Gang films in mainstream media:
fiction vs. reality
Gang culture, a hot topic in contemporary media, has been portrayed in a multitude of ways, especially in film. From Five Points, New York City in 1863 with the film Gangs of New York, to the same city a century later, with the Corleone crime family in The Godfather, audiences have swooned over the high intensity lives of crime that these films display. However, the film industry's representation of this lifestyle falls victim to their need to be big and flashy, thus resulting in inaccurate portraits of gang culture. The pressure of Hollywood causes filmmakers to not only fail to properly depict gang lifestyle in their films, but they also, in some cases, miss the mark on just depicting the historical period they are trying to portray.
As a huge movie-buff myself, I was alarmed when I found that some of the films I had grown to love and know oh so well were not being justly put forth like they should have been. As you navigate through the pages of this website, you will see that I have provided three examples of films that are gang-themed: Gangs of New York, The Godfather, and American History X. Not all of them are based on true stories, but they were all created in the efforts to accurately depict the gang lifestyle of their given time periods. The first time I recognized this flaw in the American film industry was after I first saw the movie Gangs of New York - one of my favorite movies to this day. The director, Martin Scorsese, provided his audience with a glamorized look at the lives of immigrants in a New York City neighborhood. It was raw and real and, to say the least, intriguing. Those factors led me to the internet to get a look at this historical time period the way it really was. What I found was that the film had been glamorized so much that it wound up a washed down portrayal of the world of mid-19th century New York City.
Within the pages of this website you will only find my opinions on just three gang-themed films. However, I am sure that if you looked into any Hollywood-funded gang flick you would find your fair share of inaccuracies. In the slideshow below are just a few films with gang ties, look into them and gain your own knowledge on the cultures they are putting forth, don't just take what Hollywood believes as the truth because, more times than not, they are just showing you what will entertain you not what will educate you.
As a huge movie-buff myself, I was alarmed when I found that some of the films I had grown to love and know oh so well were not being justly put forth like they should have been. As you navigate through the pages of this website, you will see that I have provided three examples of films that are gang-themed: Gangs of New York, The Godfather, and American History X. Not all of them are based on true stories, but they were all created in the efforts to accurately depict the gang lifestyle of their given time periods. The first time I recognized this flaw in the American film industry was after I first saw the movie Gangs of New York - one of my favorite movies to this day. The director, Martin Scorsese, provided his audience with a glamorized look at the lives of immigrants in a New York City neighborhood. It was raw and real and, to say the least, intriguing. Those factors led me to the internet to get a look at this historical time period the way it really was. What I found was that the film had been glamorized so much that it wound up a washed down portrayal of the world of mid-19th century New York City.
Within the pages of this website you will only find my opinions on just three gang-themed films. However, I am sure that if you looked into any Hollywood-funded gang flick you would find your fair share of inaccuracies. In the slideshow below are just a few films with gang ties, look into them and gain your own knowledge on the cultures they are putting forth, don't just take what Hollywood believes as the truth because, more times than not, they are just showing you what will entertain you not what will educate you.