documentary idea of consultation with teenage delinquents (which presently interviews should have been filmed from week 3).
Week 5:
Considering that all of the filming process should be complete at this point in time, my group and me will unmistakably edit all the footage we have captured. Following the plan illustrated from our storyboard during week 1 as well as the research we gathered during week 2, we will therefore apply the codes and conventions from both studies and combine them together during the editing process of my practical production.
Week 6:
This week the filming process of my production will officially be carried out as my group will start the interviewing aspect of our documentary. We intend to film the three individuals during this week, which interviewees’ roles simply include answering the questions asked by the documentary presenter (interviewer). The footage we manage to capture will then be uploaded on the computer and ready for editing. Due to our research conducted during week 1, we should be confident of the codes and conventions of the types of camera shots and what we ought to include when conducting an interview for a documentary.
Week 4:
A diverse variety of shots filming several different things such as locations, props, people, mise-en-scenes ect. will primarily be filmed this week. As a group we also aim to complete our filming process this week considering we ought to only film random variations oppose to our main documentary idea of consultation with teenage delinquents (which presently interviews should have been filmed from week 3).
Week 5:
Considering that all of the filming process should be complete at this point in time, my group and me will unmistakably edit all the footage we have captured. Following the plan illustrated from our storyboard during week 1 as well as the research we gathered during week 2, we will therefore apply the codes and conventions from both studies and combine them together during the editing process of my practical production.
Week 6:
To sum up the project, 25% of my final grade should come to an end by the start of the week as the linked production would have been entirely edited and fully complete. However within the week I will conclude the remaining 25% of my 50% coursework grade by improving any mistakes part of my critical investigation as well as including any further information suggested by my teacher considering the feedback I receive from my first draft.
Friday, 5 February 2010
Linked Production (3 Diffrent Research Texts)
Crips & Bloods: Made In America:
Directed by documentary filmmaker Stacy Peralta and Executive Produced by NBA basketball player Baron Davis, ‘CRIPS AND BLOODS: MADE IN AMERICA’ is a documented film produced and released during 2009. It tells the story of the two most notorious street gangs in America; the Crips and the Bloods. The primary location that the documentary focuses on is based in South Los Angeles, where the two gangs had first began during the 1970 and yet their reign still remains until this day.
Combining unprecedented access into the worlds of active gangs, CRIPS AND BLOODS: MADE IN AMERICA offers a compelling, character-driven documentary narrative which chronicles the decades-long cycle of destruction and despair that defines modern gang culture.
Combining unprecedented access into the worlds of active gangs, CRIPS AND BLOODS: MADE IN AMERICA offers a compelling, character-driven documentary narrative which chronicles the decades-long cycle of destruction and despair that defines modern gang culture.
Channel 4's Booze: A Young Persons Guide:
This documentary focuses on the highs and lows of drinking from a teenagers perspective. It explores the range of drinking habits of young people by following six different stories on a regular Saturday night. Clearly the link to my practical production is that the type of programme is a documentary as well as it illustration teenage deviants. This would be a sensible documentary to analyse seeing as it is similar to my production to some extent but however focuses on alcohol whereas my production centers on influencing gangsters.
This documentary focuses on the highs and lows of drinking from a teenagers perspective. It explores the range of drinking habits of young people by following six different stories on a regular Saturday night. Clearly the link to my practical production is that the type of programme is a documentary as well as it illustration teenage deviants. This would be a sensible documentary to analyse seeing as it is similar to my production to some extent but however focuses on alcohol whereas my production centers on influencing gangsters.
Ross Kemp On Gangs:
Ross travels the globe, gaining an incredible insight into the compelling and sordid activities of the world's most dangerous gangs. The result is a nail biting exploration of what makes the world's most violent gangs tick, and what is being done to control them.
Primarily the documentary appears to target a young D/F social scale adult audience aged 16-27. As settings of deprived areas and gang members is what the programme exposes, this would perhaps familiarize a lower social class audience seeing as an A/B audience for instance may not be aware of the reason why gang member life dangerous lifestyles (un-wealthy). As the documentary demonstrates explicit material when representing the gang members (such as the use of guns, relation towards drugs, strong offensive language etc.), the documentary unmistakably targets adult viewers seeing that each of the texts may not be suitable towards children/ages below 18 since individuals may become influenced from the text. Ironically, just like the interviewees my production focuses on (teenage delinquents that have been hypodermically effected by Gangster films and Rap music).
Critical Investigation (First-Draft)
The ‘reincarnation of the gangster film, replete with glamour, extreme brutality and an uncanny eye for the humanness and rivals of their ink would later breath life into the T.V. creation, glorious bloody The Sopranos’[1].
Similarly the representations are also reflected in a diversity of contemporary gangster films, such as ‘American Gangster’[2]. The protagonist in the film plays a lead role of a gangster. Which in this case Frank Lucas (Danzel Washington) in several scenes enables the audience to associate his personality in relation to being a gangster due to the brutal stereotypical conventions that Frank fulfils.
In particular, during a specific scene[3] during the film, Frank exits a café after gazing out the café’s window and discovers his enemy walking along the same street of the café. Once catching up to him, Frank confronts him about debts that he owes Frank, which his enemy demands more time. As Frank Lucas does not approve of his command at that moment, Frank then fires his hand held pistol and unmistakably kills his enemy in public.
Evidently, the iconography with the use of the gun shown and the fact that it is even fired symbolises a murdering aspect of the lead character. Given that he also fires the firearm in public illustrates how it is a source of expression of anger. The fact that it was fired in public could possibly influence the audience to possible believe domestic violence is appropriate considering it could provide individuals with authority and allows them to expresses seriousness. Again, Frank’s character is portrayed as being victorious after committing bloodshed as it allowed him to simply vanished and defeat his rival.
To some extent, people may agree that particular films categorised under the Gangster genre ought to be banned from viewing due to the murdering and the criminal offences stereotypically portrayed by the lead gangsters as part of their nature. Typical ‘conventions of a 1930’s gangster genre are smart suits, acts of violence, murder, weapons, and luxury items associated with the lifestyle such as cigars and fine liquors’[4]. Despite films aging since the 30’s, they still have an influencing effect on today’s society (hypodermic needle theory; audience influenced and determined to perform the actions as viewed from text). The thuggish mentality the gangsters portray with their weapons (props) are in actual fact considered as being socially concerning to people as young as 10 years old. ‘Children aged 10 and 11 will be lectured against gun and knife crime under an Operation Trident programme. This should hopefully ‘prevent them getting involved in gangs, drug dealing and violence in some areas of the capital’[5] city. However on the other hand others may find gangster films extremely entertaining due to the misdeeds as well as the accessories the gangsters are associated with which connote their lives as being excitingly triumphant. Audiences are said to ‘like the concept of genre because of its reassuring and familiar promise of patterns of representation and variation. Elements of the genre are often repeated again and again and can be used over a long period of time. For instance in a gangster film, we expect to see some, or all, of the following elements, which will also properly have been in a gangster film from the 1930s: guns, villains, violence, urban meetings, mafia, beautiful women’[6].Following the concept of the Gangster genre as being appealing to some, the movies part of the genre are therefore thought as being entertaining considering they can be described as being a ‘source of information and knowledge’[7]. This is primarily because the antics preformed by actors such as the way they ‘operate outside the law, stealing and murdering their way through life’[8]. Unmistakably they are not usual norms that are considered in civilised society. When watching gangster movies, clearly the hypodermic needle theory is occurring taking into account that the activities that gangsters tend to perform are clearly against the law, thus enhancing scenarios to seem entertaining and as a route of escapism for viewers.
