AESTHINT 57 Lecture 2: A&I 57 Lecture #2
26 Jun 2018
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A&I 57: Lecture #2. The Gangster as an American Dreamer (9/14/15)
● Gangster films:
○ grants us access to places and people we otherwise wouldn’t experience as law
abiding citizens
○ greed, sex, and violence
○ exposes and explores belief that American is a land of opportunity advancement
○ exposes America as a classless and democratic society
○ Gangster is a scapegoat for society’s guilty conscious of success
○ Essential to a gangster film:
■ man and/or women in opposition to society
■ takes place in modern/urban settings, but gangster does not play by the
rules
■ blurs the lines between what exists inside and outside of the law
○ gangsters are not anomalies
● Scarface (1932)
○ critics were concerned that the film would contribute to the gangster issue in
America
○ opening scene is shot all at once: sequence shot
○ “A man has always got to know what he’s got to know” - Big Louie
■ opening scene
■ gangster dream: constantly growing and constantly getting richer
○ Tony Comante is a creature of shadow
■ comes out of subconscious
Document Summary
Grants us access to places and people we otherwise wouldn"t experience as law abiding citizens. Exposes and explores belief that american is a land of opportunity advancement. Exposes america as a classless and democratic society. Gangster is a scapegoat for society"s guilty conscious of success. Man and/or women in opposition to society. Takes place in modern/urban settings, but gangster does not play by the rules. Blurs the lines between what exists inside and outside of the law. Critics were concerned that the film would contribute to the gangster issue in. Opening scene is shot all at once: sequence shot. A man has always got to know what he"s got to know - big louie. Gangster dream: constantly growing and constantly getting richer. Tony comante is a creature of shadow. Tony"s demise is due to him being a murderer, not because he is a thief and bootlegger. Gangster life portrayed as fun and funny.
