History you don't know

Raul 2021-10-18 09:30:39

Martin's works often show neglected content from the mainstream historical perspective, which I like very much, because this part that is often neglected allows us to see the truth, it is more comprehensive and more relevant. This is true of "New York Gangs," and so is "Closed Island."
Of course this is only one aspect of the movie, not all.
American democracy was not built in a day. In the film, what we see is the contradiction between immigrants belonging to different ethnic groups. At that time, the United States was still at the stage of open immigration. Although the government and laws adopted lenient policies on immigrants, it did not mean that they came to the United States. You will receive a welcome. People form gangs according to their ethnic groups, and they are all different. People are unable or unaware of resorting to the law and have to join gangs. This is one of the reasons why these gangs continue.
In the United States at that time, national authority was still relatively weak, and national authority meant the state's management of the people. Low state authority means that the state is unable to manage society. The consequence is social chaos, gangs, and personal life and property cannot be guaranteed. The authority of the United States officially rose from the Civil War and reached a high level by President Theodore Roosevelt.
In the movie, we can see that the police are controlled by gang leaders, and the Tamuni family uses gangs to control the municipality. The phenomenon of racial discrimination is serious. The butchers hand the parliamentarians. Even the last gang fight is for revenge, and the fight itself means this. Is the only way to solve the problem. The authority of the state and law is not reflected in these people.
The most exciting part of this movie is the ending, which is very meaningful. The gang rage was finally suppressed by the government. The individual's understanding is that this kind of personal grievances and group grievances were eventually crushed by the international machine. Social turmoil and chaos were eventually replaced by national authority, and the United States began to embark on the path of modern society.

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Extended Reading

Gangs of New York quotes

  • Killoran: Monk's already won by three thousand more votes than there are voters.

    Boss Tweed: Only three? Make it twenty, thirty. We don't need a victory. We need a Roman triumph.

  • [speaking of Bill the Butcher]

    Jenny: When I was twelve years old, my mother was dead, and I was livin' in a doorway. He took me in. Took care of me, in his way. After they cut out the baby... well, he doesn't fancy girls that's scarred up. But you might as well know in your own mind that he never laid a hand on me until I asked him to.