Gangs Of New York Essay

     The movie begins in New York, in 1843, with a gang fight. Bill “the butcher” Cutting’s gang of “nativists” have challenged the “dead rabbits” (a gang of mostly Irish immigrants) to a fight to settle once and for all who is the most powerful gang in the area. After an intense battle the “nativists” win by killing the leader of the “dead rabbits”, also Amsterdam’s (the main character’s) father.

In society today, there is a major problem We live in a society where gangs are taking over our neighborhoods in numbers. It is the responsibility of the individuals to part take in getting their neighborhoods back under control. Gangs are becoming a growing problem in American society. More young people are turning to gangs to solve problems in their lives or for acceptance. When youths join gangs, they drop all their social activities with school, family, and friends. However, individuals ruin their lives, and the chances of them having a decent education, and a successful life by getting involved in gang activity.

Gangs of New York (2002), a bold and violent movie directed by Martin Scorsese takes us back to a New York without skyscrapers and modern-day lavishes that shows the rise of violent gang power and political corruption. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis, the film features a personal struggle placed within the context of gang warfare between Nativists and immigrants, which is set in the larger context of the Draft Riots and the Civil War. It is a reconstructed historical narrative that uses interlocking events filled with gang violence and political corruption to show how the modern New York was born.

At the start of the movie, there are two of the many gangs in the five points prepping for a brawl to see who would control the five points. Amsterdam Vallon walks with his father, the leader of the Dead Rabbits Gang, to Paradise square where the brawl would take place. Bill “The Butcher” Cutting, the leader of the Bowery Boys, leads his gang to the square. The fight ensues Bill has eventually killed Priest Vallon which ensured that the Bowery boys would control five points. Amsterdam is sent away, he returns years later from prison. He wants revenge for his father’s death years earlier, he knows he has to defeat Bill from the inside so he joins Bill as his assistant. Amsterdam falls for smart thief Jenny. Amsterdam tries to kill Bill, but fails and is wounded by Bill. Jenny nurses him back to health. Amsterdam publicly announces his return to five points by hanging a dead rabbit in the square, Bill sends a gang member to investigate and is killed by Amsterdam and hung in the square. In vengeance, Bill beats Johnny and puts him on a pike in the square forcing Amsterdam to put down suffering Johnny. Amsterdam challenges Bill to a duel in the square just as a riot breaks out, and the military is sent in to control the rioters, Bill is wounded from cannon shrapnel. Amsterdam kills Bill, Amsterdam then leaves with Jenny and they move together to San Francisco.

Picture Manhattan in 1860, a time before the city had been dolled up and gotten ready for the silver screen, before the glamour and allure took over. Amsterdam Vallan (DiCaprio) is a young Irish man that migrates to the USA at a young age. Amsterdam’s story takes place in Five Points District of New York, a filthy and dangerous part of the city before it was deleted form history. As a young boy Vallan witnessed his father’s murder at the hand of William Cutting or Bill the Butcher (Day-Lewis) during one of their many gang wars. As Amsterdam’s story progresses along side The Butcher they become inseparable, but Amsterdam had ulterior motive. Ultimately, Amsterdam attempts to betray his new found ally in order to avenge his father’s death.

“You can hire half the poor to kill the other half.” Boss Tweed spoke these words in reference to the Draft Riots. It shows that you can easily turn the poor against each other, if you bring money into the situation. Gangs of New York is about the separation of the Irish and the Natives, which eventually led into larger conflicts. In this film there are two important characters, Amsterdam Vallon and Boyle McGloin, who were both Irishmen in the Five Points. Amsterdam was the son of Priest Vallon and he became a positive Irish Leader who was looked up to by many. Boyle McGloin was an Irishmen who was a Dead Rabbit, but later joined Bill “The Butcher” Cutting and became a “Native”. The character

THE GANGS OF NEW YORK, written by Herbert Asbury, was used as the basis for the movie GANGS of NEW YORK, a gangster film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio. Filmed in Rome, Gangs covers a period of New York City's history, from the 1840's through to the bloody Draft Riots of 1863, at a time when graft and corruption permeated every level of government including the police department.

