DOCSLIB.ORG

Food, Violence, and Henry Hill in Goodfellas Martin Scorsese's 1990

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Food, Violence, and Henry Hill in Goodfellas Martin Scorsese's 1990 1 Food, Violence, and Henry Hill in Goodfellas Martin Scorsese’s 1990 film Goodfellas depicts a dramatization of the mob life through the eyes of Henry Hill. While not necessarily decrying or glorifying the mafia as a whole, the film does its best attempt to objectively depict Henry’s life in the mob and his eventual downfall as his lifestyle begins to spiral out of control. Consequently, Henry experiences the highest of highs and the lowest of lows throughout his life as he works and lives as an extension of mob influence. Henry’s lifestyle is visually symbolized and enhanced through the depictions of both food and violence that Scorsese interplays throughout the film, representing the emotional roller coaster that is his life. Food and violence serve to contrast one another and depict conflicting messages. While food represents the quintessential “high life” of the mob in which Henry reaps the fruits of his labor and exemplifies the glory of his experience as well as “civilizing” the criminals in comparison to other lowly offenders because of their status, violence serves as a grim reminder that his riches do not come freely, but instead at the hands of a truly violent and coldhearted lifestyle that being involved with the mafia entails, including murder and robbery[1]. Martin Scorsese utilizes shots and images of food in order to relate the ideas associated with the high points of Henry’s life in the mob. One of the most important attributes that the mob values is the aspect of camaraderie, family, and loyalty. Food conveys these values by bringing Henry and all of his associates together in a relatively warm and inviting atmosphere in which they all appear to get along swimmingly as they experience multiple events such as birthdays or Henry’s wedding with huge feasts and a multitude of Italian food. Because food is utilized as a cohesive force in which it brings Henry and the rest of his colleagues together, it serves as a major symbol in order to communicate the inviting atmosphere Henry experiences. 2 Meals are depicted as a huge deal that unite the Lucchese crime family and therefore represent the values of family and loyalty through the fact that it does bring a myriad of these criminals and murderers into a scene that looks like a wholesome family dinner, ultimately civilizing the crime family because their status separates them from other criminals who do not experience the same sense of loyalty or respect among one another. The importance of food in relation to family is also stressed in the day in which Henry is arrested, as he is on a cocaine fueled rampage in order to successfully organize a drug deal. Even though Henry has an extremely chaotic morning emphasized by his paranoia over a police helicopter overhead and having to meet a bunch of commitments before he can go through with his deal, one of the biggest causes of his stress involves cooking dinner with his family, reinforced by his repeated insistence that his brother stirs the sauce. It is clear that dinner is a big deal to Henry because it symbolizes family[2] values that were not apparent in his own family’s upbringing when he is younger, considering the only time the audience sees his mother and father is early on in the movie when his father whips him with a belt for truancy. Food also represents the benefits and perks of the mob as they exploit the general societal system, illuminated when Henry, Paulie, and his other associates are arrested for assaulting the brother of an FBI typist. Though they still have to serve their sentence, they live relatively comfortably in prison, being able to cook their own meals which are at a near gourmet level including pasta and steak. Their ability to eat food on their own accord symbolizes their ability to manipulate the system with their mafia influence as they pay off and bribe corrupt authority in order to get what they want in any circumstance. The high life of the mob is further exemplified with the Copacabana, a lounge in which Henry and his peers inhabit frequently. They experience special treatment as they are waited on hand and foot as they court their