Summary: Gangs Of New York

Ryan Gillespie 12/10/14
HIS 343 Dandan Chen

Gangs of New York: A Cultural Shift

In the 2002 Film “Gangs of New York” by Martin Scorsese we see New York City reshaped and changed through cultural influence of feuding individuals and groups with different ideas. On the surface the movie seems to have a straight forward theme but in the back ground we see a cultural shift as immigrants come into America and New York City. In the movie we see the political influence during that time in history, and we see social status and classes defined by material possessions such as clothing and other belongings. The movie shows the feud between two gangs who fight for dominance of the five points based off who was born in the country
William Tweed was the most notorious corrupt politician. Once again the movie showed Boss tweed as the head of Tammany Hall which openly sided with whichever gang in the five points had the most power and used them to pressure and convince people to vote for him and his legislations. In the Novel “The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld” by Herbert Abury he writes that “Tweed bribed officials and openly bought votes to put his cronies into nearly every elected and appointed office in the city and state. New York City was controlled by the "Tweed Ring" consisting of Peter Sweeny, city chamberlain; Richard B. Connolly, city comptroller; A. Oakey Hall, mayor and of course Boss Tweed himself; the man behind the curtain pulling all the levers of power. Boss Tweed used his influence with state politicians to pass legislation that shifted power away from the state and towards New York City. He obtained passage of the New York City charter in 1870, which gave him and his cronies the final say over all city expenditures. Tweed shrewdly exploited the turf wars between Irish, Scottish and Dutch gangs and used the gangs at election time to intimidate voters. He used an elaborate system of bribes to control judges, the police and other officials, and he also bought lots of favorable coverage in the
Another great thing he Scorsese does is to create such a believable setting and background to the scenes that help to aid in the belief that New York City’s five points was grossly overpopulated and was home to many different cultures. In the past, Scorsese 's most evocative work was shot on actual streets, but the New York of Gangs of New York was created from scratch in Rome at the Cinecittà Studios. The director, cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, and production designer Dante Ferretti have gone for a dark palette with low, smoky skies and colors intensified by sunlight. Working closely with Luc Sante, who documented the era in his irresistible history Low Life, they 've created a jumbled, claustrophobic maze of listing wooden shacks and walkways, of cobblestone streets winding in and out of muddy paths. In the Novel “The Historical Atlas of New York City: A Visual Celebration of 400 Years of New York City 's History” by Eric Homberger he writes about a “portrait of America 's greatest city, the riotous and anarchic breeding ground of modernity. This is not the familiar saga of mansions, avenues, and robber barons, but the messy, turbulent, often murderous story of the city 's slums; the teeming streets--scene of innumerable cons and crimes whose