Genre: a definition
A film’s genre is its type, and is used by audiences as a guide to what to expect, and by producers as a successful formula to target audiences and to save money. Genre films work on a system of repetition and difference; they give pleasure by providing familiarity, but manipulate it slightly so that it seems original and audiences do not become bored.
Films within one genre contain common elements which are known as generic conventions and, although they provide boundaries and limit possibilities in a genre film, consistency in these gives believability and verisimilitude to the film world. Because genre films are continually being altered, generic conventions evolve to match social change. The most immediate ways in which we identify a genre are through visual conventions (iconography) and sound.
The gangster genre
The generic conventions that we associate with gangster films in particular are not hard to identify. The iconography we expect includes suits, jewellery, cigars, cars, alcohol, money and food, representing the ‘high life’ or ‘American dream’ that seems to be the narrative goal of most gangsters, as well as guns, weapons, illegal substances and dead bodies which represent the gangster’s way of life and disregard for the law.
The setting of the gangster film was originally 1920s’ Chicago, during the time of alcohol prohibition, but the tweaking of generic conventions has allowed experimentation, and gangster films can now be set anywhere in contemporary America, and even in the UK, as with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Ritchie, 1998). Typical locations in gangster films include the gang’s den or hideout, casinos, pool halls, bars, and crime and poverty ridden, dirty city streets.
We expect the gangster film to be dominated by violent, short-tempered, materialistic Italian-American men and there to be certain character types, such as the gangster and his wife or girlfriend. A crime family containing hierarchical structures is almost a certainty, and there is often an opposing crime family to create conflict, and an absence of the police, or other institutions of law and order.
Low-key lighting, shadows, enclosed spaces and over-exposed blues and reds emphasise the violent, secretive and lawless lives that the characters lead. Tension and suspense is generated, as the audience understands that the gangster will eventually be caught or killed despite his success, and because of the violence, the attitudes and values of the characters and resultant high ratings of the films, the intended audience is males in their late teens and upwards.
There are also a number of stars that we associate with the gangster genre and who, as soon as they are seen, help to identify a gangster film. These include James Cagney, Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro.
Narrative: a definition
Narrative refers to the structure of the story and the filmmakers’ manipulation of time and space. There is a universal narrative structure which can be seen in most films across the world, involving an initial equilibrium, which is disrupted, hooking the audience into the story, as it wants to see the problem resolved. This disruption leads to a series of minor conflicts, a major confrontation, which is the climax of the film, and an eventual resolution and new equilibrium. By the end of the film, something has usually been learned by the characters. In these films there is also a recognisable ‘villain’, creating the disruption, and a ‘hero’, who attempts to resolve the situation.
The classic Hollywood narrative is said to be ‘goal orientated’, with the lead character setting out to achieve something, having to overcome obstacles, and completing his/her goal in the resolution. Events occur chronologically, following a cause and effect structure and concluding with a ‘happy’ ending. Audiences expect and eagerly await certain narrative moments or ‘set pieces’ from different genres of films, such as, for example, a shoot-out in a western. The opening of a film, therefore, usually establishes the protagonist and the antagonist, the equilibrium and the disruption. It confirms the setting and the genre and gives clues to later events.
Narrative in gangster films
The gangster film is interesting when compared to the universal narrative structure, as all the characters are ‘villains’, so it is hard to identify an obvious protagonist to relate to. This genre also tends to make a spectacle out of lawbreaking and to almost glorify the criminal, so the typical message of ‘the good will out’, of the classic Hollywood narrative is not always immediately apparent.
Most gangster films have a biographical format and follow the rise and fall of a particular character. The main character usually starts out small, willingly entering the criminal subworld, committed and respectful of the laws of this underground society. This leads to him moving up in the gang and eventually replacing the boss. The gangster is finally destroyed by rivals or the law. Films of this genre are not, however, dissimilar to the classic Hollywood narrative, in that they are goal orientated, with the gangster striving to achieve the ‘American dream’ of excessive wealth and riches.
Goodfellas
Goodfellas’ opening begins with a black frame and the opening captions zooming on and off of the screen to the sound of car tyres and engines, immediately introducing the iconography of the genre. The names ‘Martin Scorsese’ and ‘Robert DeNiro’, two people we instantly associate with gangster films, are two of the first few that we see. The setting gives us a further clue to the genre when we are told it is New York, the home of a large community of Italian Americans.
