The Stereotypes Of Organized Crime

Hollywood scripts and television programming are filled with storylines of crime and criminal justice. The viewing public consumes crime

Crime is a timeless component of society. For as long as humans have existed among each other, crime has coincided. Throughout time, crime has taken many different forms, some much more subtle than others. Alphonse Capone, a first generation American-Italian born in Brooklyn, would dramatically redefine the nature of criminality. Al Capone was a notorious Chicago mob boss who played a crucial role in the Chicago Outfit as well as the bootlegging industry. Throughout his rise to power in the Chicago, Capone took part in many nefarious dealings that culminated in the creation of a undisputed “King of Crime” until his death in 1947. However, Capone is a timeless figure, his impact on Chicago and influence he’s had on the world of crime, continues to live on.

3. Characterize the initiation ritual. How do you think it compares to the “real” ritual – if such a ritual exists?

Pop culture media, like Law and Order, has a way of showing people how crime is portrayed. Case (2013), mentions that past studies about the representation of crime in the media has increasingly shown fear to the public and portraying unrealistic standards of how crime is in the real world. Media likes to exaggerate how things truly are in the real world, which is why people believe what the media portrays. People will believe that everything they see in a television show can truly happen in the real world, which certain things can happen but not everything. If people end up believing in how the media portrays crime then people will be living in fear of their society being more violent than it actually is (Case, 2013).

Statistics such as this suggest that defendants who possess traits perceived to be stereotypical of a person of color such as a broad nose, thick lips or a substantially darker complexion, are more likely to receive the death penalty compared to white counterparts accused of committing the same

For instance, it has been argued that news media is primarily concerned with reporting on white-collar individuals or corporate defendants that readers or viewers will have heard of, such as celebrities or notable individuals in society (Jewkes 2004, 49; Levi 2006, 1044; Levi 2009, 60). This concern leads to the focus of agency in the portrayal of white-collar crime, rather than the depiction of the structural embeddedness of crime within the organisation culture. Moreover, past study has shown that majority of white-collar crime portrayal in the news media has focused on crimes of individuals and their punishment, in order to minimise the negative publicity of corporations (Benediktsson 2010, 2202-2203). The news coverage of white-collar crime has been selective (Stephenson-Burton 1995, 137), as seen in the higher coverage of white-collar crime stories involving well-known individuals. Therefore, the element of dramatisation is constructed through the ways individuals are represented in the media, by focusing on the lifestyle and wealth of the offenders, generated from the crime they

Gangs have many stereotypes, stereotypes on how gangs work and the structure behind them. The other major stereotype is the focus on criminal behavior, and the blaming of gangs for criminal acts (Moore). The research on gangs and drugs is small, because not many people have been able to infiltrate the gangs and make gang members speak (Kobler). The police and the media make the public afraid of the gangs because of the drugs and the violence. The media shows the gangs in a terrible light to attract better audiences. What is known about gangs, is almost all heard from the media and the police who essentially blow the event out of proportion and make it look worse than what it actually is (Moore). Al Capone was seen as a violent man

Many times, the media is the main cause in contributing and encouraging the creation of crime myths. The mass media have responsibilities to update the public on the activities occurring domestically and internationally. Stories or reports have to grab the attention of viewers and often times this is accomplished through methods of dramatizing and sensationalizing stories. Instead of stating solely fact, mass media reports have become bias opinions, allowing for it to evolve into more of an entertainment business rather than news.

During the early 1900s, specifically the 1920s, organizations involved in sophisticated crime arose and lived on for decades, influencing American progress and culture. These organizations came to be known as the American Mafia, the Italian Mafia, or the Italian Mob. These “families”, as they were called, sprung up in large cities all across the United States. The mob progressed quickly in America, developing from the simplest of crimes to methodical, organized illegal activity. The method of structure and the emphasis of loyalty and secrecy made insiders of the mob very susceptible to exploitation by the local police and federal government agencies, many instances of which were eventually revealed to the public. The mafia, while still around today, fell in prominence and importance in the eyes of the American government and its people. The major time frame of relevance for the American Mafia is about 1920-2001.

There is a plethora of crime related movies, TV shows, video games, etc. Violent portrayals of crime are everywhere. As most Americans do not have any personal experience with the criminal justice system, public knowledge of how it operates comes mostly from the media. Dowler (2003) did a study on the relationship between consumption of such media and fear of being victimized by crime. He found that there is, in fact, a relationship and people who consume more of this media are more afraid of crime. “Regular viewers of crime shows are more likely to fear or worry about crime. Similarly, regular crime drama viewers are more likely to hold negative attitudes toward police effectiveness.” (Dowler,

The American Mafia in Chicago is different from the American Mafia in New York in that the Outfit has continuously been a compliant venture with other groups and there is a lack of independent entrepreneurs. The Outfit is an Italian-American crime organization. The Outfit has habitually been structured on the origin of separate street crews connected with particular geographic areas. Each Outfit crew is composed of made guys and associates who are said to be “connected.” The street boss and his lieutenants, if they are of Italian heritage, are made guys. Everyone else linked to the crew is an associate. Also, in Chicago, made guys hold supervisory status. For the most part, each street crew, acts freely of the other crews and each street boss,

Television has become a vital aspect of daily life, within modern society; every aspect of television exhibits, to a certain extent, a reliance on genre (Mittell, 2001). Industries rely on genre to produce programs, and audiences use genres as a means of organizing fan practices (Mittell, 2001). According to a 2006 Nelson Media Research study, ratings confirm that aside from prime time shows such as American Idol and Survivor, part-time crime drama’s have been classified as one of the most favoured genre (DeTardo-Bora, pg. 154, 2009). The relationship between the media and criminal justice system is delicate, where more often than not, crimes are portrayed in a false light (Graveline, pg. 1, 2015). These misconceptions lead to

The topic of this paper is gangsters in organized crime can either work alone or work with other gangsters. When people commit crimes with other criminals, their personal ties to each other become strong when there is especially trust or there could be no trust, however, those ties can become strong at some point.

The newsworthiness criteria of dramatisation and personalisation that regulate the construction of news have caused the underrepresentation of white-collar crime coverage, alongside with the narration of the lifestyle of the offenders instead of the crime and sufferings of the victims. This is due to the lack of moral panic created by white-collar crime, and the difficulty in creating ‘folk devil’s images due to the ambiguity in the victims. The simplification criteria also caused the positioning of white-collar crime news in the business press, which lead to this area of crime going unnoticed by the general viewers. The entertainment media objective to provide sensation for the audiences has glossed over the explanation on the consequences of the crime for people and society, leading to the glamourisation of the crime. The genre of comedy used in film has enabled the downplaying of the severity of white-collar crime.

In essence, this paper will outline two significant themes related to crime and the effect of media explored in the film. Most notably, the nature of crime and criminality is explored thoroughly. Specifically, the effect limited opportunities and racial stereotyping can have on promoting an individual down a path of crime. Particular attention will be given to a scene in which a youthful fox wishes to join a prey-dominant Boy Scout troop, only to be rejected and humiliated because he is a predator. Furthermore, the concept of a moral panic caused by media news reporting is displayed excellently in a montage scene in which prey are scared of predators as the media reports that aggression and criminality is in their nature. Finally, I will critique how these issues are communicated in a neo-noir