Again, the lives that the gangsters portrayed in the films can be viewed as being exhilarating given that they usually tend to do whatever they feel satisfied with in their lives (e.g. not caring if breaking the law). As the gangsters exploit living a wealthy and joyful lifestyle, the audience would therefore perhaps adore the behavior that is porteyed by the gangsters as the viewers may not be able to perform the actions of the gangsters in reality. When the audience gets pleasure from viewing the gangsters lifestyles, clearly ‘Richard Dyer’s Theory of Utopian Solutions’[9] with the intention of making the text seem astounding for the viewers. ‘Dyer (1992) proposed that media texts helped make up for some of the deficiencies of modern life. Intensity; most people’s lives consist predominantly of routine, such as going to work or collage, raising family etc. Media texts offer world where exciting things happen as a matter of course, and this is pleasurable for the audience. One of the key pleasures of the media texts is seeing worlds where people can drop whatever they’re doing and peruse adventures without any apparent financial cares. We also like to see glamorous and exotic locations and lifestyles that contrast with our own’[10].
The criminal is always the one ‘gaining status, and this rise on the social ladder makes him, in Schatz's definition, "the perverse alter-ego of the ambitious, profit-minded American male". The expensive clothes, flashy cars, and attractive women visually signalthe criminal’s growing status he acquires’[11]. The more activities such as killing and robberies that the gangsters usual perform, the more the professional they develop as being a gangster. The better they become, obviously the higher their income as gangsters primarily commit offenses in order to earn capital. After obtaining large sums of money, gangsters can at that point afford to splurge out their black money on luxuries seeing as they have so much.
A prime example of a gangster film that illustrates the main gangster to be living a glamorous lifestyle would perhaps be one of the greatest drug trafficking gangster films of all time, Scarface[12]. The films reflects the time it was directed as Miami (setting) had huge numbers of deaths leading from cocaine addition as well gang wars. Effectively the movie had in fact illustrated the life of many of the rich and famous also living within Miami at the time given that the lifestyle of Tony Montana (protagonist) is an exaggerated view of the American Dream. Unmistakably the audience is able to see the dramatic lifestyle change he face since he is a deprived individual whom suddenly becomes a multimillionaire within a period of 12 months. Living a lavish lifestyle as he has it all, the essential such as a house (mansion in his case) in addition to numerous delights such as bright colored designer suits, jewelry, technology (T.V. in bath tub, CCTV), a tiger as a pet and performance cars.
The gangster film is all about ‘law, order and crime, but unlike any other crime and police genres, it focuses upon the figure of the gangster. Therefore, while the gangster film is about law, order and crime it commonly takes a specific angle on the subject no matter which is represented through the character and the narrative of the gangster. It concentrates as much on power and corruption and the ambiguities of law enforcement as it does on the need for justice to prevail and for the gangster to be punished. This arises from its concern with the criminal rather than the police and how it treats the social world of crime and its relation to the institutions of law and order’[13]. Unmistakably with the misdeeds represented by the gangsters and possibly the law enforcements at times, the genre therefore gives the impression that characters (not only gangsters) are victorious and rewarded in some sort of way after breaking the law. Oppose to the gangsters, films tend to promote crime since characters such as the police force that violate the law are seen as living a lavish lifestyle superior to the officers that obey the law correctly.
In particular, the 2001 movie ‘Training Day’[14] illustrates the protagonist’s sidekick as leading a role of undercover police detective in California but however commits offences similar to the victims he targets to arrest (street gangsters). In a city where streets are overrun by drug dealers, the narrative includes the protagonist and his sidekick to commit several crimes throughout the movie thus illustrating the law enforcement fulfilling the role of being gangsters in order to earn a few extra dollars in order to become rich similar to the stereotypical gangsters.
Gangster films ‘are morality tales: Horatio Alger or 'pursuit of the American Dream' success stories turned upside down in which criminals live in an inverted dream world of success and wealth. Often from poor immigrant families, gangster characters often fall prey to crime in the pursuit of wealth, status, and material possessions (clothes and cars), because all other "normal" avenues to the top are unavailable’[15] to them.
In comparison to 1972 film ‘The Godfather’[16], the protagonist Don Carleone is known to be a wealthy hit man/gangster despite growing up in poverty after migrating to the United States from Italy during his youth. Family loyalty is seen as the strength to the success of the Corleone family. The lead gangster Don Vito Corleone and his family seem to be very well orientated and at the same time respected by other mob bosses in the city. In this case, the don carries on the tradition of his gangster lifestyle in his family unlike any other gangster film where the criminal lifestyle is usually separated away from the gangsters’ families. As the family loyalty code must not be broken, it is what makes all the gangsters in the film that much stronger and wise as they must always think before they act (such as making a kill). Relevantly the structure of the criminal lifestyle has not changed until today but however it still demonstrates and fulfils the traditional view of a nuclear family. It used a patriarchy structure similar to its time when it was filmed; the man of the family is the breadwinner (worker) whilst his wife simply cooks and cleans the house.
Dating back since 1912 when first ever gangster film ‘The Musketeers Of Pig Alley’[17] was released, the ideologies have always remained the same until to present films that are produced today.
Corruption in Gangster films plays a key role as it illustrates how characters strive for success despite the target they aim to archive is morally wrong. Corruption demonstrates how characters are influenced and can therefore reflect how the audience are influenced by elements in the movies and can show how far the teens are willing to go in order to achieve their aspiration (lavish lifestyles). Furthermore, another ideology includes the crime to never pay given the fact that the bad guys (either protagonist of associates) always tend to die or are punished in the end after committing their bad deeds and becoming rich (e.g. 1983 Scarface).
Similarly the representations are also reflected in a diversity of contemporary gangster films, such as ‘American Gangster’[2]. The protagonist in the film plays a lead role of a gangster. Which in this case Frank Lucas (Danzel Washington) in several scenes enables the audience to associate his personality in relation to being a gangster due to the brutal stereotypical conventions that Frank fulfils.
In particular, during a specific scene[3] during the film, Frank exits a café after gazing out the café’s window and discovers his enemy walking along the same street of the café. Once catching up to him, Frank confronts him about debts that he owes Frank, which his enemy demands more time. As Frank Lucas does not approve of his command at that moment, Frank then fires his hand held pistol and unmistakably kills his enemy in public.
Evidently, the iconography with the use of the gun shown and the fact that it is even fired symbolises a murdering aspect of the lead character. Given that he also fires the firearm in public illustrates how it is a source of expression of anger. The fact that it was fired in public could possibly influence the audience to possible believe domestic violence is appropriate considering it could provide individuals with authority and allows them to expresses seriousness. Again, Frank’s character is portrayed as being victorious after committing bloodshed as it allowed him to simply vanished and defeat his rival.
