Gangster Film Genre Analytical Essay by Top Papers

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