Chris Blatchford's The Black Hand

The documentary titled “Code Black” by Ryan McGarry is about his experiences while he was a resident at LA County General. Code Black in the medical world means a patient is in a cardiac arrest and suffering so greatly that it requires many physicians, nurses, and a whole team of providers trying to save a patient. The entire documentary is based on what LA County General hospital is all about or even maybe other Emergency room hospital setting.

Sonia Nazario tells a personal story in her 2007 novel, Enrique's Journey, and one in which a young Honduran boy places his life at risk in order to reach the United States and be with his mother. The main characters are Enrique, his grandmother, his girlfriend Maria Isabel, his sister Belky and the mother. Enrique’s mother, Lourdes, had to make the painful decision a mother could make, she had to leave her son because of the poverty in Honduras. Her plan was that once she was in America, she would send money for both her children, Enrique and his sister. Her son becomes resentful and turns to drugs, and then, at the age of seventeen, finally resolves to somehow make the journey and be with the mother who so inexplicably vanished.

Notably, the film Goodfellas is a classic film that is recognized as one of the greatest films of all time in regards to the crime genre. Indeed, the film Goodfellas is about American citizens who partake in criminal activity in order to make money. Furthermore, another film was made, shortly after Goodfellas achieved great success in the box office. Additionally, another film titled “The Real Goodfella” is the uncensored documentary explaining the reality behind Goodfellas, and gives a practical insight of the real dangers that could not be shown in Goodfellas. Also there are two articles that explain the explicit truth behind the criminal activity that mobsters justify as work. These sources show that mobsters have a hard time. Mobsters classify as above working class because they constantly have to steal, murder, and deal drugs just to stay alive and have money.

Gregory Boyle, the author, said, “A spacious and undefended heart finds room for everything you are and carves space for everybody else.” In the novel, actual accounts from gang members evoke heartfelt and sincere feelings. Additionally, their life experiences widen my outlook on the gang members. The harsh circumstances each individual experienced was heartbreaking and miserable. Men and women are unable to escape their past incidents without Gregory Boyle’s help. Gregory Boyle, a courageous and sincere person, was able to transform people’s lives dramatically. The gang member’s realization to change evokes blissful and content feelings. Overall, the factual stories of the gang members were genuine and cordial.

The main characters are reversals of the negative ways Chicanos had been positioned within the dominant regimes of representation. Baugh (1996: 29) explains Valdez’s own opinion that – ‘the experience of Chicano gangs could easily be explained away by socioeconomic and political interpretations but that kind of explanation robs the gang of its

The “Goodfellas” movie is a movie about the life of a gangster growing up in the New York Mafia. A young man name Henry, ever since he was a young boy always wanted to be in the Mafia. Henry grew up on the streets with the Mafia wanting to be like them because no would ever mess with them and they could park wherever they wanted and not get a ticket. The movie itselfs had showed the mafias subculture and shows all their norms, values, and also their deviant lifestyle throughout the movie. The people around and in the Mafia are part of a subculture where there are certain people who are considered criminals and can protect anyone that can’t or is not allowed to go to the cops to snitch.

This novel revolves around a love story between two Latino teenagers, Maribel Rivera and Mayor Toro. The Rivera’s, coming from Mexico, have come to America in search for a better life for their daughter, Maribel, who had previously fallen off a ladder at her father’s construction site back in Mexico causing her to be mentally slow. They wanted Maribel to receive the best special education possible. As time continues Maribel and her parents develop throughout the book. Their experiences impact their behavior and steer them throughout the book.