respective dates with food and wine. Their special treatment is 3 exemplified by the “oner[3],” tracking shot that follows Henry and his then-girlfriend Karen through the kitchen of the Copacabana, opting for a more private entrance as they bypass the line that leaks onto the street. Ultimately, food and meals represent the high point in Henry’s mob life as they represent the fruits of his labor and the values of loyalty and respect associated with the mafia. On the other hand, violence represents the lowest and worst parts of the mob life and serves to represent the gritty and dark part of the mafia. The most notable violent acts are perpetrated by Henry’s associate and friend, Tommy, including the murder of Billy Batts, a made man from a different crime family, which could result in swift retribution if it is discovered that they were the culprits in his death. This meant that Henry, Tommy, and their other friend Jimmy the Gent must quickly hide his body in order to divert attention away from their responsibility in his death. Burying Billy’s corpse is highlighted by “finishing” their kill as Tommy further stabs his body in the trunk of their car while Jimmy empties a clip of ammunition into Billy to further solidify his death. Instead of being glorified, Billy’s murder is depicted as heavily crude and brutal, exemplified by the red lighting that symbolizes a sense of darkness and evil associated with killing and subsequently killing him. The grim nature of his death is further reinforced when they have to dig his corpse back up months later in order to relocate it as a result of the burial site becoming a site for homes. Henry can hardly stand the smell of death as he dry heaves and vomits while trying to recover Billy Batts’ body. In comparison to the glamour of the food in meals and Henry’s prison sentence, violence represents the dark nature of the mafia that cannot be truly masked by any sense of grandeur or extravagance that the mob life also brings. Ultimately, Henry and the rest of the crime family 4 are criminals, and that is undeniable no matter how “civilized” the mob is with their extravagant living. Food and violence represent starkly different ideals in the mob life that is depicted in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. Food represents the expression of grandeur and status that the mob life utilizes that “civilizes” their criminal lifestyle as a result of its symbolism regarding the concepts and values of loyalty, respect, family, and camaraderie that the mob values extremely heavily. On the other hand, violence contrasts these ideas in the film and instead represents the dark nature of the mob and ultimately conveys them for what Henry and his associates truly are: criminals. These motifs contrast and complement one another in order to reinforce the emotional roller coaster that is Henry’s tenure with the mob. .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Great Plane Robbery
    DOW JONES, A NEWS CORP COMPANY DJIA 27931.02 0.12% ▲ S&P 500 3372.85 0.02% ▼ Nasdaq 13019.09 0.20% ▼ U.S. 10 Yr 0/32 Yield 0.709% ▼ Crude Oil 42.23 0.52% ▲ Euro 1.1844 0.25% ▲ The Wall Street Journal John Kosner English Edition Print Edition Video Podcasts Latest Headlines Home World U.S. Politics Economy Business Tech Markets Opinion Life & Arts Real Estate WSJ. Magazine Search 15-Year Fixed 2.25% 2.42% APR Refinance Rates at Historic Lows 30-Year Fixed 2.25% 2.46% APR 2.42% 5/1 ARM 3.00% 2.96% APR APR $225,000 (5/1 ARM) $944/mo 2.96% APR Calculate Payment $350,000 (5/1 ARM) $1,409/mo 2.74% APR Terms & Conditions apply. NMLS#1136 BOOKS | BOOKSHELF SHARE FACEBOOKThe Great Plane Robbery TWITTERWithout firing a shot, the masked men escaped from Kennedy Airport in a van with 40 parcels containing jewelry and cash. EMAIL By Edward Kosner Aug. 26, 2015 6:27 pm ET PERMALINK SAVE PRINT TEXT 4 Today's Refinance Rate If there were a Mafia Hall of Fame, Henry Hill would be in it, just barely. No Frank Costello, 2.42% APR 15-Year Fixed Meyer Lansky or John Gotti, Hill was a hustling New York mob guy who wound up in the federal witness protection program and became the anti-hero of Martin Scorsese’s classic How much do you want to borrow? “Goodfellas.” $100,000 $150,000 Hill was only half-Italian—his mother was Sicilian, his father Irish—so he was never a made man.
