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"The Irishman," Martin Scorsese's new movie
arriving on Netflix on Wednesday about the Bufalino crime family
and famed union boss Jimmy Hoffa, marks the latest entry in a
genre that has fascinated audiences and filmmakers for decades.
Pop culture watchers say that is hardly surprising given the
combination of crime, family, violence and the American Dream
that Hollywood tales about the Mafia offer.
"It's a genre that really hits that sweet spot between a
fascination with crime and a set of relatable family dynamics,"
said David Schmid, editor of "Violence in American Popular
Culture" and an associate professor of English at the University
at Buffalo.
"The Irishman," starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci,
follows offerings ranging from "Little Caesar" in 1931 to "The
Godfather" and "The Sopranos" that have reaped rewards both at
the box office and at awards.
After strong reviews, Scorsese's return to the kind of
Italian-American territory he explored in "Goodfellas" and
"Casino" is expected to be a leading contender at next year's
Oscars.
"In many ways, the Mafia took over from the Western as the great
American epic," said Robert Thompson, pop culture professor at
Syracuse University.
"It's about the settling of the urban frontier as opposed to the
geographical frontier, and it's also a great immigration story,"
he said.
Large Italian-American families, often gathered around dinner
tables heaving with pasta, give audiences strong characters to
root for, even if they are on the wrong side of the law.
Mafia films also give a twist to the classic American immigrant
story of arriving in a new country, having to fend for one's
self and working hard to achieve goals, Thompson said.
When HBO's TV series "The Sopranos" ushered in the notion of an
emotionally conflicted mob boss, it deepened the morally
ambiguous territory that mobsters inhabit on screen, but which
helps make them so appealing.
"The reason these neurotic Mafiosi resonate with us is that we
can all relate to being in a job that we don't want to do," said
Schmid.
Yet, while violence is a key part of the package, there is often
less blood-curdling violence than other action movies.
"If you were to make a really explicitly violent Mafia movie,
that wouldn't be so popular with the audience," said Schmid.
"The audience would prefer to be carried away by the romance of
the quintessentially immigrant narrative where a person goes
from nothing to becoming a godfather."
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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