The Gangster Film: Fatal Success in American Cinema

by Ron Wilson

Overview

This volume examines the gangster film in its historical context with an emphasis on the ways the image of the gangster has adapted and changed as a result of socio-cultural circumstances. From its origins in Progressive-era reforms to its use as an indictment of corporate greed, the gangster film has often provided a template for critiquing American ideas and values concerning individualism, success, and business acumen. The gangster genre has also been useful in critically examining race and ethnicity in American culture in terms of "otherness." Films studied include Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912), The Racket (1928), The Captive City (1952), The Godfather, Part Two (1974), Goodfellas (1990), and Killing Them Softly (2012).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231172073
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	12/16/2014
Series:	Short Cuts
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Ron Wilson is a Lecturer in the Film and Media Studies Department at the University of Kansas. He teaches courses in American popular culture, classical and contemporary film/media theory, and graduate writing.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. A Silent Era: From Gangs to Gangsters
2. The Racketeer and the Outlaw: Gangster Archetypes of the 1930s
3. Murder, Incorporated: Post-war Developments in the Gangster Film
4. La Famiglia: Coppola, Scorsese, and Gangster Ethnicity
Conclusion
Filmography
Bibliography
Index