    [Show full text]
  • Crime Network Will Find an Endless Source of Inspiration in Hill’S Account of Mafia Life
    Network News April 2010 Bedrock Game’s Bi-Monthly Newsletter Book Review Wise Guy by Nicholas Pillegi BY BRENDAN DAVIS Even if you haven’t read Wise Guy, there is a good chance you already know the story of Henry Hill. Martin Scorsese based his hit film “Goodfellas” on this 1985 tell-all book, and the movie remains one of the highest rated gangster films of all time. Anyone who enjoyed the movie will absolutely love the book and anyone who plays Crime Network will find an endless source of inspiration in Hill’s account of mafia life. Written by Nicholas Pileggi (who also wrote Goodfel- las), Wise Guy provides a street level view of life in the Lucchese crime family from the perspective of Henry Hill, a lowly associate. Hill Explains, in vivid detail, how crimes are committed, how people are murdered and how a crime family operates. He even explains how stolen goods are sold on the street. Reading the book is like being beside Hill as he greases hands and lights fires for Lucchese capo, Paul Vario. Henry’s narrative isn’t just a peephole into a rarely seen underworld of vice; criminal. The book’s author, Pileggi, describes Vario as it drags the reader into that world as deeply as Tolkein a someone who moved “in the lumbering manner of a drags the reader into Middle Earth. man who knew that people and events waited for him.... [h]e seemed invulnerable. deliberate. He exhorted the Pileggi does the right thing by keeping his ego in check sort of lethargy that sometimes accompanies absolute and allowing Henry Hill to tell the tale in mostly his power”.
    [Show full text]
  • Absent Presence: Women in American Gangster Narrative
    Absent Presence: Women in American Gangster Narrative Carmela Coccimiglio Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a doctoral degree in English Literature Department of English Faculty of Arts University of Ottawa © Carmela Coccimiglio, Ottawa, Canada, 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract iii Acknowledgements v Introduction 1 Chapter One 27 “Senza Mamma”: Mothers, Stereotypes, and Self-Empowerment Chapter Two 57 “Three Corners Road”: Molls and Triangular Relationship Structures Chapter Three 90 “[M]arriage and our thing don’t jive”: Wives and the Precarious Balance of the Marital Union Chapter Four 126 “[Y]ou have to fucking deal with me”: Female Gangsters and Textual Outcomes Chapter Five 159 “I’m a bitch with a gun”: African-American Female Gangsters and the Intersection of Race, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Conclusion 186 Works Cited 193 iii ABSTRACT Absent Presence: Women in American Gangster Narrative investigates women characters in American gangster narratives through the principal roles accorded to them. It argues that women in these texts function as an “absent presence,” by which I mean that they are a convention of the patriarchal gangster landscape and often with little import while at the same time they cultivate resistant strategies from within this backgrounded positioning. Whereas previous scholarly work on gangster texts has identified how women are characterized as stereotypes, this dissertation argues that women characters frequently employ the marginal positions to which they are relegated for empowering effect. This dissertation begins by surveying existing gangster scholarship. There is a preoccupation with male characters in this work, as is the case in most gangster texts themselves.
    [Show full text]
  • The Story of Henry Hill
    Bulletin of the Kenton County Historical Society Website: www.kentonlibrary.org Email: [email protected] P.O. Box 641, Covington, Kentucky 41012-0641 (859) 491-4003 January/February 2011 Daniel Henry Holmes Hall Ratcliff College - Cambridge, Massachusetts Other Stories Inside: How Well Do You Know Your Neighbor? The Story of Henry Hill Ronnin Einhaus Daniel Henry Holmes Hall Ratcliff College - Cambridge, Massachusetts Carol A. Hudson Upon graduating from Holmes High School, I thought I knew a little history about Daniel Henry Holmes. As students, we learned he had been the wealthy proprietor of D. H. Holmes Department Store in New Orleans, a local landowner, and patri- arch of an immensely successful family. Holmesdale, his estate in the south of Covington, was purchased in 1915 by the Covington School Board.1 The newly acquired thirty-two room mansion, “the Castle,” was used as the local high school until 1936. Much more was learned over the years, but only recently was the story of Daniel Henry Holmes Hall discovered. So how did Radcliffe College, and later Harvard University, become part of the story? Radcliffe was founded in 1879 as an institution devoted solely to educating young women. At first, the school was known as Harvard Annex but the name was changed to Radcliffe College in 1898. Merging of Radcliffe and Harvard started in 1963 with the conferring of joint diplomas. Both schools signed a formal merger agreement in 1977, but not until 1999 did the two fully integrate. With that agreement, Daniel Henry Georgine Holmes, circa 1860 courtesy Kenton County Public Library Holmes Hall became part of the Harvard University residential system.2 Through the guidance of both schools, Radcliffe College became Radcliffe Institute On March 8, 1950, The Harvard Crimson published for Advanced Study.3 the following description of Holmes Hall.
