The movie American Gangster was directed by Ridley Scott and finished in 2007. This film vividly portrays problems and hardship of knack Americans and their attempts to achieve the American dream. Through the main character of Frank Lucas, the film shows that racial identity in general refers to a Black or White person’s identifying or not identifying with the racial group with which he or she is generally assumed to share racial heritage: In other words, racial identity partially refers to the person of black African ancestry’s acknowledgment of shared racial-group membership with others of similar race as previously defined or the person of white European ancestry’s acknowledgment of shared racial-group membership with others of similar race as previously defined. The main problem is that “blackness” becomes the main factor which prevents the characters from wealth and equal opporuntities available for white majority.
- Thesis The film portrays that the American dream was a popular concept during the 1960s and 1970s but it was also a time when status and class had a lot to do with one’s color to achieve prosperity
The film depicts the life and straggle of a black chauffeur, Frank Lusac and his life path from a poor working class citizen to a drug lord. The movie depicts that the American Dream had always been one of people working to progress themselves in society. Everyone wants that big house on the hill, but in order to do so, one needs progress. However, the American Dream hasn’t been within grasp for everyone, especially during the 60s and 70s. Through the film it becomes evident that the three components–personal identity, reference group orientation, and ascribed identity-undoubtedly interact with each other.
For instance, to the extent that society stereotypes one racial group as “dirty,” “shiftless,” and “ignorant” and another group as “clean,” “industrious,” and “intelligent” and can enforce such stereotypes, then it is likely that the individual will find it easier to use the second than the first group as both a reference group and source of ascribed identity. Relatedly, if one identifies with the positively characterized group, then it is likely that one will feel more positively about oneself than if one does not. However, such identifications become problematic to the extent that they require denial or distortions of oneself and/or the racial group(s) from which one descends (Belton 43).
For Frank, the crime and illegal operations is the only possible way to earn for living and become wealthy. In contrast to white majority, he is deprived a chance to be employed by a prestigious firm and receive high salary. Frank is hardworking man but it is not enough for a black man to become rich. From the discussion so far, it might be apparent that one’s racism can involve various weightings of the three racial identity components.
Racism attempts to describe the potential patterns of the personal, reference group, and ascribed identities, though not always so explicitly. Such theories also attempt to predict the varied feelings, thoughts, and/or behaviors that correspond to the differential weightings of components. The resulting variations might be called racial identity resolutions. Two different kinds of racial identity models have been used to describe potential resolutions.
These can be characterized as “type” or “stage” perspectives. In a similar vein, “cultural” is often used as a substitute for “racial” or “ethnic.” Since one’s racial-group designation does not necessarily define one’s racial, cultural, or ethnic characteristics if racial identity theory is accurate, the interchangeable usage of these three terms will be avoided as much as possible (Martinez and Lowe 98).
Frank makes deal with the Italian mafia and fends off corrupt NYC policemen. This situation shows that with respect to self-concept, he proposed that each stage had different implications for a person’s feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. Where reference groups are concerned, his model implied that the individual, depending upon his or her stage of racial identity, makes complex choices as to whether Blacks and/or Whites will be treated as reference groups.
Frank’s cousin shoots a woman and Frank’s does everything possible to protect her from criminal responsibility. In general, the film demonstrates that if the individual achieves much in society, it is because he or she is a meritorious human being; if he or she achieves nothing, then it is because he or she is deficient in some way. “In unpacking this invisible knapsack of white privilege, I have listed conditions of daily experience that I once took for granted. Nor did I think of any of these perquisites as bad for the holder” (Martinez and Lowe 198). In the film, whites are assumed to hold advantaged status due to extraordinary effort and Blacks are assumed to occupy disadvantaged status because they have not expended equivalent effort. The person either does not acknowledge an ascribed racial identity or identifies with Whites.
For the black person, exceptionality or deficiency is defined according to how well or poorly one fits into White culture and demonstrates those traits that the person believes typify White culture. Nevertheless, for many people, at some point in their lives, it becomes impossible to deny the reality that they cannot become an accepted part of “the White world” (Belton 48).
Even as a drug baron, Frank feels uneasy in the white world. Usually this awareness seems to be aroused by an event(s) in the environment that touches the person’s inner core and makes salient the contradiction that no matter how well he or she personally or other Black individuals conform to White standards, most Whites will always perceive him or her as Black and therefore inferior. Taken together, empirical evidence suggests that the Encounter stage may have implications for the personal identity and reference-group orientation components of adjustment. In particular, emotionality and sentiment might be most evident during this stage. Entry into encounter may also represent the person’s first deliberate acknowledgment of a Black ascribed identity (Martinez and Lowe 76).
The film shows that the criminal world is the only chance for many black people to reach high social position and earn for living. In case it is not obvious, it should be noted that the encounter events that trigger movement into the Encounter stage are idiosyncratic to the individual. That is, one does not automatically assume that one common set of experiences leads every individual to the Encounter stage. Rather it is the common psychological experience of confronting “an identity shattering something” that links individuals to this stage.
However, the something varies according to the person’s life circumstances. he person’s abandonment of the previous world view leaves her or him virtually “identity-less,” a condition that is more uncomfortable than it is comfortable. The black characters in the film are limited by their color of skin and social segregation. All black characters are supposed to, and judges and evaluates other Blacks on the basis of their conformance to these “idealistic” racial standards. Thus, a Black ascribed identity and a Black reference-group orientation dominate the person’s personality often at the cost of one’s personal identity.
Furthermore, because until this point the person’s primary descriptions of what it means to be Black have been defined by White society, the person often “acts” Black in very stereotypic ways. In other words, the person’s Black referencegroup orientation is externally defined. Generalized anger is one affect or personal identity variable that appears to characterize Immersion. The person is angry at Whites because of their role in racial oppression, herself or himself for having been a party to such a system for however long, and at other Blacks whose eyes have not been properly opened yet. Thus, one’s acknowledgment of Blackness is high though it is not internalized; the person seems to be conforming to a preconceived notion of blackness (Belton 93).
The movie portrays that it is really difficult for a black man of the 1970s to achieve his American dream associated with a big house and stable income. It is possible to say that the American dream of a black man is to earn for food and shelter. The film demonstrates that total acceptance of Blackness as defined by others is no longer necessary for the person to feel self-worth, and he or she begins to sort out the strengths and weaknesses of Black culture and being Black.
As the person begins to feel greater control over herself or himself, he or she moves into the Internalization stage. The film demonstrates that because in developing stable Black racial values the individual can face the world from a position of personal strength, it now becomes possible to renegotiate one’s positions with respect to Whites and White society. Thus, although the Internalizing person rejects racism and similar forms of oppression, he or she is able to reestablish relationships with individual White associates who merit such relationships, and to analyze Whiteness and White culture for its strengths and weaknesses as well.
Works Cited
American Gangster. Dir. R. Scott. 2007. DVD. Paramount Studio.
Belton, J. American Cinema /American Culture 2nd ed. NY: McGraw-Hill, 2005.
Martinez, M. and Lowe, J. Multicultural Film: An Anthology (2008), Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing.