Racial and Class Discrimination - Essay Example

0Introduction Racial and discrimination puts a wedge between the rich White Anglo-Saxons Protestants (WASPS) and the other groups in London. While the WASPS have constructed an affluent and easy lifestyle, the less privileged groups have to struggle to make ends meet against the odds. Engagement in criminal activities is one of the options left for this group. As such “references to ‘race’ and ethnicity are commonplace in empirical criminology” (Phillips and Bowling 270). This trend is well captured in Ritchie’s film, Snatch. The London’s underprivileged are represented in this film by the Blacks thieves (Sol, Vinny and the like), the Poor (Tommy and Turkish), the uncanny Jewish (Doug), the smart American (Avi), the pickeys (the likes of Mickey). This group of individuals is pushed into the criminal underworld to eke out a living. The film depicts them as unscrupulous arms and diamond dealers; dare devil robbers; violent murderers; cunning blackmailers; and dishonest gamblers and boxers. Survival in London Engaging in shoddy deals is one way to survive in London. Boris is an unscrupulous arms dealer while Doug “The Head” is a jewelry dealer in London who acts as a middleman for Cousin Avi, a diamond dealer based in New York. The deal in question revolves around a stolen 84-carat diamond which is to be delivered to London from Belgium. The international professional thief, Franky “Four Fingers”, organizes a heist to possess ‘the Stone’ at Antwerp. He is to deliver it to Doug in London for onward delivery to Cousin Avi of New York. Bare-knuckles boxing and gambling also offer another avenue for survival for the underprivileged especially the pickeys. The Irish Mickey O’Neil, a boxing champion gets into a bare-knuckle brawl with “Gorgeous” George and Tommy, who had been sent by Turkish to buy a caravan from the pickeys. George is badly injured. From then on, Mickey is enlisted for boxing bouts manipulated to benefit Brick Top at the bookies. This group also uses blackmail and counter-blackmail extensively as survival instincts. Turkish blackmails Mickey into replacing the injured George in the upcoming boxing match in exchange for a new caravan he would buy for Mickey’s mother. On his part, Brick Top agrees with the change of fighter on condition that Mickey loses the fight in the 4th round. Another case of blackmail is when Boris offers to give Franky a gun on condition that Franky places a bet at Brick Top’s bookies on Boris’ behalf. Robbery and thievery are other means of survival for this group. On realizing that Franky is in debts and cannot place bets, Cousin Avi flies from New York to London accompanied with his bodyguard Rosebud to get the diamond from Franky. Boris at the same time pays his Blacks hand men Vinny, Sol and two others to rob the diamond from Franky at the bookies. Vinny and his friends, however, fail to murder Franky, but they are caught on camera even as they manage to kidnap him. Counter-blackmail is evident when Mickey does not play according to the script and knocks down his opponent in the first round. This infuriates Brick Top, who, in response, decides to deny Turkish all his savings and insist that Mickey fights must in another match he has to lose in the fourth round. The culture of violence and murder is a way of life for the underprivileged racial or social classes in London. (Jewesbury 41) supports the view that non-EU citizens in Britain find themselves in illegal and criminal engagements. In Snatch, there is a cycle of violence as Boris forcefully gets the diamond from Franky and kills him at the bookies. While Vinny and his accomplices try to dispose of Franky’s body, Brick Top comes to the bookies ready to kill them for violent robbery at his bookies. Sol promises to deliver the stolen diamond to Brick Top within 48 hours in order to spare their lives. Having missed Franky, Cousin Avi and Doug “The Head” hires the services of Tony “Bullet-Tooth” to search for Franky. The trail leads them to Boris, who is also being pursued by Sol and his friends. Avi’s camp manages to kidnap Boris, and they retrieve “the Stone” from him. Tommy causes Tony to the car crash killing Rosebud by throwing a carton of milk at their car’s windscreen. As Boris is escaping from the car wreckage, he is hit and greatly injured by Vinny’s driver Tyrone. The gun-trotting Vinny, Sol, and Tyrone then confront Tony and Avi at a pub, but the former’s guns are replicas and hence they are forced by Tony to leave. The badly injured Boris arrives armed with an AK-47 rifle, but Tony kills him with his .50 Desert Eagle pistol. Thievery, robbery, deceit, blackmail, and a culture of violence climax in the film as Sol and Vinny take off with a diamond – Vinny hides it in his pants. Tony trails them and catches them, but they deceive him that the diamond is in their pawn shop. Tony forcefully retrieves the diamond from them, but Vinny’s dog promptly swallows the diamond and flees as Avi fires at it ending up shooting Tony accidentally. Mickey unsuccessfully tries to blackmail the penniless Turkish into buying his mother a better caravan before he can fight again. Brick Top sends his men to vandalize Turkish’s shop and raze down the caravan belonging to Mickey’s mother while she is inside, killing her, to intimidate Mickey into fighting. Although Mickey gets too drunk at his mother’s wake, Brick Top threatens that should Mickey not reach the 4th round as earlier agreed, Brick would kill him together with Turkish, Tommy and all the pickeys at the campsite. Mickey conspires with his folks that he will fight to the 4th round to give them enough time to attack and kill Brick’s men at the camping site. The police arrive at the deserted pickeys’ camp only to find Turkish and Tommy, who lie to them that they are walking Vinny’s dog, which suddenly appears, on the scene. The police arrest Vinny and Sol as the bodies of Tony and Franky are found in their car boot. Tommy and Turkish meanwhile take the dog to a veterinary doctor to extract a toy it had swallowed and in the process; they found a diamond in its stomach. They approach Doug “The Head” for selling the diamond and the latter calls Cousin Avi to come back to London for the deal. Implications and reflections The way of life of the less dominant social groups in London is characterized by dangerous lifestyle that pushes them to live on the edge. This has twin implications: the rate of criminology will continue to rise in London, the WASPS will not enjoy their utmost peace since their property, comfort, and lives will always be at risk. This privileged group rarely gets conscious even in “obvious aggression from their racial, ethnic, and religious rivals” (Fraser 31). Discriminatory and unequal policies drive the less dominant groups to the same corner from which they build structures that cannot be easily infiltrated by the police. It is clear that in the film, Snatch, the law-enforcement agencies only arrive at the tail end of the criminal dealings. They are shocked to find two bodies in Vinny’s car. It is also worth noting that Vinny and his colleagues argued that it was unlikely for poor black men in an old car to be trailed by the police. Peaceful and harmonious co-existence can only thrive in an equal society or one that strives to achieve this goal. It remains to be seen if London is making any effort towards this end. Conclusion From the foregoing, it is evident that social constructions in London that favor the White Anglo-Saxons Protestants at the expense of the other groups breeds mistrust, desperation and criminal rings. The depiction of this sorry state of affairs in Snatch is another subtle appeal to the stakeholders to right the wrongs before a revolution erupts. Policies that need reexamination include equity, pluralism, non-discrimination, and multiracial co-existence. Works Cited Fraser, Andrew. The WASP Question: An Essay on the Bio cultural Evolution, Present Predicament, and Future Prospects of the Invisible. Australia: Arktos Media. (2011) Print. Jewesbury, Daniel. “The End of Tolerance: Racism in 21st Century Britain.” Variant 32 (2008): 39-42. Print. Phillips, Coretta, and Benjamin Bowling “Racism, ethnicity and criminology: developing minority perspectives.” British journal of criminology, 43.2 (2003): 269-290. Print. Read More