Abstract
This paper examines the gangster film genre, which from the beginnings during the Great Depression have challenged American culture's dominant ideology about capitalism and democracy. According to the paper, these films have done so by glorifying a criminal lifestyle, by undemocratically focusing on ethnic and racial stereotypes, and by idolizing individuals and groups who have been otherwise marginalized by society and our economic system. While the genre has changed over time, it could be said that the modern gangster film retains strong parallels with its roots in the 1930's and that these roots include a challenge to dominant American ideology and culture

From the Paper
"From their beginnings during the Great Depression gangster films have challenged American culture's dominant ideology about capitalism and democracy. It has done so by glorifying a criminal lifestyle, by undemocratically focusing on ethnic and racial stereotypes, and by idolizing individuals and groups who have been otherwise marginalized by society and our economic system. According to Richard Pena, former program director of the New York Film Festival, ''The gangster movie can always be seen as a perverse mirror-image of capitalism...'' ("Public Enemies"). While the genre has changed over time, it could be said that the modern..."

Tags:gangster, film, genre

Abstract
This paper looks at the history of the gangster film genre in the United States from the 1930s to the 1960s. It specifically looks at the impact that this film genre has had on American society and culture. The paper discusses the historical context of the rise of the gangster film genre and why it appealed to Americans at that time in their history. It gives specific examples of films and characters that fit into this category.

Table of Contents:
The Rise of the Gangster Genre
The Postwar World
1960's and Beyond

From the Paper
"As World War I ended, the 18th Amendment ushered in Prohibition and with it a wave of crime matched only by the drug and gang wars of our own era. Where brewing and distilling were once respectable trades, the importation, production, transportation and sale of alcoholic beverages was taken over by criminals during the 1920s. In big cities like New York or Chicago, headline grabbing mobsters battled for control of this illegal market. Competition among newspapers sensationalized and romanticized the stories of events like the St. Valentine's Day Massacre or the exploits of "Scarface" Al Capone. Our contemporary war on drugs can be seen as a parallel event - both of which run counter to the dominant free market and individual free choice ideology of the United States. Just as ethnic minorities were disproportionately represented as violating prohibition in the 1930s, those portrayed in modern gangster films are disproportionately Latino and Black or immigrant."

Tags:godfather, prohibition, hero, violence

Abstract
This paper discusses the gangster movie genre in film and how "The Godfather" and "Godfather Three" are representative of this genre. The gangster world and its history are presented and an overview of the films given. Examples from the movies that illustrate characteristics of the genre are provided.

From the Paper
"Film productions often mimic real life. It is what allows them to be placed into genre categories. Genres in the movies are very much like genres in the world of literature. There are romance genres, history genres and others that depict the type of movie that the film falls under. One genre waxes and wanes in its popularity. The gangster genre is one in which many movies have been made and they are classified as gangster genre by the characters attitudes, the events and the historical context of the movie plot. Two very classic gangster genre films are The Godfather and The Godfather Part Three. Critics have admired as well as panned these movies depending on the critics taste and film desires, however they all agree that they are classic illustrations of the gangster genre."

Tags:illegal, mobster, Mafia, family, organization, drug, business, gang, Brando

From the Paper
"This paper will present a discussion of the development and evolution of the genre of the gangster film. The paper will focus on how the gangster film genre matured and changed over time from the year 1925 through 1950. The paper will also discuss the major elements of the genre, as well as the style, influences, themes, and mythic resonance's contained in gangster films. Specific films, directors and stars of the gangster genre will also be discussed.

Throughout its development, the gangster film genre provided an index of the social, political and cultural values of the times. As a popular form, gangster films reflected the ideas and concerns, which held the attention of the general public. As the genre developed, the moral stance, which these films presented (...)"

Abstract
This essay discusses the aesthetic choices the Coen Brothers made throughout their career. It studies the films "Raising Arizona" for creative lens use in a farce, "Miller's Crossing" for camera angles in a gangster film, "Fargo" for long takes in a police thriller and "The Man Who Wasn't There" for lighting in a film noir. The paper argues that through the use of aesthetics the Coens shape each genre they try with their own signature auteur style.

From the Paper
"In a world where big-budget studios control most of what is seen in theaters, the Coen Brothers have managed to make independent features that they write, produce and direct as a team, and have had some moderate success. Their scripts often focus on unlikely heroes; they choose completely average people and places to become the focus of their quirky dialogue and situational comedy. Their charismatic "normal" characters have attracted a number of top actors and actresses to their projects, such as Holly Hunter, Nicholas Cage, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro, and Francis McDormand. In fact, with a reputation for making quality films, although often commercial failures, some of Hollywood's most respected actors have lowered their usual salaries to appear in Coen films. Tim Robbins appeared with Paul Newman in The Hudsucker Proxy, between projects of his own in the early nineties, Jeff Bridges took the leading role in The Big Lebowski with Julianne Moore in a supporting part, George Clooney followed up his success on ER with the main role in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou, and the Coens recruited Billy Bob Thornton and James Gandolfini for The Man Who Wasn't There. These stars have helped the brothers propel their own names into stardom, despite the only moderate success of their feature films, and have made their pictures well-known cult classics."