    [Show full text]
  • Fagidaboudit: the American Dream and Italian-American
    FAGIDABOUDIT: THE AMERICAN DREAM AND ITALIAN-AMERICAN GANGSTER MOVIES Justin V. Lamberti Except where reference is made to the work of others, the work described in this thesis is my own or was done in collaboration with my advisory committee. This thesis does not include proprietary or classified information. ______________________ Justin V. Lamberti Certificate of Approval: _________________________ _________________________ Susan L. Brinson J. Emmett Winn, Chair Professor Associate Professor Communication and Journalism Communication and Journalism _________________________ _________________________ George Plasketes Stephen L. McFarland Professor Acting Dean Communication and Journalism Graduate School FAGIDABOUDIT: THE AMERICAN DREAM AND ITALIAN-AMERICAN GANGSTER MOVIES Justin V. Lamberti A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Auburn University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Auburn, Alabama August 8, 2005 FAGIDABOUDIT: THE AMERICAN DREAM AND ITALIAN-AMERICAN GANGSTER MOVIES Justin V. Lamberti Permission is granted to Auburn University to make copies of this thesis at its discretion, upon request of individuals or institutions and at their expense. The author reserves all publication rights. _______________________ Signature of Author _______________________ Date iii VITA Justin V. Lamberti, son of Vincent and Cathy Lamberti, was born June 9, 1977, in Brooklyn, New York. Justin graduated from the Department of Communication at the University of Rhode Island in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a minor in Journalism. In 2003, Justin started his two years of study in the Department of Communication and Journalism at Auburn University. He graduated in August 2005 with his Master of Arts degree. iv THESIS ABSTRACT FAGIDABOUDIT: THE AMERICAN DREAM AND ITALIAN-AMERICAN GANGSTER MOVIES Justin V.
    [Show full text]
  • United States District Court Eastern District of Michigan Southern Division Henry Hill, Jemal Tipton, Damion Todd, Bobby Hines
    5:10-cv-14568-JCO-RSW Doc # 55 Filed 09/04/12 Pg 1 of 12 Pg ID 696 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION HENRY HILL, JEMAL TIPTON, DAMION TODD, BOBBY HINES, KEVIN BOYD, File No. 10-cv-14568 BOSIE SMITH, JENNIFER PRUITT, MATTHEW BENTLEY, KEITH MAXEY, GIOVANNI CASPER, JEAN CARLOS CINTRON, NICOLE DUPURE and DONTEZ TILLMAN, HON. JOHN CORBETT O’MEARA Plaintiffs, MAG. JUDGE R. STEVEN WHELAN v. RICK SNYDER, in his Official Capacity as Governor of the State of Michigan, DANIEL H. HEYNS, in his Official Capacity as Director, Michigan Department of Corrections, and TOMAS COMBS, in his Official Capacity as Chair, Michigan Parole Board, jointly and severally, Defendants. DEBORAH LaBELLE (P31595) MARGARET A. NELSON (P30342) 221 N. Main St., Ste. 300 ANN M. SHERMAN (P67762) Ann Arbor, MI 48104 CHRISTINA M. GROSSI (P67482 734.996.5620 JOSEPH T. FROEHLICH (P71887) Michigan Dept. of Attorney General STEVEN M. WATT Public Employment, Elections & Tort Division EZEKIEL R. EDWARDS P.O. Box 30736 American Civil Liberties Union Foundation Lansing, MI 48909 125 Broad St., 17th Floor 517.373.6434 New York, NY 10004 212.517.7870 Attorney for Defendants DANIEL S. KOROBKIN (P72842) MICHAEL J. STEINBERG (P43085) American Civil Liberties Union Fund of Michigan 2966 Woodward Ave. Detroit, MI 48201 313.578.6824 Attorneys for Plaintiffs _____________________________________________________________________________________________ PLAINTIFFS’ REPLY AND RESPONSE TO DEFENDANTS’ CROSS-MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT 5:10-cv-14568-JCO-RSW Doc # 55 Filed 09/04/12 Pg 2 of 12 Pg ID 697 Defendants concede Plaintiffs’ claim that Michigan’s mandatory sentencing scheme, and in particular M.C.L.
    [Show full text]
  • „Tony Soprano, a Menedzser” Maffia És Szervezeti Kiválóság
    Martin Parker „Tony Soprano, a menedzser” Maffia és szervezeti kiválóság „Minden nagy vagyon mögött bűn rejtőzik” (Balzac; Mario Puzo legismertebb regénye, A Keresztapa mottója). Bevezetés A maffi a összehasonlítását különböző gazdasági szervezetekkel mindig bizonyos mérté- kű hezitálás előzi meg. A narrátor megteremti az „analógiát”, aztán moralizálásba hátrál, meghagyva a „valódi” üzlet és az ördögi maffi a szétválasztását. Természetesen, ha egy ál- lítás analogikus státusa feledésbe merül, fennáll a veszély, hogy hibásan, tényként kezeljük – s akkor hová jutunk? Egy ehhez hasonló zűrzavar egészen biztosan a komoly elemzés út- jában fog állni. Hiszen, amikor elkészül az alapos elemzés, esetleg arra a következtetésre juthatunk, hogy a maffi a tulajdonképpen egy konvencionális üzleti szervezet. Ez a cikk különböző kulturális forrásokat használ fel annak érdekében, hogy megfogal- mazzon néhány állítást. Az egyik, hogy a maffi a egy üzleti szervezet, méghozzá olyan szerve- zet, amely a munkának egy széles körben nagyra becsült változatát valósítja meg. Jóformán a magánszektor összes más szervezetével ellentétben az amerikai maffi a az 1970-es évek óta ünnepelt jelenség a populáris kultúrában.1 A munka és a szabadidő kombinációja, az izgal- Forrás: Tony Soprano on Management. Th e Mafi a and organizational excellence. Journal of Cultural Economy 2(3): 379–392. © Martin Parker. Hungarian translation © Replika. A fordítást az eredetivel egybevetette és lektorálta Huszár Ákos. 1 E nagyvonalú kijelentés részletesebb bizonyításához lásd Parker könyvének (2002) hetedik fejezetét. Szintén meg kell jegyeznünk, hogy ez a cikk elsősorban az Egyesült Államokkal és Szicíliával foglalkozik. Sok más üzleti szervezet létezik, melyeket ma „maffi aként” emlegetnek, és amelyek szervezeti struktúrája és üzleti gyakorlatai között számos hasonlóság és különbség van.
