1. The gangster genre tells the story of an immigrant who wants more than his low social status and gains power through taking it from others in a lawless urban environment. 2. Success is measured by material goods and women, with society and law enforcement seen as antagonists trying to enforce the status quo. 3. The end justifies the means for the gangster character.

1. Motives of The Gangster Genre
1. The hero is an immigrant who dislikes his low status in life and wants more.
2. Unlike the Western, this story takes place in the big city. The wide open plains have been traded in for the seedy
alleyways and wharves of the urban jungle.
3. The gangster can only gain power by taking it. It is survival of the fittest, and the only law is the law of the jungle.
4. The only loyalty the gangster feels is for his own immigrant roots.
5. Success is measured in material goods - flashy cars, expensive clothes, and mansions. Women are measures of
success as well.
6. The hero's antagonist is society, and the enforcers of the law. The police, the FBI, the CIA represent the enforcers of
societal status quo.
7. The end justifies the means.
Conventions of gangster
thriller genre
•Fast pace music
•Chase scenes
•Violence
•Weapons: guns,
knives, ect
•Fight for power.
Developed around sinister actions of
criminal or gangster, like bank robbers
and underworld figures who operate
outside the law. the stories usually
highlight the life of a crime figure or
victim. Showing the rise or fall of
gangs, criminals murderers or
lawbreakers.
•Quick cuts
•Low lighting
•Use of shadows
•Tense music
•Themes of identity
Charlotte Allan
Gangsters are usually materialistic, immoral,
street-smart and self-destructive. They rise
to power with a tough façade while showing
an ambition for success although their
weakness can often be sensitivity and
gentleness to their own family and
background. Although they are usually set up
to be doomed in the film for failure or death,
they can usually be seen as the victim to the
circumstances because their stories are
shown from their point of view.