"Gangs of New York"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how "Gangs of New York" is a disturbing film about New York City during the Civil War era. The story revolves around "the son of Priest Fallon." Priest Fallon was a Roman Catholic Irish immigrant who was killed fighting against "The Natives," a gang that hated all minorities. In particular, it focuses on the representation of three major social problems of the times: Boss Tweed and the corrupt Tammany Hall political machine, the enormous surge of new Irish immigrants entering the city every week and the first compulsory draft. The paper examines these three elements as they contributed to gang-related problems.

From the Paper:

"William M. "Boss" Tweed controlled the Tammany Hall political machine, which was infamous for its corruption and influence on all levels of government, including the police force. The film shows Tweed sending soup to the starving immigrants as they get off the ships, thus garnering their votes. It shows his people buying votes. It also reveals that Tweed was unwilling to really control crime because he was profiting from it. The police, for instance, instead of stopping looters, take a cut from the booty. Boss Tweed announces sarcastically, "The appearance of the law must be upheld." He decides to hang three or four ordinary family men falsely accused of "corruption of the public good." This was to show that Tweed was tough on crime. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bohm, Robert. "Crime, Criminals, and Crime Control Policy Myths," Justice Quarterly,(3)2:193-214, 1986.
• Gangs of New York (2005). Miramax DVD, feature film, 167 minutes, distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., Burbank, CA.
• Nickens, T. E. (2002). Sherlock of Spuds. Smithsonian, 33 (9), 30-31. Retrieved November 11, 2006 from WilsonSelectPlus database.
• Shannon, C. (2004). Catholicism as the other. First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, 46 (8), 46-56. Retrieved November 10, 2006 from Expanded Academic ASAP database.

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• Research Paper # 25184 : "Crime and Deviance in New York and Charleston"

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