    [Show full text]
  • Dennis Nilsen, Squartatore Per Solitudine
    .jsA-t^aaa* i..^vaic«aa'E3K8ssaa'ici*3Hi CULI UNA E SPETTACOLI Il regista presenta in concorso «Goodfellas » XLVN MOSTRA Il programma INTERNAZIONALE OGCI VENEZIA XLVII con Robert De Niro. «Storia d'un adolescente Sala Grande del Palazzo del Cinema ore 17 15-LA LUNA ENELESPEJO (La luna nello specchio) D'ARIE di Silvio Calozzl (Cile) che sogna di diventare padrino » Oie20 00-ITARASSACHI di F Ranieri Martinetti R Monellltl aNEMATOGRAFKA eF Ottaviano (Italia fuori concorso) ore 22 45 - GOODFELLAS (Ouel bravi ragazzi» Dall'Inghilterra «La fredda luce del giorno » di Manin Scorsese (Usa) Arena ore 20 30 - LA LUNA EN EL ESPEJO COQOFELLAS SETTIMANA DELLA CRITICA Sala Grande del Palazzo del Cinema ore 15 00 - COLO LICHT OF DAV(La fredda luce del giorno) di Fhlona Louise (Gran Bretagna) Sala Volpi RETROSPETTIVA ore 9 00 - LETCIKI, 1*35 (Aviatori) di Julij Raizman (Urss) OMAGGI E DOCUMENTI Sala Grande del Palazzo del Cinema ore 11 30-THE RAINBOW THIEF (Il ladro di arcobaleni) di Alejandro Jodorowsky (Gran Brolaona) DOMANI VENEZIA XLVII Sala Grande del Palazzo del Cinema ore 17 15 - KAWASHIMA YOSHIKO di Fong Lino Chino (Hong Kong fuori concorso) ore 20 00 - SPIELER (Giocatori) di Dominik Graf (Germania) ore 22 45 - ROSENCRANTZ AND QUILOESTERN ARE DEAD (Rosencrantz e Gulldestern sono morti) di Tom Stoppard (Gran Bretagna) Arena Un'immagine ore 20 30 - ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDESTERN ARE DEAD di «Goodtellas» SPIELER che sarà SETTIMANA DELLA CRITICA presentato Sala Grande del Palazzo del Cinema oggi ore 15 00 - HE'S STILLTHERE (Lui e ancora II) Sotto, dlHalldanO HusaletUsa) il regista HETROSPETTIVA Martin Sala Volpi Scorsesecon ore9 00 - MOJA RODINA, 1933 (La mia parola) di losltctiejflce AleksandrZarehl (Urss) Giorgio ore 20 30-MOJA RODINA Armani OMAOOIE DOCUMENTI A sinistra, Sala Grande del Palazzo del cinema «Martha ed io» ora 11 30 - V07 LA PEOR DE TODAS (lo? La peggiore di tutte) diJIrlWeiss di Maria Luisa Bomberò (Argentina) Taccuino veneziano I bravi ragazzi di Scorsese Il tempo wm VENEZIA.
    [Show full text]
  • Centrespread Centrespread 15 OCTOBER 25-31, 2015 OCTOBER 25-31, 2015
    14 centrespread centrespread 15 OCTOBER 25-31, 2015 OCTOBER 25-31, 2015 GOODFELLAS, Pulling a Fast One 25 YEARS LATER On October 19, former Italian-American mobster Vincent Asaro, 80, went on trial in Brooklyn for his role in the 1978 robbery of over $6 million in cash and jewellery from a A fi lm which Lufthansa Airlines cargo building at the John F Kennedy Airport in New York. The incident constantly battles was immortalised by Martin Scorsese’s epic gangster fl ick Goodfellas which had, as key The Godfather and The Godfather II characters, some of those involved in the heist. The heist is one among several in the last in the minds of few decades which have left investigators and the public incredulous. ET Magazine takes cinephiles for the a look at these infamous heists and Goodfellas itself, for this year is its 25th anniversary title of the ‘greatest gangster fi lm ever’, :: G Seetharaman Goodfellas revived director Martin Scorsese’s career, when it came out in September 1990 as well as the careers of Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro. The LUFTHANSA ABN AMRO fi lm is based on the book Wiseguy by Nicolas Pileggi, who wrote the screenplay with Scorsese. Narrating the Allegedly planned by tale of Henry Hill, a Lucchese family associate, from his Asaro, a member of the rise as a mobster to his turn as an FBI informant, the Bonanno crime family, and fi lm had De Niro playing a role based on Jimmy Burke James Burke, a Lucchese and Pesci portraying a character based on Tommy family associate DeSimone who was involved in the Lufthansa heist.
    [Show full text]
  • Wiseguy Book Waterstones
    Wiseguy book waterstones Continue Carla's second is elusive, dangerous and beautiful, whose passions are driven by secrets that torment her and yet give her terrible power. Burning slums and five-star hotels, romantic love and prison torment, crime wars and Bollywood movies, spiritual gurus and guerrilla mujahideen this huge novel has a world of human experience in its reach, and a passionate love for India in its heart. Based on the author's life, this is, in any case, the debut of an extraordinary voice in the literature Of Ice: First in the series of novels by Emile Sink-Mars, the City of Ice portrays Montreal as a schizoid landscape, outlined in language, a playground of Russian criminals and American spies and a tough place for police officers4. The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow's Winslows novel chronicles the first 30 years of the U.S. war on drugs. Epic in every sense, the book exposes the violence, futility and hypocrisy of politics, and made all the more startling its grounding into true events. But this is much more than a fictional expose of recent history; As in The Godfather, it's the personal relationship that drives the narrative as the friendship between DEA agent Art Keller and drug lord Miguel Angel Barrera breaks up into a blood feud. Wiseguy Nicholas PileggiAdapted by Martin Scorsese as the film Goodfellas, Pileggis account of the life of gangster Henry Hill was the starting point for a modern gangster image. The book set a template for everything that followed - from Casino and Donnie Brasco to actually The Sopranos.Lets turn now to the mafia life of Federico Varese, which you've already mentioned as a good starting point to explore about the mafia.
    [Show full text]
  • Melodramas of Ethnicity and Masculinity: Generic
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Oregon Scholars' Bank MELODRAMAS OF ETHNICITY AND MASCULINITY: GENERIC TRANSFORMATIONS OF LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY AMERICAN FILM GANGSTERS by LARISSA ENNIS A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of English and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment for the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 2012 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Larissa Ennis Title: Melodramas of Ethnicity and Masculinity: Generic Transformations of Late Twentieth Century American Film Gangsters This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of English by: Dr. Kathleen Karlyn Chair Dr. Michael Aronson Member Dr. Elizabeth Wheeler Member Dr. Janet Wasko Outside Member and Kimberly Andrews Espy Vice President for Research and Innovation/Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded March 2012 ii © 2012 Larissa Ennis iii DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Larissa Ennis Doctor of Philosophy Department of English March 2012 Title: Melodramas of Ethnicity and Masculinity: Generic Transformations of Late Twentieth Century American Film Gangsters The gangster film genre in America has enjoyed a long history, from the first one- reelers The Silver Wedding and The Black Hand in 1906, through a rich classical period in the 1930s, and more recently transitioning onto television in series like The Sopranos (1999-2007) and Boardwalk Empire (2010-present). The most remarkable characteristics of the gangster genre are its ethnically or racially non-white protagonist and the tendency for the gangster to experience an identity-challenging loss.
    [Show full text]
  • Henry Hill, Mobster and Movie Inspiration, Dies at 69
    Henry Hill, Mobster of ‘Goodfellas,’ Dies at 69 - T... https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/nyregion/he... https://nyti.ms/NzfSF7 N.Y. / REGION Henry Hill, Mobster and Movie Inspiration, Dies at 69 By MARGALIT FOX JUNE 13, 2012 Henry Hill, an associate in the Luchese organized-crime family whose decision to turn federal informer, and subsequent itinerant life in and out of the federal witness protection program, inspired Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed film “Goodfellas,” died on Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 69 and had lived openly in Topanga, Calif., in recent years. He had previously lived — far less openly — in Seattle; Cincinnati; Omaha; Butte, Mont.; and Independence, Ky., among many other places, as well as in the United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pa. His death, in a hospital, came after a series of health problems that included heart disease and the toll of years of heavy smoking, his fiancée, Lisa Caserta, said. A native New Yorker of half-Irish, half-Sicilian parentage, Mr. Hill was involved with the Luchese family, considered the most powerful of the city’s original five Mafia families, from his youth in the 1950s until 1980. That year, arrested on drug-trafficking charges and facing the prospect of a long prison term, to say nothing of possible execution by his former bosses, Mr. Hill became a government witness against his past associates. His testimony in multiple trials helped send dozens of people to prison. 1 of 5 12/1/19, 5:19 PM Henry Hill, Mobster of ‘Goodfellas,’ Dies at 69 - T... https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/nyregion/he..
    [Show full text]