Inside the enclosed space of the car, Henry is placed in the foreground and has the most light on him, focussing the audience’s attention on him. We can see clearly that he looks anxious and weary: a contrast to Jimmy and Tommy who both lean back in their seats. We are already beginning to distinguish between the characters of Henry, Jimmy and Tommy. Through the dialogue, which is immediately dominated by swearwords, the audience is shown the typical attitudes and values of the gangster beginning to emerge.
As the three men prepare to open the boot of the car, its tail lights shine red all over them, a colour characteristic of the gangster genre because of its connotations of violence, blood and death. More iconography is introduced as we see a knife, a gun and a dying man, and Henry, Jimmy and Tommy are definitively characterised by their reactions to the sight of Billy Batts still alive. Tommy loses control and stabs the body repeatedly, marking himself out as an unpredictable psychopath, while Jimmy ensures the job is complete by firing a few shots into the victim. He is presented as a stone-cold killer. Henry, having inflicted no injury, is considered simply as an associate to the killing and the least sinister of a so far entirely villainous set of characters. This makes it easier for viewers to align with him when they are forced to by the introduction of his voiceover. When the first words of the voiceover finally confirm the genre, “As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster,” Henry is alone in the shot, making it clear that it is him speaking, and his voice sounds bitter and regretful, so that the audience empathises with him and realises that he did not wish his dream to turn out as we see it in this first scene. Our protagonist is established.
The song Rags to Riches transports us back in time to Henry’s childhood, with lyrics that represent his narrative goal, to achieve the ‘American dream’. We become aware that the opening scene was a flash-forward; it has been juxtaposed with Henry’s childhood to make the audience want to know how he reached that situation, and a biographical format, typical of the gangster film, begins. The use of a voiceover gives a subjective point of view and a restricted narrative style and allows us to listen in on Henry’s thoughts so that we feel aligned with him. This style can also generate surprise by withholding information from the audience. An extreme close-up of Henry’s eye and an over-the-shoulder shot of him align us further with the main character, and the fact that he comes from an ordinary family and initially seems to have had a fairly standard upbringing allows the majority of the audience to relate to Henry. Now that Henry, through the voiceover, is discussing his childhood, he sounds more nostalgic.
An appropriate setting for the gangster genre is created by views of neglected and run-down streets. The group of gangsters is mainly seen from a distance, as Henry was at first, to help put the audience in his position, and a stereotypical view of a crime family is built up through iconography. There are close-ups of a gleaming car, it lifting up to show the weight of the man getting out, polished shoes, jewellery and cigars; the men are all suited and over-fed and we learn from the voiceover that they are also Italian-American. Henry’s initial commitment to and respect for the gang is representative of the conventional narrative structure of the gangster film and is illustrated by the fact that he rushes around to complete all his jobs quickly. More close-ups of cigars and alcohol place emphasis on the materialism of the gangster and demonstrate Henry’s fascination with the gangster’s way of life. This attitude contrasts with the scene we have already viewed, of how Henry’s life turns out; there is violence and death from the start, no glorification of the gangster in the opening scene, and this ties in with the underlying message of the traditional gangster film, that crime does not pay.
A violent childhood is also a recurring narrative theme in the gangster genre, and a low angle shot when Henry is being beaten puts us in his position so that we empathise with him. Freeze-frames are used throughout the film to expand the duration of one particular moment in the story and mark it out as significant. They also give more time for Henry to reflect on the event through his voiceover. Henry’s rebellion against society at such a young age is shown by the fact that he has dropped out of school and cannot bear to take part in “good government bullshit”. He also tones down the gang’s purposes by relating them to the police: “the police department for wiseguys”. This makes them seem more socially acceptable and lawful, so that the audience is more inclined to warm to the gangster characters.
Sources:
Tzvetan Todorov (1975c: The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre Cornell University Press.
Martha Nochimson (2007) Dying to Belong: Gangster Movies in Hollywood and Hong Kong Wiley-Blackwell.
Nicholas Pileggi (2011) Goodfellas Bloomsbury Publishing.
Liz Cooper - A 22 year old media graduate from northern England, Liz now lives in London where she undertakes freelance television and writing work. A ...
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