No essay can be written that explores how traditional gangster films have adapted and changed to reflect society without mentioning Brain De Palma Scarface (1983). The film demonstrates a raw, remorseless gangster whose primary ambition is to make money and will do anything in order to achieve this. One of the best-known dialogue taken from the film encapsulates the protagonists ambition “ when you get the money, you get the power, when you power you get the women”. This was his main ethos of life.
The film demonstrates the fluidity of drug dealing, primarily cocaine in Miami back in the 1980s. The policing at the time was not the best, which made it a lot easier for the drug activity to take place.
As times changed, the police tightened up and passed further legislation to prevent the black market of drug dealing. Today, the amount of drugs imported into the UK is decreasing due to the new polices and strategies the government has come up with.
The way men are represented in old traditional gangster films illustrates no presence of emotion, as they believe this is a sign of weakness. Also, showing emotion could suggest signs of homosexuality with was against the law and was frowned upon in the past
Today, audiences want to see an emotional gangster whose family side is also shown to illustrate to the audience how a gangster would deal with everyday issues, to add a sense of realism to the film so audiences can identify with certain aspects of the gangsters life.
Also, due to the new legislation people or homosexual people are allowed to be more open and can speak freely about their sexuality, without fear of being mistreated or having actions biased towards them. This new movement and change in character for men is present in my current text “A Very British Gangster”, which explores the life of a gangster from Manchester who openly admits being gay, whilst having a heterosexual relationship and kids.
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