Show:
Directors
Terms
Gangsters and America
General Knowledge
Symbolism
100
Director of "Little Caesar" (1930)
What is Mervyn LeRoy
100
Prohibited the production, transportation and sale of alcohol
What is the 18th Amendement
100
Why were gangster movies being made in the Depression era?
They were a reflection of the public's "shaken confidence in American economics, politics and myths of self-made man"
100
Which films were based off of the life (or elements of the life) of Al Capone?
What is Scarface, Little Caesar, Public Enemy
100
The Church and use of phrase "Godfather"
Indicates "sacred duty" of gang members, grooming of family and predecessors
200
Director of "Scarface" (1932)
What is Howard Hawks
200
Ended prohibition in the United States
What is the 21st Amendment
200
What happened to gangster movies in the 40s?
Their protagonists became more patriotic and "conscious stricken" changing fear from hunger to axis power
200
What does the "Irrevocable act" refer to?
The act that prevents someone from being redeemable in the eyes of the audience, usually a murder (Little Caesar gas station robbery and murder)
200
Women and alcohol
Objects, they have no place or importance in the gangster's world and are used as a sign of success. Often considered untrustworthy.
300
Director of "Public Enemy" (1930)
What is William Wellman
300
Tthe legal act of prohibiting the manufacture, storage in barrels, bottles, transportation and sale of alcohol including alcoholic beverages.
What is Prohibition?
300
What happened to Gangster films in the 50s?
Gangsters became more aggressive towards the destruction of society that "made him"
300
What is the idea of gangsters "Holding back time" as stated in the reading "Little Caesar as a prototype"
Gangsters living quickly at a "rapid and precarious life" as seen in overly emotional men (Tony in Scarface, Rico in Little Caesar, Tom in Public Enemy and Sonny in The Godfather)
300
Dancing
Gangsters physicality and hyper-vitality. Dancers often strive for success (as gangster do) but fall short at the last minute.
400
Director of "The Godfather" (1972)
What is Francis Ford Coppola
400
The deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world following the stock market crash of 1929
What is The Great Depression?
400
Which movies rely on the idea of the "self-made man"
Scarface, Public Enemy, Little Caesar
400
What is the meaning behind "Sexual flaws" as described in the reading
Refers to homosexual (Little Caesar, Public Enemy) or Oedipal (Scarface) tones in characters. Anything that "renders the gangster 'unpure' or unconventional by societal standards
400
Funerals and Banquets
Success of gangster but also imminent doom (sending the largest wreath at the funeral particularly in how it mocks the ritual of a funeral)
500
Director of "The Departed" (2006)
What is Martin Scorcese
500
Another name for the Sicilian or Italian mafia; translates in Italian to "our thing."
What is Cosa Nostra?
500
How are newspapers used in Gangster films?
They serve as a 3rd party "public" side of events which allows them to report on both sides of the story as well as giving the audience of the film the basic "moral" of the story a'la the "call to action" for the government as preludes multiple films (Little Caesar)
500
How are Westerners and Gangster similar/different as discussed in the reading
The westerner and gangster both have a sense of loneliness and melancholy. They both carry guns and use them and can often be considered outcasts of society. However the westerner only uses the gun as a last resort and his journey through films is not about jumping ranks but rather righting an injustice.
500
Guns
"means to an end" there is no formality it's all about lethality, it's a tool of business