Gangs of New York: Introduction to the Identity of the City - Essay Example

The history of New York City gives an idea of how the multi-cultural and multi-ethnic aspect of the city is the result of the social movements that had led to chaos and anarchy in the 19th century. Different time periods marked different social movements in the New York City. However, one of the most important events in the history of New York City was proclamation of abolishment of slavery by President Abraham Lincoln, in September 1862. The depiction of the social impact of the proclamation and the revolt it created in the New York City are portrayed in the movie ‘Gangs of New York’.

‘Gangs of New York’ is directed by Martin Scorsese, who is well known for making movies that depict the impact of social and political situations on lives of common people. He uses the craft of movie making to represent how human being is shaped by the social environment and political conditions around him. In the movie ‘Gangs of New York,’ through the character of Bill Cutting and his gang, Scorsese has portrayed the anger and frustration seeping through Caucasians due to the immigration of foreigners, especially the Irish.

However, the movie is not just about civil war opposing the immigrants, but is a beautiful, aesthetic and brilliant portrayal of how the immigration of foreigners, in spite of the social and political upheavals in the mid-19th century, gave birth to the multi-cultural population of New York City, which has given the city its unique identity and fame. Importance of History Human civilizations are not built in few years. It has taken centuries for the societies and the countries of the world to build and hence, its foundation lies in the past.

Modern man is fortunate enough to enjoy the freedom from physical labor and hardships of life due to the development in the technology. Moreover, most of the population of the world lives a free and secure life due to the formation of governments. However, the same was not true in the past. The freedom of today’s man is a result of the revolution, toil and battles fought by his ancestors in the past. Humanity owes its freedom and luxury to the personal, social and national movements of the past.

Millions of people have sacrificed their lives to establish the norms and practices that are ‘right.’ They have toiled and fought even when they knew that the rewards of their fight will not be enjoyed by them, but will be enjoyed by the future generations. It is on the pillars of sacrifice and devotion of people in past that today’s world is built. Hence, it is important to study history. ‘History’ is an important window to understand the development of humanity. As it is ‘history’ that introduces man to his past, it is important to study it and learn from it.

There are many mediums like books, autobiographies, documentaries, letters, diaries etc., through which one can get introduced to history. However, one of the most interesting mediums to understand history is cinema. Different movies have depicted different eras of history. Similarly, the movie ‘Gangs of New York’ is a historical movie that portrays the New York City of mid-19th century in a beautiful way. In the movie, the importance of history in human life is expressed in an excellent way through a sentence in narration of the story by protagonist, Amsterdam.

While describing the emotion