To some extent, people may agree that particular films categorised under the Gangster genre ought to be banned from viewing due to the murdering and the criminal offences stereotypically portrayed by the lead gangsters as part of their nature. Typical ‘conventions of a 1930’s gangster genre are smart suits, acts of violence, murder, weapons, and luxury items associated with the lifestyle such as cigars and fine liquors’[4]. Despite films aging since the 30’s, they still have an influencing effect on today’s society (hypodermic needle theory; audience influenced and determined to perform the actions as viewed from text). The thuggish mentality the gangsters portray with their weapons (props) are in actual fact considered as being socially concerning to people as young as 10 years old. ‘Children aged 10 and 11 will be lectured against gun and knife crime under an Operation Trident programme. This should hopefully ‘prevent them getting involved in gangs, drug dealing and violence in some areas of the capital’[5] city. However on the other hand others may find gangster films extremely entertaining due to the misdeeds as well as the accessories the gangsters are associated with which connote their lives as being excitingly triumphant. Audiences are said to ‘like the concept of genre because of its reassuring and familiar promise of patterns of representation and variation. Elements of the genre are often repeated again and again and can be used over a long period of time. For instance in a gangster film, we expect to see some, or all, of the following elements, which will also properly have been in a gangster film from the 1930s: guns, villains, violence, urban meetings, mafia, beautiful women’[6].Following the concept of the Gangster genre as being appealing to some, the movies part of the genre are therefore thought as being entertaining considering they can be described as being a ‘source of information and knowledge’[7]. This is primarily because the antics preformed by actors such as the way they ‘operate outside the law, stealing and murdering their way through life’[8]. Unmistakably they are not usual norms that are considered in civilised society. When watching gangster movies, clearly the hypodermic needle theory is occurring taking into account that the activities that gangsters tend to perform are clearly against the law, thus enhancing scenarios to seem entertaining and as a route of escapism for viewers.
Again, the lives that the gangsters portrayed in the films can be viewed as being exhilarating given that they usually tend to do whatever they feel satisfied with in their lives (e.g. not caring if breaking the law). As the gangsters exploit living a wealthy and joyful lifestyle, the audience would therefore perhaps adore the behavior that is porteyed by the gangsters as the viewers may not be able to perform the actions of the gangsters in reality. When the audience gets pleasure from viewing the gangsters lifestyles, clearly ‘Richard Dyer’s Theory of Utopian Solutions’[9] with the intention of making the text seem astounding for the viewers. ‘Dyer (1992) proposed that media texts helped make up for some of the deficiencies of modern life. Intensity; most people’s lives consist predominantly of routine, such as going to work or collage, raising family etc. Media texts offer world where exciting things happen as a matter of course, and this is pleasurable for the audience. One of the key pleasures of the media texts is seeing worlds where people can drop whatever they’re doing and peruse adventures without any apparent financial cares. We also like to see glamorous and exotic locations and lifestyles that contrast with our own’[10].
The criminal is always the one ‘gaining status, and this rise on the social ladder makes him, in Schatz's definition, "the perverse alter-ego of the ambitious, profit-minded American male". The expensive clothes, flashy cars, and attractive women visually signalthe criminal’s growing status he acquires’[11]. The more activities such as killing and robberies that the gangsters usual perform, the more the professional they develop as being a gangster. The better they become, obviously the higher their income as gangsters primarily commit offenses in order to earn capital. After obtaining large sums of money, gangsters can at that point afford to splurge out their black money on luxuries seeing as they have so much.
A prime example of a gangster film that illustrates the main gangster to be living a glamorous lifestyle would perhaps be one of the greatest drug trafficking gangster films of all time, Scarface[12]. The films reflects the time it was directed as Miami (setting) had huge numbers of deaths leading from cocaine addition as well gang wars. Effectively the movie had in fact illustrated the life of many of the rich and famous also living within Miami at the time given that the lifestyle of Tony Montana (protagonist) is an exaggerated view of the American Dream. Unmistakably the audience is able to see the dramatic lifestyle change he face since he is a deprived individual whom suddenly becomes a multimillionaire within a period of 12 months. Living a lavish lifestyle as he has it all, the essential such as a house (mansion in his case) in addition to numerous delights such as bright colored designer suits, jewelry, technology (T.V. in bath tub, CCTV), a tiger as a pet and performance cars.
The gangster film is all about ‘law, order and crime, but unlike any other crime and police genres, it focuses upon the figure of the gangster. Therefore, while the gangster film is about law, order and crime it commonly takes a specific angle on the subject no matter which is represented through the character and the narrative of the gangster. It concentrates as much on power and corruption and the ambiguities of law enforcement as it does on the need for justice to prevail and for the gangster to be punished. This arises from its concern with the criminal rather than the police and how it treats the social world of crime and its relation to the institutions of law and order’[13]. Unmistakably with the misdeeds represented by the gangsters and possibly the law enforcements at times, the genre therefore gives the impression that characters (not only gangsters) are victorious and rewarded in some sort of way after breaking the law. Oppose to the gangsters, films tend to promote crime since characters such as the police force that violate the law are seen as living a lavish lifestyle superior to the officers that obey the law correctly.
In particular, the 2001 movie ‘Training Day’[14] illustrates the protagonist’s sidekick as leading a role of undercover police detective in California but however commits offences similar to the victims he targets to arrest (street gangsters). In a city where streets are overrun by drug dealers, the narrative includes the protagonist and his sidekick to commit several crimes throughout the movie thus illustrating the law enforcement fulfilling the role of being gangsters in order to earn a few extra dollars in order to become rich similar to the stereotypical gangsters.
Gangster films ‘are morality tales: Horatio Alger or 'pursuit of the American Dream' success stories turned upside down in which criminals live in an inverted dream world of success and wealth. Often from poor immigrant families, gangster characters often fall prey to crime in the pursuit of wealth, status, and material possessions (clothes and cars), because all other "normal" avenues to the top are unavailable’[15] to them.
In comparison to 1972 film ‘The Godfather’[16], the protagonist Don Carleone is known to be a wealthy hit man/gangster despite growing up in poverty after migrating to the United States from Italy during his youth. Family loyalty is seen as the strength to the success of the Corleone family. The lead gangster Don Vito Corleone and his family seem to be very well orientated and at the same time respected by other mob bosses in the city. In this case, the don carries on the tradition of his gangster lifestyle in his family unlike any other gangster film where the criminal lifestyle is usually separated away from the gangsters’ families. As the family loyalty code must not be broken, it is what makes all the gangsters in the film that much stronger and wise as they must always think before they act (such as making a kill). Relevantly the structure of the criminal lifestyle has not changed until today but however it still demonstrates and fulfils the traditional view of a nuclear family. It used a patriarchy structure similar to its time when it was filmed; the man of the family is the breadwinner (worker) whilst his wife simply cooks and cleans the house.
Dating back since 1912 when first ever gangster film ‘The Musketeers Of Pig Alley’[17] was released, the ideologies have always remained the same until to present films that are produced today.
Corruption in Gangster films plays a key role as it illustrates how characters strive for success despite the target they aim to archive is morally wrong. Corruption demonstrates how characters are influenced and can therefore reflect how the audience are influenced by elements in the movies and can show how far the teens are willing to go in order to achieve their aspiration (lavish lifestyles). Furthermore, another ideology includes the crime to never pay given the fact that the bad guys (either protagonist of associates) always tend to die or are punished in the end after committing their bad deeds and becoming rich (e.g. 1983 Scarface).
[1] Sanders, Jon, (2009). The Film Genre Book, pg. 124
[2] American Gangster, 2007, Ridley Scott, U.S.A.
[3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI8PFLRSjVQ
[4] Sanders, Jon, (2009). The Film Genre Book, pg. 158
[5] http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/nov/13/primary-anti-gun-workshops
[6] Rayner, Philip Wall, Peter and Kruger, Stephan. AS Media Studies, pg. 55
[7] Wilson, Pauline and Kidd, Allan, (1998). Sociology and Modern Studies, pg.34
[8] http://www.slideshare.net/newestprod/film-genres-presentation
[9] Andrews, Maggie and Stevenson, Elspeth, (2009). AQA Media Studies: A2 Media Studies, pg.144
[10] Ibid
[11]http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/egd_01/egd_01_00212.html
[12] Scarface, 1983, Brian De Palma, U.S.A.
[13] Strinati, Domonic, (2000), An Introduction To Stereotyping Popular Culture, pg.55
[14] Training Day, 2001, Antoine Fuqua, U.S.A.
[15] http://www.filmsite.org/crimefilms.html
[16] The Godfather, 1972, Francis Ford Coppola, U.S.A.
[17] The Musketeers Of Pig Alley, 1912, D.W. Griffith, U.S.A.
Thursday, 14 January 2010
MEST 4 Xmas Task 2
Bibliography:
Maggie Andrews and Elspeth Stevenson, 2009, AQA Media Studies: A2 Media Studies, Thornes, Nelson, Cheltenham UK, pg.144:
Richard Dyer’s Theory of Utopian Solutions (theory of how we are influenced & affected):
This is a great theory of thinking about what media audiences get from almost any media text. Dyer (1992) proposed that media texts helped make up for some of the deficiencies of modern life. These were as follows.
Community – media texts often present us with groups of people working towards common goals and constructed communities that we can victoriously enjoy. This is in contrast with real life, where increased population movements and other societal pressures such as increased isolation, the breakdown of the extended family and fear of crime have diminished real-world communities. Social networking is an interesting phenomenon in this respect!
Intensity – most people’s lives concist predominantly of routine, such as going to work or collage, raising family etc. Media texts offer world where eciting things happen as a matter of course, and this is pleasurable for the audience. Consider the old-age complaint about soap operas not being true to life (as if they had a duty to be!) and think how dull they’d be without all the dramatic events that befall characters and families within them.
Abundance – one of the key pleasures of the media texts is seeing worlds where people can drop whatever they’re doing and peruse adventures without any apparent financial cares. We also like to see glamorous and exotic locations and lifestyles that contrast with our own. Abundance may not just be about money – texts can offer an abundance of other desirable things such as open landscapes as well as material wealth.
Strinati, Domonic, 2000, An Introduction To Stereotyping Popular Culture, Routledge, New York, pg.55:
“The gangster film is all about law, order and crime, but unlike any other crime and police genres, it focuses upon the figure of the gangster. Therefore, while the gangster film is about law, order and crimeit commonly takes a specific angle on the subject no matter which is represented through the character and the narrative of the gangster. It concentrates as much on power and corruption and the ambiguities of law enforcement as it does on the need for justice to prevail and for the gangster to be punished. This arises from its concern with the criminal rather than the police and how it treats the social world of crime and its relation to the institutions of law and order.”
Pam Cook & Mieke Bernick, 1999, The Cinema Book 2nd Edition, London, pg.174:
Iconography:
“Most notable within the first category was Collin McArther (1972), one chapter of which was concerned to layout the basic unity of the genre’s iconography, which he understands as the community over several decades of patterns of visual imagery, of recurrent objects and figures in dynamic relationship (McArther, 1972, pg.23). These stable iconography elements can be divided into three categories:
1. The physical presence, attributes of actors and actresses and the roles they play;
2. The urban milieux in which the fiction is played out;
3. The technology at the character’s disposal, principally guns and cars”
Neale, Steve, 2000, Genre & Hollywood, Brown University USA, Routledge, pg.15:
“In Little Cesar (1930) a police lieutenant and two of his men visit a nightclub run by gangsters. All three wear large hats and heavy coats, are grim and sardonic and stand in a triangular formation, lieutenant in front and his two men behind him in the rear. The audience knows immediately what to expect of them by their physical attributes, their dress and deportment.”
Sanders, Jon, 2009, The Film Genre Book, United Kingdom, Auteur, pg. 124:
“The reincarnation of the gangster film, replete with glamour, extreme brutality and an uncanny eye for the humanness and rivals of their ink would later breath life into the T.V. creation, glorious bloody The Sopranos.”
Pauline Wilson and Allan Kidd, 1998, Sociology and Modern Studies, London, Collins, pg.34:
“The mass media which include television, radio and newspapers, are powerful source of information and knowledge. The media have a role in gender socialization. Research, for example, has focused on the way in which males and females are represented in children’s educational programmes such as Sesame Street. Dohrmann (1975) found that the male child was much more likely to be shown as heroic, whereas the female child was shown was more likely to be shown as helpless and passive. It is possible that such messages affect attitudes and behaviour. Particularly when reinforced families and schools.”
Pauline Wilson and Allan Kidd, 1998, Sociology and Modern Studies, London, Collins, pg.306:
What are the effects of the Media on the audience?:
“Sociologists, social psychologists, members of the public and politicians have, for long time, been concern about the possible effects of the media on their audience.
Films such as The Wild One and A Clockwork Orange caused concern in the past. A Clockwork Orange was released in the UK in 1971. a series of beatings and rapes was linked to this film by the police and its director banned the film in the UK. Recently, films such as Reservoir Dogs and Crash have caused concern in terms of the images represented, their impact on the audience and the possible effects of such images on our behaviour.”
Philip Rayner, Peter Wall, Stephan Kruger, AS Media Studies, London and New York, Routledge, pg. 55:
“Genre is a formula that is successful, is often repeated again and again and can be used over a long period of time. For instance in a gangster film, (Goodfellas 1990, pg.53), we expect to see some, or all, of the following elements, which will also properly have been in a gangster film from the 1930s:
Car chases
Guns
Heroes
Villians
Violence
Urban meetings
Mafia
Corrupt police/politicians
Beautiful women
Italians
There are also certain actors that we may associate with the genre of films (James Cagney in the 19302, Robert De Niro in the 1980s or currently Vinnie Jones) as well as certain directors (Martin Scorsese and Guy Richie).
Genre and Audiences:
Audiences are said to like the concept of genre (although we may not identify it by the name) because of its resuring and familiar promise of patterns of representation and variation.
The concept of genre is important in arousing the expectations of an audience and how they judge and select texts. Placing a text within a specific genre plays an important role in signalling to an audience the type of text that that they are being invited to consume. Audience become familiar with the codes and conventions of specific genres. Familiarity through representation is therefore one of the key elements in the way audiences understand and relate to media texts.”
