In September 1990, Martin Scorsese captivated audiences around the world with his groundbreaking feature film, Goodfellas. The film follows the life of Henry Hill and his unorthodox upbringing in the Italian mafia. Idolizing mob bosses and made men, Henry lived in a fantasy world filled with dirty money and luxury items galore. Scorsese depicts the world these “Goodfellas” reside in as a kind of fantasy, a new family that would accept you and protect you: as long as you remain loyal to those above you and keep your mouth shut. Crime comes with punishment, and despite the plethora of connections and rewards, punishment rarely catches up with the perpetrator of the crime. The viewer suddenly becomes connected to these men and begins to empathize with them through quotes such as: “This is what the FBI could never understand; What Pauly and the organization do is offer protection to people who can't go to the police […] they're like a police force for smart people.” Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayCrime and corruption are constant themes beautifully portrayed by Scorsese. At first glance, the environment into which he immerses the mobsters seems glamorous and chic. However, when we take a closer look at the lavish lives of these dubious men, we can see that Scorsese does not wish to exalt these men, and as the film progresses, the viewer begins to realize that Scorsese is not glorifying, but rather criticize. American society by bastardizing the idea of ​​the “American dream” and the desire to do everything to achieve it. The American dream was presented to the American public, promising success, provided you were willing to fight to achieve it. Rejecting this idea is one of Scorsese's goals, telling us that such idiosyncrasy is capable of corrupting men, making them overly ambitious and, therefore, bringing out the lowest in them. a person. As Henry Hill's slow downfall shows, those who pursue this dream will find themselves dehumanized as money and success will transform them into monsters capable of anything as long as it benefits them. Scorsese does not rely solely on the film's dialogue to support his project. argument against being a victim of the American dream and the lack of morality in favor of personal gains. Scorsese reinforces this point by using expert camerawork, in conjunction with focused aural elements, to stitch together scenes that have no blatant connection to one another; However, presented as such, the scenes deliver a powerful message. I have chosen two scenes which, considered individually, are just meaningless trivialities; however, when examined closely, these scenes demonstrate many of the themes that manifest in the film. The first scene is that of the famous longshot where Henry Hill and Karen enter the nightclub he usually frequents. The song Then he kissed me by The Crystals begins to play and a feeling of playfulness and good energy appears. Henry displays his influence, cuts the line and casually enters the restaurant's kitchen through a side entrance. Arriving inside the club, waiters set up a table for the couple in front of the crowded restaurant. $20 tips are given to many and courteous greetings are exchanged with everyone from the restaurant owner to the line cooks in the kitchen. Finally seated at their table, the music stops and an actor begins to say sentences which greatly please the audience. In theIn the following scene, we see Henry Hill and Tommy wander into an Air France aircraft hangar, thanks to a contact working within the airline, to steal a suitcase full of money. In the transition to this sequence, the noise from the nightclub continues and remains, so that while Henry and Tommy perform a simple robbery, we can hear comical lines in the background. After the casual theft, the comedian's routine ends and the music picks up which, as is usual in Scorsese's cinema, happens to be a jaunty song from the sixties. One of Scorsese's main approaches in the film was to treat with irony the gangster context in which his characters evolve, with the aim of denouncing the moral contradictions of these lifestyles. However, it is inevitable that when faced with such a task, the question arises: how can we express the irony of these people's moral codes in a cinematic way? This question can be answered through the transition between the two scenes; which is powerful because of the ironic effect produced by the combination of the sound of the first scene and the image of the second. One scene is fun and exciting but the other is not, yet it is inevitable that the tone of the first scene permeates that of the second, making the effect of the moral transgressions of Henry Hill and his sidekick ironic by nature. The film captures the daily life of a gangster, but not just his irresponsible money making, but also how his "job" absorbs most of his time. For these men there was no rest, to maintain a life of luxury and excess they had to constantly work, whether it was business, extortion or theft. Killing someone or attacking a truck had no ethical connotation, but simply meant making money. In other words, these men treated organized crime as a profession like any other, thus naturalizing their illegal activity; they become desensitized to a lifestyle dictated by criminal activity, and extreme violence and a blatant lack of integrity no longer make sense to them. Without a doubt, the film manages to fascinate the viewer, thanks to careful camera movements, the extremely fast presentation of scenes synchronized with well-thought-out musical themes and, of course, the voiceover that refrains from explaining what happens on screen, but rather highlights the emotions of the main characters, as well as their relationship with the context that surrounds them. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Personalized Essay The impeccable cinematography, combined with the image of a powerful gangster, who can do whatever they want without facing consequences, introduces the audience to a world that at first glance is extremely attractive. In an attempt to capture realism in the film, Scorsese creates a Pablo Picasso-style portrait, which, although based on the classic archetype of the American gangster, is combined with elements that project human attributes onto these untouchable criminals. The life of a gangster is a constant search for identity, social and economic success. These traits force these men to work hard and progress slowly in the world, only to have their success brutally taken away from them. The gangster lives in a world indifferent to the social groups around him, but they still share the same wishes as the rest of society. The stereotype of a man with unlimited privilege and a carefree existence is not only Henry Hill's dream, but also resembles the dream of any individual seeking recognition in their own life. In this sense, Goodfellas is effective in constructing the most appropriate version.