Well yeah, no shit. The same can be said for any organized crime group.
The entire reason the Italian Mafia prospered in America had to do with how Italian immigrants were treated in the late 19th century and throughout the first half of the 20th century. Little Italy in NYC was a ghetto and they were subjected to discrimination to a harsh system that undermined them and had police bullying them around every turn they made. This is easily the most accurate thing in the Godfather films. The 2nd movie showed Vito's rise and how life was miserable for them in Little Italy and having to deal with a corrupt police captain that brutalized and bullied the people. The whole reason there is a mythology of the Mafia being like robin hoods, has to do with them offering an alternative to the system.
Italians did not get to be considered 'white' until after the civil rights movement. Most mafia stuff wasn't glamorized either until the 90s when people took Scorsese's films the wrong way and also the celebrity image around John Gotti all throughout the late 80s.
The golden age of the Mafia in the US was between the 1930s through the 1960s. The decline began in the mid to late 70s when all of the first and second generation guys were hitting old age, dying off, going to RICO trials and then the wars that unfolded in NYC with two of the five families (Bonnano and Colombos who couldn't stop killing each other), simultaneously in line with the decline of the Chicago Outfit. The movie Casino is really about the beginning of the end of the Chicago Outfit and how losing Vegas ultimately led to their decline. The NYC families had other problems with the new generation of guys taking over families (hello John Gotti) and a change of culture with guys more willing to become rats than stay quiet in prison for 20 years. One of their biggest issues that is rarely talked about is that in the 80s, they had one too many serial killers, most of which were high ranking guys in families. Guys like Roy DeMeo, Sammy Gravano, Greg Scarpa, Gaspipe Casso were walking serial killers that could not stop killing people and giving the FBI plenty of ammunition to go after them.
The Sopranos is probably the best fictionalized account of the Mafia's decline. Many people miss that point of the show. It was meant to demonstrate the decline of the mafia and the show succeeds in doing that in every way they try. This is the easy explanation for why Tony is such a bad boss and makes stupid decisions every season. Johnny Sack I think was based on John Gotti, and Phil Leotardo seemed to be based on the bosses who were obsessed with killing their enemies. All of that contributed to the mafia's decline. End of the day on the Sopranos, they go above and beyond to prove the hypocrisy and contradictions about the mythology and the fact they really were nothing more than just thugs.
Yep and the Italian mob of Italy were a lot crazier than the American variant. They were committing terrorist attacks all through the 80s and 90s. Unlike the American version, the Italian mob is pretty hostile towards the government.
Well yeah, no shit. The same can be said for any organized crime group.
The entire reason the Italian Mafia prospered in America had to do with how Italian immigrants were treated in the late 19th century and throughout the first half of the 20th century. Little Italy in NYC was a ghetto and they were subjected to discrimination to a harsh system that undermined them and had police bullying them around every turn they made. This is easily the most accurate thing in the Godfather films. The 2nd movie showed Vito's rise and how life was miserable for them in Little Italy and having to deal with a corrupt police captain that brutalized and bullied the people. The whole reason there is a mythology of the Mafia being like robin hoods, has to do with them offering an alternative to the system.
Italians did not get to be considered 'white' until after the civil rights movement. Most mafia stuff wasn't glamorized either until the 90s when people took Scorsese's films the wrong way and also the celebrity image around John Gotti all throughout the late 80s.
The golden age of the Mafia in the US was between the 1930s through the 1960s. The decline began in the mid to late 70s when all of the first and second generation guys were hitting old age, dying off, going to RICO trials and then the wars that unfolded in NYC with two of the five families (Bonnano and Colombos who couldn't stop killing each other), simultaneously in line with the decline of the Chicago Outfit. The movie Casino is really about the beginning of the end of the Chicago Outfit and how losing Vegas ultimately led to their decline. The NYC families had other problems with the new generation of guys taking over families (hello John Gotti) and a change of culture with guys more willing to become rats than stay quiet in prison for 20 years. One of their biggest issues that is rarely talked about is that in the 80s, they had one too many serial killers, most of which were high ranking guys in families. Guys like Roy DeMeo, Sammy Gravano, Greg Scarpa, Gaspipe Casso were walking serial killers that could not stop killing people and giving the FBI plenty of ammunition to go after them.
The Sopranos is probably the best fictionalized account of the Mafia's decline. Many people miss that point of the show. It was meant to demonstrate the decline of the mafia and the show succeeds in doing that in every way they try. This is the easy explanation for why Tony is such a bad boss and makes stupid decisions every season. Johnny Sack I think was based on John Gotti, and Phil Leotardo seemed to be based on the bosses who were obsessed with killing their enemies. All of that contributed to the mafia's decline. End of the day on the Sopranos, they go above and beyond to prove the hypocrisy and contradictions about the mythology and the fact they really were nothing more than just thugs.
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Yep and the Italian mob of Italy were a lot crazier than the American variant. They were committing terrorist attacks all through the 80s and 90s. Unlike the American version, the Italian mob is pretty hostile towards the government.
I think they almost killed Cuomo's dad