"Good Amerians," and Films

Public Enemy (1931) depicts the Prohibition era in American history, an era that in some ways tested what it meant to be a normal American. While a certain behavior--drinking alcohol--was proscribed by law, it was also an activity indulged in by or and ore Americans who seemed to enjoy the illicit nature of the activity. One of the consequences of Prohibition was the empowerment and enrichment of an organized criminal class that would continue in operation once Prohibition was ended by simply shifting to other criminal enterprises that would also be profitable. Tom Powers is part of this beginning of organized crime. He is an American with criminal tendencies--it is evident that though he comes from a tough neighborhood, his criminality is always within him. He becomes a criminal and a killer because he likes it and not because of dire economic need. The good, normal American is his brother, who puts himself through college and works toward the American dream on the right side of th

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ptain works for the other family and thus facilitates attempts at murder. American society is represented in the film largely by Kay, who becomes part of this family structure when she marries Michael. She may be the only average, normal American featured in the film, for everyone else is a criminal, made so by membership in the family. The immigrant is represented not only by the Corleone family but by other immigrants with whom they come into contact. The immigrant experience produces good, normal Americans, but the American dream can warp the value systems of some and cause them to undermine the society from which they benefit so greatly. The importance of family is emphasized in the opening of the film, an extended wedding sequence as the daughter of the family is being married at a wedding attended by a vast number of relations and business associates who constitute a non-related extended family. The nature of the extended family for the Corleone's is seen in a number of ways. First, the family lives in a compound in which the different generations coexist, with each nuclear family group being part of the larger family in the compound. The compound is in this sense reminiscent of Italian village life such as Don Corle
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Don Corleone, Tom Powers, Enemy Godfather, Animal House, Spike Lee's, Americans American, America Godfather, Public Enemy, , America Third, normal american, american society, animal house, normal americans, american films, extended family, american history, public enemy, corleone family, era american history, criminal class,
Approximate Word count = 1685
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)