Philip Rayner, Peter Wall, Stephan Kruger, AS Media Studies, London and New York, Routledge, pg. 299:
“What we have now is a genre that is so aware that the audience know the codes and conventions almost backwards that it has started to become self-referential and post-modern in its approach. Thus we are told in Scream (directed by Wes Craven, 1996) that virgins are safe, only to discover that they are not. We watch Buffy fight werewolves, yet are aware that the series is about much more than simply the fight between good and evil. We read novels that describe over four pages the act of disembowelling and we laugh – or smile – because we are aware that the author is playing with our own fantasies. We watch documentaries on the television about serial killers.
It is the ability of media producers to adapt and develop any generic text that is what allows it to last and continue in popularity. The gangster genre was reviewed by The Godfather in 1871 when a fundamentally ordinary gangster story was given a new angle – the gangsters were humanised, given families and problems and were no longer simply the ‘bad guys’.
Richard Dyer’s Theory of Utopian Solutions (theory of how we are influenced & affected):
This is a great theory of thinking about what media audiences get from almost any media text. Dyer (1992) proposed that media texts helped make up for some of the deficiencies of modern life. These were as follows.
Community – media texts often present us with groups of people working towards common goals and constructed communities that we can victoriously enjoy. This is in contrast with real life, where increased population movements and other societal pressures such as increased isolation, the breakdown of the extended family and fear of crime have diminished real-world communities. Social networking is an interesting phenomenon in this respect!
Intensity – most people’s lives concist predominantly of routine, such as going to work or collage, raising family etc. Media texts offer world where eciting things happen as a matter of course, and this is pleasurable for the audience. Consider the old-age complaint about soap operas not being true to life (as if they had a duty to be!) and think how dull they’d be without all the dramatic events that befall characters and families within them.
Abundance – one of the key pleasures of the media texts is seeing worlds where people can drop whatever they’re doing and peruse adventures without any apparent financial cares. We also like to see glamorous and exotic locations and lifestyles that contrast with our own. Abundance may not just be about money – texts can offer an abundance of other desirable things such as open landscapes as well as material wealth.
Strinati, Domonic, 2000, An Introduction To Stereotyping Popular Culture, Routledge, New York, pg.55:
“The gangster film is all about law, order and crime, but unlike any other crime and police genres, it focuses upon the figure of the gangster. Therefore, while the gangster film is about law, order and crimeit commonly takes a specific angle on the subject no matter which is represented through the character and the narrative of the gangster. It concentrates as much on power and corruption and the ambiguities of law enforcement as it does on the need for justice to prevail and for the gangster to be punished. This arises from its concern with the criminal rather than the police and how it treats the social world of crime and its relation to the institutions of law and order.”
Pam Cook & Mieke Bernick, 1999, The Cinema Book 2nd Edition, London, pg.174:
Iconography:
“Most notable within the first category was Collin McArther (1972), one chapter of which was concerned to layout the basic unity of the genre’s iconography, which he understands as the community over several decades of patterns of visual imagery, of recurrent objects and figures in dynamic relationship (McArther, 1972, pg.23). These stable iconography elements can be divided into three categories:
1. The physical presence, attributes of actors and actresses and the roles they play;
2. The urban milieux in which the fiction is played out;
3. The technology at the character’s disposal, principally guns and cars”
Neale, Steve, 2000, Genre & Hollywood, Brown University USA, Routledge, pg.15:
“In Little Cesar (1930) a police lieutenant and two of his men visit a nightclub run by gangsters. All three wear large hats and heavy coats, are grim and sardonic and stand in a triangular formation, lieutenant in front and his two men behind him in the rear. The audience knows immediately what to expect of them by their physical attributes, their dress and deportment.”
Sanders, Jon, 2009, The Film Genre Book, United Kingdom, Auteur, pg. 124:
“The reincarnation of the gangster film, replete with glamour, extreme brutality and an uncanny eye for the humanness and rivals of their ink would later breath life into the T.V. creation, glorious bloody The Sopranos.”
Pauline Wilson and Allan Kidd, 1998, Sociology and Modern Studies, London, Collins, pg.34:
“The mass media which include television, radio and newspapers, are powerful source of information and knowledge. The media have a role in gender socialization. Research, for example, has focused on the way in which males and females are represented in children’s educational programmes such as Sesame Street. Dohrmann (1975) found that the male child was much more likely to be shown as heroic, whereas the female child was shown was more likely to be shown as helpless and passive. It is possible that such messages affect attitudes and behaviour. Particularly when reinforced families and schools.”
Pauline Wilson and Allan Kidd, 1998, Sociology and Modern Studies, London, Collins, pg.306:
What are the effects of the Media on the audience?:
“Sociologists, social psychologists, members of the public and politicians have, for long time, been concern about the possible effects of the media on their audience.
Films such as The Wild One and A Clockwork Orange caused concern in the past. A Clockwork Orange was released in the UK in 1971. a series of beatings and rapes was linked to this film by the police and its director banned the film in the UK. Recently, films such as Reservoir Dogs and Crash have caused concern in terms of the images represented, their impact on the audience and the possible effects of such images on our behaviour.”
Philip Rayner, Peter Wall, Stephan Kruger, AS Media Studies, London and New York, Routledge, pg. 55:
“Genre is a formula that is successful, is often repeated again and again and can be used over a long period of time. For instance in a gangster film, (Goodfellas 1990, pg.53), we expect to see some, or all, of the following elements, which will also properly have been in a gangster film from the 1930s:
Car chases
Guns
Heroes
Villians
Violence
Urban meetings
Mafia
Corrupt police/politicians
Beautiful women
Italians
There are also certain actors that we may associate with the genre of films (James Cagney in the 19302, Robert De Niro in the 1980s or currently Vinnie Jones) as well as certain directors (Martin Scorsese and Guy Richie).
Genre and Audiences:
Audiences are said to like the concept of genre (although we may not identify it by the name) because of its resuring and familiar promise of patterns of representation and variation.
The concept of genre is important in arousing the expectations of an audience and how they judge and select texts. Placing a text within a specific genre plays an important role in signalling to an audience the type of text that that they are being invited to consume. Audience become familiar with the codes and conventions of specific genres. Familiarity through representation is therefore one of the key elements in the way audiences understand and relate to media texts.”
Philip Rayner, Peter Wall, Stephan Kruger, AS Media Studies, London and New York, Routledge, pg. 299:
“What we have now is a genre that is so aware that the audience know the codes and conventions almost backwards that it has started to become self-referential and post-modern in its approach. Thus we are told in Scream (directed by Wes Craven, 1996) that virgins are safe, only to discover that they are not. We watch Buffy fight werewolves, yet are aware that the series is about much more than simply the fight between good and evil. We read novels that describe over four pages the act of disembowelling and we laugh – or smile – because we are aware that the author is playing with our own fantasies. We watch documentaries on the television about serial killers.
It is the ability of media producers to adapt and develop any generic text that is what allows it to last and continue in popularity. The gangster genre was reviewed by The Godfather in 1871 when a fundamentally ordinary gangster story was given a new angle – the gangsters were humanised, given families and problems and were no longer simply the ‘bad guys’.