Chicago has the biggest gang problem in the country (Thomas & Bass, 2009). “There are more gang members per citizen in Chicago than anywhere else in the country” (Thomas, 2009, para 4). The average Chicago gang leader is 43, convicted of murder and lives in the suburbs. That leader on many occasions directs his gang from jail (Main, 2006) and 95 percent of inmates in the Cook County Jail are gang members (Thomas, 2009). Gangs are everywhere today just like they use to be. The high number of gangs causes violence and deaths to rise in Chicago.

Gangs have been occupied New York City for hundreds of years. In the 1950s, the city saw a rise of Latino immigrants from Latin America, the Caribbean, and notably Puerto Rico as well as a rise in gang violence. Leonard Bernstein’s musical West Side Story uses the real-world subject of gang warfare in New York City to depict a modern-day adaptation of Romeo and Juliet by playing into the ethnic divide between the two gangs, but in doing so it simultaneously acts as a medium through which the uninformed public can learn about the culture of the gangs from this time.

Directed by the legendary director Martin Scorsese, along with splendid performances of the duo Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day - Lewis, Gangs of New York is an excellent film illustrated the chaotic peril of 1860s New York City based on actual historical events. Build upon the nonfiction novel by Herbert Asbury, The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld, the movie depicted the conflict between the Americans and the Irish immigrants due to the rising wave of immigration to America. Although the movie is overall very intriguing, and gave an in-depth insight into the modern gang of New York City in the 19th century, it omits certain events in history for the purpose of entertainment.

“American Gangster” is based on the true story of Frank Lucas’ life. It is the story of how he cut out the middleman in the heroin business and the story of how Ritchie Roberts caught him. Throughout the film we see the parallel between a cop and a criminal as we inch forward to see their lives finally meet.

In The Gangs of New York, directed by Martin Scorsese, was released on December 20, 2002. In the film, it is based on a story by Herbert Asbury where William Poole (Bill the Butcher) was an affiliate of the New York branch of that organization, which is also called the “know nothing” party and was also the head of his own West Side gang.

An evolution of society occurred with the dawn of the twentieth century, an undeniably American progression. With a sudden introduction to technologies only just tangible, Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone in 1876 and Henry Ford’s car in 1908 amongst a few of these newly invented accomplishments, divisions in wealth and subsequently class became even more distinguished than before. An exodus to the urban landscape had begun at the turn of the century, “between 1880 and 1920 the proportion of Americans living in urban centres grew from 26 to 51 percent” (Lewis, 3), and as the melting pot of New York grew under the divided class system and overwhelming industrial progress crime inevitably took a hold in the streets and behind closed doors. D.W Griffiths borns into the world the first ever gangster movie, an “urban folk take” (Merritt, 161) that was “intended to portray the evil of the gangster in New York.” (Merritt, 158). Created a social expose Griffiths gangster movie takes an intimate snapshot of the streets of the urban jungle and gives the audience a reality they didn’t realise they were living.

In the opening scene of Gangs of New York we see two rival gangs in the slums of Five Points; paired against one another. One gang is led by amsterdam’s father-portrayed as Liam Neeson- and the other by a man with a dark and unique mustache, who is later known as “Bill the Butcher”. The gangs begin an all out war and many characters are shown violently dying and bleeding profusely. Liam Neeson is slain at the hands of Bill the Butcher. We see Mr. Vallon’s son -portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio- watching the battle intensely. We watch as the boy, Amsterdam, sees his father die on the battlefield.

I'm not really supposed to walk alone but I couldn't wait for my brothers Sodapop or Darry to get home from work. They talk about getting jumped by the Socs who are west side rich kids pretty much. We're greasers, lower than middle class, and crazier too. But oh well, I like walking. But then I saw a red car. I was almost home so maybe if I walk a little faster, it'll help. I've never been jumped before I hope this isn't it. Oh no...they got me. They are threatening to cut my hair off. They are holding a blade against my throat. Suddenly all the Socs leave and I hear Darry asking if I'm alright. Apparently I got a little cut up and Darry made me put a band-aid on it. The whole gang was worried about me. They were asking about what they did and saying it won't happen again. Let me tell you about my family and my gang. So my dad and mom died and now all I have is Darry and Sodapop who are my brothers. Darry is pretty uptight and doesn't like me. Sodapop is the best! He's caring and understanding. I could tell him anythin. Now my gang...lets start with Two-Bit Mathews. He's the