Versions of the 'Gangs of New York': A Comparative Analysis

     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.

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.

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.

This week I read chapter 5 of American street gangs (old book) Tim Deleany mentioned 3 points of what happens inside a gang that many don’t know, the first point is the categories they have based on the age the recruits are, the second point is the categories they are placed in depending on the activities they are involved, the third point is the process that involves the recruitment, punishment, and leaving the gang. At the conclusion of the paper I would be providing an experience my uncle went through when he was leaving the gang.

Have you ever been so into a book you couldn't put it down? Well, if you enjoy a good book I suggest The Outsiders by S.E Hinton. The Outsiders starts in a small town, in this town there were two gangs the socs and the greasers. The socs were rich and lived on the north side, they all had nice cars and lots of money. On the other hand there was the greasers, they weren't as rich as the socs and didn't have as nice of cars, or houses, or even clothes.”Greasers will still be greasers and Socs will still be Socs. Sometimes I think it’s the ones in the middle that are really the lucky stiffs”(Hinton, ch. 7) Gangs are a huge problem in the US and in this book it shows it.

The theory that I found goes best with “Gangs of New York” is Strain Theory. This paper will focus on Strain Theory as the main theory of this movie. This movie also incorporates theories like conflict, Social Learning, and Social Disorganization theories. Robert Merton’s Strain theory states that social strain arises because; culture over emphasizes the goal, and maintains that goal can be achieved by all, but social structure limits the ability to achieve these goals legitimately. (Notes) Basically saying that everyone wants to achieve one thing, and that one thing is the “American Dream”. This ideology asserts that all people have an equal chance to gain wealth. But in the capitalist society that we live in makes it nearly impossible for the average Joe to succeed. People who are wealthy stay wealthy and those who are poor, must resort to other means to gain wealth. This could involve theft, selling drugs, illegal gambling, prostitution, …etc. With this in mind, people who are at the bottom are going to take

“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

“Gangs have morphed from social organizations into full-fledged criminal enterprises” (Thomas, 2009, para 5). Gangs are highly sophisticated and more dangerous then ever. The number one reason to join a gang is money; and 95 percent of gangs profit comes from drug dealing

Ever thought that there could be something worth more in a person than the things they have? In the realistic fiction novel The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, gangs are a major role in the aspect of high and low in the society. The Socs are considered elite because of their wealth and the Greasers are considered lessened. The two gangs are always looking for a good fight especially the Socs. In a result to this, it remains rare for a Soc to get along with a Greaser. Cherry finds herself drawn to the fact that she can express herself more conversing with the Greasers. Cherry has a boyfriend Bob because as a Soc that is the type of Boyfriend expected of her to have. She adds that she could fall in love with Dally, she is attracted to his out take on life and his bad boy personality. She admires that he does not have to pretend to be someone else.

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.

Hello my readers, I know you must have been surprised when you saw this review on the listing of our website, movies.nytimes.com. But only six and a half years ago a movie came out which did not generate outstanding revenue in the box office, being released domestically and only earring $3,090,862. I assume those of you who did see the movie in 2002 have probably forgotten about it by now, and I was not working for the New York Times, so I would like to revisit this film. It is an interpretation of a true story of three young men in Harlem, New York during the 1980s and their rise and fall in the drug dealing business. The actor who plays Mitch in the film (who portrays the true story of Alberto

The films Gangs of New York and Far and Away are both similar and different. For example, both films depict a similar time period, but in a different location. The main characters in both movies have a similar heritage, but are a bit different personality-wise. Finally, in the beginning of the films, the main character wants revenge. However, Far and Away quickly resolves this issue while Gangs of New York continues this for the majority of the movie.

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.

“Luffy, how the hell do we get out of this situation!”, said Nami. She shook her hands as if it could get her out of the shackles, however her effort was in vain. She looked at her Captain for an answer, but Luffy was as silent as a statue. His face had a grim expression. He felt like a failure as a captain, he let his crew get captured. Now the Straw Hat crew were imprisoned in a basement of a Celestial Dragon. “Dammit!’’, shouted Sanji angrily kicking a nearby empty crate. The sudden startled the other prisoners, but they quickly settled down.

On November 21, 2007, I was home for break and watched an interesting-historical film titled American Gangster. The film was written by Steven Zaillian and was directed by Ridley Scott. American Gangster was a gangster movie that reflected back on the pass. The performance environment was at my house in the living room on a DVD player. The room was dark, cool, and very comfortable, which made it very relaxing and easier to watch and study the film.