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
MEST 4 Xmas Task 6
An investigation into how criminal lifestyles are glamorised in gangster films.
The ‘reincarnation of the gangster film, replete with glamour, extreme brutality and an uncanny eye for the humanness and rivals of their ink would later breath life into the T.V. creation, glorious bloody The Sopranos’[1].
Similarly the representations are also reflected in a diversity of contemporary gangster films, such as ‘American Gangster’[2]. The protagonist in the film plays a lead role of a gangster. Which in this case Frank Lucas (Danzel Washington) in several scenes enables the audience to associate his personality in relation to being a gangster due to the brutal stereotypical conventions that Frank fulfils.
In particular, during a specific scene[3] during the film, Frank exits a café after gazing out the café’s window and discovers his enemy walking along the same street of the café. Once catching up to him, Frank confronts him about debts that he owes Frank, which his enemy demands more time. As Frank Lucas does not approve of his command at that moment, Frank then fires his hand held pistol and unmistakably kills his enemy in public.
[1] Sanders, Jon, (2009). The Film Genre Book, pg. 124
[2] American Gangster, 2007, Ridley Scott, U.S.A.
[3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI8PFLRSjVQ
MEST 4 Xmas Task 5
Firstly I will be giving a brief explanation on what the gangster genre actually is and introduce my critical investigation. I may perhaps included historical examples of early films that in fact established the type of genre itself here. With examples given, they will then describe the necessary semiotics of films (e.g. The Gangster is always a bad guy etc.). I may also describe why they are included and the effects they have on the audience (entertain & influence). Again this is will relate to my critical investigation question of what is glamorised (such as props) in contemporary films that entertain and influence the audience. A good example to particularly place here would be ‘Early 30's Gangster Genre, Howard Hawks’ website quote.
Firstly I will be describing the stereotypical aspects portrayed in films, which certain props can be described as being shown in several movies and I will also be explaining the effect of these props (copy cat theory & glamorising factor). A sensible comparison to use here will be comparing the media with actual gangsters in reality hence illustrating the conventions of the lifestyle. A direct comparison will be contrasting both contemporary film ‘American Gangster’ along with the historical non-fiction gangster Frank Lucas. Despite the lifestyle stereotypically shown in the gangster genre, it will also explain how the influencing effect can still apply to the audience even until today. For example children as young as aged 10 are though to avoid following a gangster path according to ‘Primary school children could be given anti-gun crime lessons (November 2009)’ article from the Guardian.
Considering I will concentrate on the representations props used by the protagonists shown in the film genre, I will also include background information based on the genre itself. Genre will most likely be stated within the opening paragraph but I will however describe the fantasising and attractiveness of the criminal lifestyle the gangsters live (e.g. amazing lives due to uniqueness. They’re breaking the law and living an outlaw life that is different to others). I will include theories here such as the hypodermic needle as well as the copycat theory thus demonstrating how the audience react and absorb lifestyles connoted in texts. In particular I will specifically refer to the ‘Top 5 Reasons Why We Love Mafia Movies’ article as well as ‘Philip Rayner, Peter Wall, Stephan Kruger, AS Media Studies, London and New York, Routledge, pg. 55’.
This paragraph will focus on the wider concepts in relation to the genre. I will be including SHEP factors in which are based around specific films in order to create the protagonists lifestyles to seem over dramatic as well as it seeming theatrically cool. A prime example would be to analyse 1980’s Scarface considering the film itself reflects the lifestyle of the rich and famous in Miami at the time. As the protagonist in the film lives a peasant lifestyle at the start and later converts it to a glamorise life similar to celebrities living in Hollywood; self explanatory to my critical investigation question. I will also be referring to two quotes from two online articles The Independent Moviemaker - Understanding Genre: the Gangster Film and Top 5 Reasons Why We Love Mafia Movies given that they will both explain the way in which the audience are exactally influenced by films.
To finish off the essay I will discuss the ideologies & values used in reference to specific texts. Thus leading to describe the different methods used to promote the unique elements of each of the lead gangsters to live their lives in the movies. Again using theories such as the hypodermic needle model will enhance the way in which the audience sees the gangsters’ lifestyles as being glamorous.
MEST 4 Xmas Task 4
Gangster Films:
“The criminal is always the one gaining status, and this rise on the social ladder makes him, in Schatz's definition, "the perverse alter-ego of the ambitious, profit-minded American male." The expensive clothes, flashy cars, and attractive women visually signal
the criminal’s growing status he acquires”.
http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/egd_01/egd_01_00212.html
The quote clearly states the way in which the gangster lifestyle is promoted and why. It informs us that appeal of the flashy lifestyles primarily relates to the gangsters earning some sort of status.
Crime & Gangster Films:
“Gangster films are morality tales: Horatio Alger or 'pursuit of the American Dream' success stories turned upside down in which criminals live in an inverted dream world of success and wealth. Often from poor immigrant families, gangster characters often fall prey to crime in the pursuit of wealth, status, and material possessions (clothes and cars), because all other "normal" avenues to the top are unavailable to them”.
http://www.filmsite.org/crimefilms.html
This quote simply informs the purpose behind why gangsters in films tend to live such a fashionable and glamorous lifestyle.
Representations on the Gangster Dress Code:
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/17922429/On-Gangster-Suits-and-Silhouettes1
“The criminal is always the one gaining status, and this rise on the social ladder makes him, in Schatz's definition, "the perverse alter-ego of the ambitious, profit-minded American male." The expensive clothes, flashy cars, and attractive women visually signal
the criminal’s growing status he acquires”.
http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/egd_01/egd_01_00212.html
The quote clearly states the way in which the gangster lifestyle is promoted and why. It informs us that appeal of the flashy lifestyles primarily relates to the gangsters earning some sort of status.
Crime & Gangster Films:
“Gangster films are morality tales: Horatio Alger or 'pursuit of the American Dream' success stories turned upside down in which criminals live in an inverted dream world of success and wealth. Often from poor immigrant families, gangster characters often fall prey to crime in the pursuit of wealth, status, and material possessions (clothes and cars), because all other "normal" avenues to the top are unavailable to them”.
http://www.filmsite.org/crimefilms.html
This quote simply informs the purpose behind why gangsters in films tend to live such a fashionable and glamorous lifestyle.
Representations on the Gangster Dress Code:
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/17922429/On-Gangster-Suits-and-Silhouettes1
Brain Food: Why the mafia study gangster movies (29 September 2009):
Bada-bing. For some people, The Godfather is no mere movie but a manual – a guide to living the gangster's life. They lap up all that stuff about going to the mattresses and sleeping with the fishes. The famous scene in which a mafia refusenik wakes up next to a horse's head may be macabre make-believe, but in some quarters it's treated like a tutorial.