Tags:cinema, comedy, fighting, modern, Oscar

Abstract
This paper consist of four parts, each exploring a different genre of film. The first section gives a summary and analysis o fAndre Bazin's "The Western." This is followed by a comparative profile of the gangster and the Western hero. Next, the paper discusses a summary of film noir as an Intellectual Category. Finally, the paper analyzes an article entitled "Three Critical Approaches to The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum" by Volker Schlondorff and Margarethe Von Trotta.

From the Paper
"Summary of Andre Bazin's "The Western: Or the American Film Par Excellence" (1953) Bazin states that the western is the only genre whose origins can be traced to the start of cinema, and which is still thriving to this day. He admits that the quality of westerns may legitimately be disputable, but that the success of the genre has been steady and thus a measure of its health (Bazin 74). Bazin recognizes that the western genre, like all others, is subject to natural evolution and outside influences including various social dynamics, though he qualifies this admission by stating that such..."

Tags:film, analysis, theory

Abstract
"Films from a given period reflect the social attitudes of that time, no matter when they may be set in time. Thus, a science fiction film may exist in an imaginary future, but the attitudes are those of the time in which the film is made.

From the Paper
"Films from a given period reflect the social attitudes of that time, no matter when they may be set in time. Thus, a science fiction film may exist in an imaginary future, but the attitudes are those of the time in which the film is made. The gangster film has a particular history of reflecting social and political concepts of the time when the film is made because of the effort to show the way society may cause crime and the effect crime in turn has on society. An interesting way of analyzing this is to examine the same story filmed in two different periods, such as the two versions of Scarface (1932 and 1983). Each takes an overt stance to the issue of the relationship between crime and society even as each also reflects different ideas of how the criminal is formed by his psychology. The two Scarfaces are motivated largely by a desire to get ahead in the ..."

From the Paper
"The auteur theory developed by French film critics beginning in the 1950s is partly a convenient way of categorizing and analyzing films, collecting titles as the body of work of the director. More than this, though, the theory holds that it is the director more than anyone else who is responsible for the finished film, since he or she is the one who determines visual style and other matters in the course of production. The theory finds that the director expresses meaning through visual style and that analyzing the visual style of a given director reveals consistent thematic concerns, similarities in character development, and other repeated and recognizable signs of a single intelligence at work. At the same time, though, film remains a collaborative medium, and it would seem that directors would be influenced by their..."

Abstract
This paper reviews the original and the remake of the film 'Scarface' and compares the two. According to the paper, a change in the gangster genre can be seen when comparing the two versions. The paper further discusses how while attitudes toward crime changed in some degree between these two films, both films are based on the primary view that the criminal will ultimately fail, a victim of his own evil actions, leading to a well-deserved death.

From the Paper
"The first version of Scarface was actually produced in 1930 and not released for two years while the filmmakers battled "with industry censors over its sensationalism and glorification of the gangster menace" (Dirks para. 1). When the film was released, it had as its subtitle "The Shame of a Nation," a way of telling the public that the production company disapproved of the main character and his style of life. Such disclaimers were a response to public concerns raised after the release of films like Little Caesar (1930) and The Public Enemy (1931), films cited both for glorifying criminals and for excessive violence (though given the way the gangsters in each film were killed, it is difficult to see the film as a whole glorifying them or their crimes). "

Tags:Camonte, gangster, social, Tony, Montana, cuban, italian, immigrant

Abstract
This paper discusses that the film, "The Godfather," brings us into the romanticized criminal underworld by asking the viewer to evaluate the Corleone family not based on traditional standards but on Mafia standards. The author points out Coppola's ability to present such a large cast so skillfully that within the first few minutes of the film, nearly all of the main characters are introduced. The paper states that "The Godfather" redefined the genre of gangster films and shaped public perception of the Mafia.

From the Paper
"Michael is the tragic hero of the film. He evolves from a naive, unwilling spectator into a Godfather. In the end, Michael becomes everything he despised about his family and more. After his father's heart attack, he realizes that his father is going to die, and he is the only one who can fill his shoes. It is clear that he had wanted something else out of life, but he feels the need to continue his father's legacy, inevitably becoming more merciless than he would have ever dreamed. "

Tags:corleone, family, mafia, coppola, genre