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Chapter 6 - Organized crime: Mafia Myths in film and television by George S. Lare
Larke begins the chapter by introducing some of the Mafia myths which are present in film in
television using eamples! and eplains how these myths have changed after time" #e goes on to to
outline some of the stereotypes used $%omareggio and hiearchies! &icillian #eritage' and tries to
eplain where some of these myths have originated from" #e later goes into detail! describing each
of these stereotypes and how they are used! giving eamples to show how they are potrayed" #e
concludes by trying to eplain why mafia myths are used in film and television and raises some of
the problems with the term (myth( and how it affects understanding"
)hroughout the chapter he uses a wide variety of references of past work which has been
conducted on the sub*ect to support his argument! and he uses many eamples from popular
television and films which focus on! or use the Mafia in its plot! which helps underline his points
and helps to eplain the different aspects and stereotypes of the Mafia which he talks about" #e uses
important! (popular( films! as well as lesser well known films and includes eamples where the
Mafia plot is the main plot! as well as eamples where the Mafia culture is *ust touched upon"
+n trying to determine where some of the myths originated from! he higlights the idea that it is
representations which keep continuing the Mafia myths! therefore it makes it unclear as to what is
based on fact and what is *ust based on a continuing myth" #e likens the Mafia to a (secret society(
and argues that it would be impossible to know the full truth and all the facts of the Mafia lifestyle"
#e notes that gangster films are intertetual and (refer to other media for narrative and thematic
inspiration( $pp 11,'! therefore highlighting that films borrow these Mafia myths from other films!
maybe not realising it as such! and passing them off as fact as it impossible to know what the
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previous works took from fact or from previous fiction"
-riefly! he tries to determine what makes Mafia myths so popular! and why people are so interested
in watching Mafia portrayals" #e uses arguments from other authors to further this point! however
he does not go into much detail"
+n describing the stereotypes which he feels are prevalent in films and shows about the Mafia! he
uses many references from where they are used in films and television which help to define eactly
what the stereotype is! and shows how the stereotype is portrayed whether it is positive or negative!
whether it romantici.es or condemns Mafia life within the film" )he eamples he uses are varied in
how well known they may be as well as when they were released! therefore bringing the chapter up
to date as far as possible"
#e does highlight problems and contradicitions which are brought up in films and television due to
the Mafia myths and tries to eplain why these myths are flawed"
#e spends a large amount of time describing in detail! certain scenes and references from the films
and television and how they relate to the point he is trying to make! which at times feels a little
tedious! seemingly spelling out the scenes and what is going on! *ust to make sure the reader
understands in case they missed the film or show in /uestion! therefore it seems to take a long time
for him to make a point"
)hroughout the chapter! he uses the word myth a lot! using it to support his ideas as to why there
can be inconsistencies and contradicitions within 0angster films $(but the very structure of a myth
allows for such discrepencies( $pp 119'" #owever! he does not actually give his definition of the
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term myth until his concluding paragraphs"
1t one point he uses The Sopranos $2avid %hase! 1999! 3&1' as an eample of the (etent that the
Mafia is now part of mainstream culture( $pp 140'! due to it being a (mainstream television series("
#owever he goes on to contradict himself slightly by adding that it was only shown on a
subscription channel in the 3&1! which would mean that not every viewer would have access to it
whilst it was being shown" #e also does not back up his claim with any figures! which would have
helped him strengthen the argument"
)he chapter highlights many of the Mafia myths prevalent and popularised by films and television!
focusing on post 19,0(s #ollywood 0angster films and television! going into detail of the certain
stereotypes which can be seen in many of these! and tries to give some background into the origins
of these myths and where they might have come from" )o do this he highlights real life media cases
from the 1950(s" )he bulk of the chapter is description! of the different stereotypes of Mafia myth
and of the origins! but it does not have much in the way of eplanation as to why Mafia myths are so
popular or as to whether they work in contet or not"
!ilmography
)he &opranos $2avid %hase! 1999! 3&1'
"ord Co#nt: 947