So who are these apparent innocents taking their cues from Hollywood? None other than the mafia themselves, writes Diego Gambetta in his new book, Codes of the Underworld: How Criminals Communicate. The Oxford sociologist offers example upon example of gangsters apeing Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece – or what he calls "lowlife imitating art".There's the Don who took over a Sicilian aristocrat's villa for his daughter's wedding – with 500 guests revelling to the film's soundtrack; the building contractors of Palermo who receive severed horse's heads if they get in the mob's way; and John Gotti's former lieutenant, Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, who confessed that plagiarism ranked among his (lesser) crimes: "I would always tell people, just like in The Godfather, 'If you have an enemy, that enemy becomes my enemy.'"Yet Mario Puzo, The Godfather's inventor, admitted that he "never met a real honest-to-God gangster", while many of the film's most quotable lines (remember "Leave the gun. Take the cannol"?) were improvised. So what accounts for its influence not just among the mafia but with Hong Kong triads, Japanese yakuza and Russian mobsters?Well, strip away the mystique and organised crime is a business – one with big handicaps. It may be called "the Firm", but managing a poorly educated, violent workforce is a challenge, advertising job vacancies only attracts the law, and appraisals for underperforming staff can err on the brusque side. The Godfather and other gangster movies plug those holes, says Gambetta. They give criminals an easy-to-follow protocol and a glamour that serves as both corporate feelgood and marketing tool. Uncomfortable though it may be to acknowledge, the underworld is not above taking its cues from the upperworld.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/sep/29/mafia-gangster-films-godfather
Bada-bing. For some people, The Godfather is no mere movie but a manual – a guide to living the gangster's life. They lap up all that stuff about going to the mattresses and sleeping with the fishes. The famous scene in which a mafia refusenik wakes up next to a horse's head may be macabre make-believe, but in some quarters it's treated like a tutorial.
So who are these apparent innocents taking their cues from Hollywood? None other than the mafia themselves, writes Diego Gambetta in his new book, Codes of the Underworld: How Criminals Communicate. The Oxford sociologist offers example upon example of gangsters apeing Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece – or what he calls "lowlife imitating art".There's the Don who took over a Sicilian aristocrat's villa for his daughter's wedding – with 500 guests revelling to the film's soundtrack; the building contractors of Palermo who receive severed horse's heads if they get in the mob's way; and John Gotti's former lieutenant, Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, who confessed that plagiarism ranked among his (lesser) crimes: "I would always tell people, just like in The Godfather, 'If you have an enemy, that enemy becomes my enemy.'"Yet Mario Puzo, The Godfather's inventor, admitted that he "never met a real honest-to-God gangster", while many of the film's most quotable lines (remember "Leave the gun. Take the cannol"?) were improvised. So what accounts for its influence not just among the mafia but with Hong Kong triads, Japanese yakuza and Russian mobsters?Well, strip away the mystique and organised crime is a business – one with big handicaps. It may be called "the Firm", but managing a poorly educated, violent workforce is a challenge, advertising job vacancies only attracts the law, and appraisals for underperforming staff can err on the brusque side. The Godfather and other gangster movies plug those holes, says Gambetta. They give criminals an easy-to-follow protocol and a glamour that serves as both corporate feelgood and marketing tool. Uncomfortable though it may be to acknowledge, the underworld is not above taking its cues from the upperworld.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/sep/29/mafia-gangster-films-godfather
Anti-mafia police release footage showing murder of 'gangster' (30 October 2009):
Italian police investigating the murder of an alleged gangster have released graphic CCTV footage that shows him being shot dead at point blank range.Mario Bacio Terracino, believed to have been involved in a drugs feud with a rival gang, was murdered by a hitman outside a Naples bar in May.Anti-mafia investigators said they released the footage of the 53-year-old's murder in the hope of finding someone who could identify the killer.In the video, which lasts 26 seconds, Terracino is seen standing outside the bar in broad daylight, smoking a cigarette while his assassin has a look around inside.A moment later, the hitman, wearing a baseball cap, emerges and shoots Terracino three times from behind before leaning over his body and putting a final shot in his head. He then walks away, still holding the gun.Naples is home to the Camorra crime syndicate, which has been blamed for dozens of deaths in recent years.This March, more than 100,000 people marched through the streets of the city to protest against mafia violence.A recent report for Italy's parliamentary anti-mafia commission claimed that 13 million Italians were living in areas in which the mob exerts influence over everyday life.Giuseppe Pisanu, the commission's head, said the Italian mafia was now "silently prospering, moving on from spectacular crimes and massacres to business and politics, with a prudent dose of intimidation and violence in a bid to take over the fundamental role of the state".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/30/italy-police-murder-film-mafia
Question Time (Danny Dyer); Gangster Life & Style (11 June 2009):
In your new TV series, Living Dangerously, you move in with bouncers, mercenaries and a drug smuggler. Are you a gangster junkie?
A gangster junkie? Fucking hell, strong words. No, I'm not at all. I'm in my 30s. I've played loads of gangsters, I've had a great run in my 20s - but I need to get away from the gangster thing.
Why do you think you keep being given those roles?
I'm good at it, it comes naturally. I've got quite a big fan base and people like to see you do the same thing - that's why you get offered the same roles. It's going to put bums on seats, but that's not necessarily going to make me happy.
What do you think of the word mockney?
I hate it. Some people call me a mockney - they think I put it all on. It's so frustrating. Where I'm from, what I'm about, gives me that edge.
So how do you feel when you see people such as Guy Ritchie making films about what they think to be your background?
I had a problem with Guy Ritchie years ago. I did Mean Machine and he'd turn up on set with two bodyguards, and I was told not to look him in the eye and all that sort of stuff. So I wasn't very nice about him in the press. Then I met him for RocknRolla and had a lovely chat with him. I've not got a problem with him. He's made a couple of right shit films, but in general he's a good director.
Are you hard, or is it just your accent?
People just get thrown by the accent. I'm not hard. I don't claim to be a tough guy, that's complete bollocks, I'm a sensitive soul. I'm in touch with my feminine side.
You're something of a heartthrob.
I don't know what to make of it. Maybe it's the bad-boy image, maybe women quite like that.
Do you like being seen as a bit of rough?
Yes. That's my image. I'm not clean-cut. That's maybe what the appeal is.Is it patronising?
Nah, it's good for the ego.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/jun/11/danny-dyer-question-time-interview
MEST 4 Xmas Task 3
Over the past 60 years a sum of gangster films have been released which they all individually have a unique narrative. However despite the story behind the movies differing, they yet however follower a similar trend which involves the lifestyles of the gangsters to be living wealthy despite performing their lawbreaking deeds.
The Godfather (1972):
There was not a flaw from beginning to end and the film made stars out of several of its actors. From the immortal Marlon Brando, to Al Pacino, James Caan and the legendary John Cazale, this family lived and breathed with us for the last forty years and no matter how many times you watch the movie, it never grows old. The film’s greatest strength revolves around the relationship between father and son(s) as it tracks young Michael’s gradual, inevitable transition from innocent war hero to family don. Vito Corleone’s only wish was that his beloved youngest son not follow in his footsteps: And so it was that the pained look on Brando’s face upon waking from his coma and learning of Michael’s tragic fate conveyed silent volumes of anguish, heartbreak, fear and loss.
http://thepulplist.com/2009/05/top-20-gangster-movies-of-the-last-40-years
Family loyalty is seen as the strength to the success of the Corleone family in 1972’s The Godfather. The lead gangster Don Vito Corleone and his family seem to be very well orientated and at the same time respected by other mob bosses in the city. In this case, the don carries on the tradition of his gangster lifestyle in his family unlike any other gangster film where the criminal lifestyle is usually separated away from the gangsters’ families. As the family loyalty code must not be broken, it is what makes all the gangsters in the film that much stronger and wise as they must always think before they act (such as making a kill).
