AN: >>A final note: the original treatment of WSS called for the gangs to be Irish and Jewish rather than Polish Puerto Rican. Don't laugh at the idea of Jewish hoods.>>
Whose laughing? Not me, that is for sure. I can find accounts where 'Americans' were complaining about Jewish criminality, and resented how they dominated basketball and boxing. One version of the history of the treatment says Tony is Italian--though I would find Irish, Polish, and , were the character not also supposed to be Catholic, Jewish (Eastern European Jewish) all equally plausible. The Italians got the last laugh here. After years of watching the likes of Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis play 'Italian', we then got to see Robert DeNiro (Irish-Italian American, but his image emphasizes his Italian side) play Jewish gangsters in, as far as I can count, two major films--Once Upon a Time in America, and Casino. Which characters of Goodfellas were of 'mixed' background? Earlier I too cited the real Murder Inc. And then there is the real Bugsy. And the Hollywood one. I think Beatty's 'Bugsy' is the best Hollywood (yes, romanticized) depiction of the type. As for the relationship between youth gangs and underworld crime, I guess the assumption is that there is a connection, but I would also guess that it is not always straightforward and simple. Nothing in real life is. In the film 'A Bronx Tale', the mafia group who operate in the neighborhood really don't encourage youth gang activity in that neighborhood. C _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
