History of Immigration - Movie Gangs of New York

History of Immigration - Movie Gangs of New York Movie : Gangs of New York Although Martin Scorsese 's 2002 film "Gangs of New York " purports to be an historical film which recounts ethnic based gang rivalries in 1863 New York City , the film relies heavily on poetic-license , accentuating violence and a typical Hollywood "good versus evil " story-line , rather than delving into the historical specificities and realistic detail While it is almost certainly true that Gangs captures the flavor and mythopoetic spirit of America 's ethnically diverse past and the violence and tensions which

seethed during the American Civil , it is equally true that the historical themes with which Gangs deals are of a secondary nature to its main thrust : which is to produce a slick , and profitable film

So , while the movie deals with a tremendously important historical period in American history , the historical background "is incidental to Scorsese 's larger vision of reminding Americans of their violent past " 1 and , as such , the film 's viewpoints regarding immigration are abstraction from history and not representative of history itself . That said , the film 's portrayal of immigration is to show it as a bloody tremendously difficult process , a sort of pressure-cooker where the amalgam of cultures clashed in a violent soup , which , itself produced a unity through an altogether new culture , an American culture , born through a traumatic and protracted birth-struggle

This vision is a romantic vision which simplifies the complex realities of the history of immigration in America in the nineteenth century Scorsese , as mentioned , is not interested in depicting history , but to use the verisimilitude of history , the details and gritty realism of historical record , to paint a dramatically believable portrait of myth a myth describing the birth of American culture in the fiery crucible of ethnic prejudice and competition . Historical detail is a device , not a theme "while Gangs is accurate in detail , it is distorted and mistaken in its larger characterizations and interpretation . This should not be surprising : Gangs of New York is a moneymaking enterprise " 2

If the film 's relevance to history is not one of accurate portrayal and realistic delving into the lives and events of the era depicted , then from where does its importance to history derive ? The answer to that question lies in the fact that while "Gangs of New York " may play fast and loose with historical accuracy , while it may simplify the complex sociological realities of intercultural integration -- or lack thereof -- in America 's war-torn past , the film remains faithful to a central thematic idea which is also a core-reality of American history : that a nation which is ethnically diverse but upholds individual liberty must in the end cast-away the ethnic and racial barriers and competitions of the "Old World " in to actualize the opportunities of the future That core-idea is a core-principal of American Democracy and it is a principle by which American history , including the American Civil War has turned on as though upon an...