Goodfellas the Movie, Sociolog
Goodfellas the Movie, SociologThe movie "Goodfellas" is a dramatization of life in the New York Mafia. It is based on the accounts of real life ex-gangster turned state evidence. He tells his story from when he was hired by a wiseguy as a teenager in the fifties to the time he is put in the witness protection program in the seventies.
The movie portrays the spirit of the Mafia subculture and demonstrates their distinctive values, customs, norms, and deviant lifestyle.
The Mafia is a subculture of localized groups of criminals that developed for the purpose of protecting those who can not go to the police for protection. Its roots can be traced back to Sicily, where the Mafia was based on the premise that any member suffering an alleged injustice was obliged to take personal vengeance while avoiding all contact with legal authorities. Even in the modern day American Mafia, each family ruled it's own territory and when others from outside the territory interfered they were dealt with through violent methods.
The wiseguys (or local gangsters) paid for their protection by paying the head of their local family. This payoff was also known as paying tribute to the boss.
Many of the Mafia's folkways and mores' were identified throughout the movie. Some of the informal rules held by the Mafia were the codes of trust and silence. In other words, never rat on a friend and keep your mouth shut. These rules were highlighted when the narrator, Henry Hill, had his first arrest. He was brought to court; defended by a Mafia paid lawyer and after his release he received praise and money from the family for honoring the code. This was considered his Mafia graduation and as important as losing his virginity.
It was also sanctioned behavior to buy your way in and out of the mainstream culture with bribes to local authorities and officials. Because of fear and respect of family members in the community, it was very easy to persuade the authorities to look the other way when crimes were committed.
An important Mafia folkway was to conduct business transactions were usually done face to face as a one to one communication. No one but the two parties talking knew what was said. Business was rarely discussed around a board table or in a group meeting. When an action needed to be taken to correct a problem with a family member or to settle a dispute with a different family's member, the bosses communicated directly. They were private conversation between the boss and the person involved.
The Lufthansa heist clearly illustrates this folkway. Every one involved had their own job to do, but that is all they knew, their own...
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