No not the thugs who are killing off each other in the ghetto, over who owns which street. I am talking about the blue-collar gangsters, the Al Capone’s, John Gotti’s and Carlos Gambino’s of the world. The mob bosses who seem to do whatever they want and walk away freely, in the end having a bigger payday than doctors and lawyers. It’s the ambiance in which most men including myself find very intriguing. This exact ordeal is what the film Goodfellas illustrates, hitting every detail to a "t". An example can be found in this quote "Anything I wanted was a phone call away, free cars, the keys to a dozen hideouts all over the city. I bet twenty to thirty grand over a weekend and then I 'd either blow the winnings in a week or go to the sharks and pay back the bookies". As most can clearly interpret he is living the "good life" off of committing crime and never paying for it The notion of stealing what you want, killing off whoever got in your way, then paying off the police to get away with your heist, then making top dollar off of it is very alluring to people. I believe mainly because its it easier to do such acts of immorality rather than to attend college, which only racks up debt, then on top of that college is not easy by any means, along with having to go to school for 5 or more years just to hope that you’re lucky enough to get a job. It doesn’t sound so exciting nor appealing when I put it like that. It seems much more fun to do whatever

As the only American inmate in the infamous “El Pueblito” Mexican prison which resembles more to a small village of convicts rather than a usual prison, the driver quickly gets the nickname “The Gringo” and finds out first hand how rough it is to be a stranger in the perilous world of Javi, the ruthless crime lord who

James Cone postulated that “to be black is to be a human in a condition of social oppression involving the affirming in which the oppressor regarded as degrading”. In addition to this, cone argued that society has misinterpreted the meaning of black due to the fact that society is a institution ran by ‘white’ people. Blackness is not “criminality” in fact “black is … beautiful; oppressors have made it ugly.” James Cone defines the oppressor to be ‘white’, he argues that the oppressors are homogenous as they impose their beliefs on ‘black’ people. For example attending the opera in James Cones perspective is seen as a ‘white’ agenda. Furthermore, ‘white’ people are those who force ‘black’

Throughout a long semester of reading, I think one book stands out as the best, The Chosen. In my opinion, the relatable story made the book much more enjoyable, due to my Jewish friends and my admiration of the resilient Jewish faith. Next, I liked reading the book because of its deep-rooted characters; I never had to guess as to how they felt or about their weighty history. Lastly, Chaim Potok used expert literary styles, like exhibiting the thoughts od the characters, which made his book quite entertaining to read. I liked The Chosen, by Chaim Potok, the most out of all the books I read this semester because of the relatable story, fully developed characters and expert writing style.

Listen. The sound of the blood rusted chainsaw roars over the eerie silence that plagues the yard. Feel. Rough brick massaging the back of a bald middle-aged man. See. A crimson splatter-painted corpse on the fresh, sticky licorice colored pavement. Smell. The fresh blood oozing out of a rogue head that had been rolled across the alleyway. Taste. The irony tar like saliva laced with blood as you wait for the masked man to steal all sense from your body (Beith n. pag.). With the increasing influence of Mexican drug cartels, all impoverished citizens become subject to violent hate crimes against the government. The government 's lack of control over their people, criminal justice system, and economics demonstrates the instability plaguing Mexican borders. The Mexican government must rise together to legalize marijuana in foreign countries, increase safety in underprivileged communities, and better organize the government in order to save thousands of innocent civilians from horrific chainsaw massacres.

America’s obsessions with the mafia and mafia-style films have existed for decades. The ability for an audience to connect on a deep level with a character of shady morals and seedy behavior is a requirement for gangster films to be successful. Hollywood has been able to successfully take real life mobsters and make them larger than life on the big screen. Though not all mafia films created are taken directly from real life, most movies have some essence of reality buried within the plot. To understand this obsession with the mafia, it is necessary to understand the beginning of the Mafia’s presence in America.

Moccio’s introduces a book called El Narco. He starts off by telling us how the book is so detailed it gives “on your edge feel”. The author risked his life and others just to put together this dramatic war on drug story from Mexico. Moccio uses a lot of descriptive words to help get a feel of the story line. He gives direct quotes from the book to make his point on how dangerous the situation is in Mexico. He backlashes at the author for using Spanish vocabulary, stating “it make reading more challenging”. What would a story about Mexico be without using some direct terms they actually do use on a daily bases? The best part of this essay was when he got to the research part. It seemed to flow better than his review of the book itself. He explained

Enrique’s mission to assassinate the chief of police is a failed individual quest. The camera distorts the viewers’ senses and “moves with fundamental autonomy from the protagonist” to convey the futility of the individual against the formidable political establishment (Oukaderova, 70). He loses his sense of direction when he acts independent of his