Relevantly the structure of the criminal lifestyle has not changed until today but however it still demonstrates and fulfils the traditional view of a nuclear family. It used a patriarchy structure similar to its time when it was filmed; the man of the family is the breadwinner (worker) whilst his wife simply cooks and cleans the house.
Scarface (1983):
Scarface also reflects the time it was filmed as Miami had huge numbers of deaths leading from cocaine addition or as well gang wars. Effectively the movie had in fact illustrate the life of many of the rich and famous also living within Miami at the time given that the lifestyle of Tony Montana is an exaggerated view of the American Dream. Unmistakably the audience is able to see the dramatic lifestyle change he face since he is a deprived individual whom suddenly becomes a multimillionaire within a period of 12 months. Living a lavish lifestyle as he has it all, the essential such as a house (mansion in his case) as well as the additional delights such as bright coloured designer suits, jewellery, technology (T.V. in bath tub, CCTV), a tiger as a pet and performance cars.
Casino (1995):
Fantastic epic about Ace Rothstein and Nicky Santoro who revolutionized Vegas while destroying those around them. DeNiro and Pesci make an amazing team which is probably the reason they have been cast together in, oh, about 400 films. No one (with perhaps the exception of Tarantino) mixes tremendous scripts, colorful wardrobes, glorious soundtracks and magnificent direction to make a balanced film as well as Scorcese.
http://thepulplist.com/2009/05/top-20-gangster-movies-of-the-last-40-years
Similar to all gangster films this too follows the concept of the lead gangsters and protagonist to strives towards what they want despite violating the law along their way. Again the gangsters in this movie are set to be very wealthy due to the causes of their law breaking behaviour but the lifestyle of Robert Dinero is however portrayed as being a simple businessman. Despite laundering dirty money by pinching amounts of capital which is played by his customers in his casino, the role of the lead gangster is set to a minimum standard where he lives simply yet comfortably (unlike Scarface where sports cars are purchased and drugs are taken etc.)
Carlito's Way (1993):
In comparison to Casino, this film also presents the lead gangster Carlito living a simplistic lifestyle rather than it being lavish. Again it’s business before pleasure as Carlito is determined to generate double the money he has invested into a nightclub. As the beginning of the film, it denotates him leaving from prison, which we clearly see how the lifestyle he lives once returning to the outside world. As the period of time of the narrative is consistent, there are no over-period timings, which we are therefore able to view any changes Carlito goes through after making his investment. As the protagonist is a determined character, he primarily focuses on his building his wealth as well as settling down as a family man.
Contemporary films including American Gangster as well as films in the 1990s generally illustrate the gangsters to be associated as well as having greed towards money. It seems as if the gangster characters after that decade have been appealed by wealth rather than ruining their health (e.g. 1980s Tony in Scarface snorts cocaine etc.). All protagonists in the films after 1990 above all put business before pleasure.
The Godfather (1972):
There was not a flaw from beginning to end and the film made stars out of several of its actors. From the immortal Marlon Brando, to Al Pacino, James Caan and the legendary John Cazale, this family lived and breathed with us for the last forty years and no matter how many times you watch the movie, it never grows old. The film’s greatest strength revolves around the relationship between father and son(s) as it tracks young Michael’s gradual, inevitable transition from innocent war hero to family don. Vito Corleone’s only wish was that his beloved youngest son not follow in his footsteps: And so it was that the pained look on Brando’s face upon waking from his coma and learning of Michael’s tragic fate conveyed silent volumes of anguish, heartbreak, fear and loss.
http://thepulplist.com/2009/05/top-20-gangster-movies-of-the-last-40-years
Family loyalty is seen as the strength to the success of the Corleone family in 1972’s The Godfather. The lead gangster Don Vito Corleone and his family seem to be very well orientated and at the same time respected by other mob bosses in the city. In this case, the don carries on the tradition of his gangster lifestyle in his family unlike any other gangster film where the criminal lifestyle is usually separated away from the gangsters’ families. As the family loyalty code must not be broken, it is what makes all the gangsters in the film that much stronger and wise as they must always think before they act (such as making a kill).
Relevantly the structure of the criminal lifestyle has not changed until today but however it still demonstrates and fulfils the traditional view of a nuclear family. It used a patriarchy structure similar to its time when it was filmed; the man of the family is the breadwinner (worker) whilst his wife simply cooks and cleans the house.
Scarface (1983):
Scarface also reflects the time it was filmed as Miami had huge numbers of deaths leading from cocaine addition or as well gang wars. Effectively the movie had in fact illustrate the life of many of the rich and famous also living within Miami at the time given that the lifestyle of Tony Montana is an exaggerated view of the American Dream. Unmistakably the audience is able to see the dramatic lifestyle change he face since he is a deprived individual whom suddenly becomes a multimillionaire within a period of 12 months. Living a lavish lifestyle as he has it all, the essential such as a house (mansion in his case) as well as the additional delights such as bright coloured designer suits, jewellery, technology (T.V. in bath tub, CCTV), a tiger as a pet and performance cars.
Casino (1995):
Fantastic epic about Ace Rothstein and Nicky Santoro who revolutionized Vegas while destroying those around them. DeNiro and Pesci make an amazing team which is probably the reason they have been cast together in, oh, about 400 films. No one (with perhaps the exception of Tarantino) mixes tremendous scripts, colorful wardrobes, glorious soundtracks and magnificent direction to make a balanced film as well as Scorcese.
http://thepulplist.com/2009/05/top-20-gangster-movies-of-the-last-40-years
Similar to all gangster films this too follows the concept of the lead gangsters and protagonist to strives towards what they want despite violating the law along their way. Again the gangsters in this movie are set to be very wealthy due to the causes of their law breaking behaviour but the lifestyle of Robert Dinero is however portrayed as being a simple businessman. Despite laundering dirty money by pinching amounts of capital which is played by his customers in his casino, the role of the lead gangster is set to a minimum standard where he lives simply yet comfortably (unlike Scarface where sports cars are purchased and drugs are taken etc.)
Carlito's Way (1993):
In comparison to Casino, this film also presents the lead gangster Carlito living a simplistic lifestyle rather than it being lavish. Again it’s business before pleasure as Carlito is determined to generate double the money he has invested into a nightclub. As the beginning of the film, it denotates him leaving from prison, which we clearly see how the lifestyle he lives once returning to the outside world. As the period of time of the narrative is consistent, there are no over-period timings, which we are therefore able to view any changes Carlito goes through after making his investment. As the protagonist is a determined character, he primarily focuses on his building his wealth as well as settling down as a family man.
Contemporary films including American Gangster as well as films in the 1990s generally illustrate the gangsters to be associated as well as having greed towards money. It seems as if the gangster characters after that decade have been appealed by wealth rather than ruining their health (e.g. 1980s Tony in Scarface snorts cocaine etc.). All protagonists in the films after 1990 above all put business before pleasure.
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