A Bronx Tale Analysis - Movie Review Example

A Bronx Tale Review The racially-charged setting of NewYork in the 1960s is the backdrop for the movie, “A Bronx Tale.” “A Bronx Tale” portraysa young Sicilian male named Calogero from boyhood through his teenage years. The boy finds himself befriended by a mob boss, Sonny, who becomes a second father to him. As the young man enters high school he is attracted to an African American girl, Jane, who causes conflict both internally and externally for him as he deals with peer pressure, personal angst, and family expectations. The 1960’s was a time of change for racial issues in America. Their where appeals by African American leaders protesting segregation in the United States and the role and status of the black community was transforming. This film is set in the thickest era of the racial segregation issue within the country. In the city of New Jersey there was a heavy population of Italian/Americans that lived alongside African Americans and the constant threat of violent encounters kept tensions high within both communities. African Americans were fighting for their right to vote and to end segregation and in the midst of it all a common paranoia was that anyone who seemed to be of white decent was a threat. This would explain why in the movie there were times where upon immediate contact there were unavoidable confrontations. African Americans were often subjected to lower positions when they were employed. This would explain the next scene described. The first African American shown in the film is a black bartender at the neighborhood pub which the gangsters frequent. This depiction of an African American in a service position is accurate and represents the lower societal classification of African Americans in the United States in the1960s. The film’s next portrayal of African Americans is a segregated school bus driving through the Italian neighborhood. One Italian boy says, “They don’t live here.” Another Italian boy says, “That’s how it starts.” The neighborhood boys taunt and yell at the bus passengers, inciting one African American boy on the bus to make an obscene gesture at the neighborhood boys. This portrayal reveals the territorial nature of segregation as well as the lack of respect and understanding among different ethnicities. It also shows that the prejudices were mutually held, however the African American prejudice against Caucasians was probably in response to the Caucasians’ initial prejudice which was rooted in slavery. This theme of divisiveness is reinforced in a later scene when the teenage Calogero walks the African American girl home but stops before crossing into the African American neighborhood, a block from her actual house. The reason that Calogero stopped was another example of the lines in the sand that were drawn to keep the two communities separate. Some African American males yell at the Sicilian boy and one African American young man throws a rock at his back as he walks away. When several African American boys peacefully ride their bicycles through the Italian neighborhood the group of Italian boys attacks them. While Calogero abstains from participating, he suffers though guilt by association and is accused of wrong doing by Jane, whose brother was one of the boys who was attacked. Later the group of Italian boy’s fire shots and hurl fire bombs at an African American drugstore where several African Americans are gathered. One fire bomb is hurled back at them and ignites the car into an explosion, killing all of them. The film’s violent portrayal of racism during this era is accurate. The unease and distrust between different races of people was heightened by the general malice and mistrust of the American government and the leaders’ decision-making abilities. The need to belong and be accepted by one’s peers was greater during this time of uncertainty and change. Inter-racial relationships were uncommon and disapproved of. This again showed the power that racism had over the people of the United States at the time. There is a scene in the film where Calogero and Jane kiss romantically twice on the street corner. I doubt if this open display of affection is realistic due to the violent nature of the opposition to inter-racial relationships. It was very well known for interracial couples in the 1960’s to be subject to violence it such displays of affection where witnessed. Such opposition still exists today in certain parts of the United States. “A Bronx Tale” also addresses the peculiarities of the Italian ethnicity during the 1960s in New York. The hierarchy and power of the Italian mob is shown in a clear and effective manner. While the mob is shown to be powerful and influential, Calogero’s father represents the disassociation and distaste of the average Italian citizen from the mob. The patriarchal nature of the Italian family is depicted saliently, as is the chauvinism of pre-feminist United States society. There is a recurring theme of revenge which reveals the closed-mindedness of the people of this era. A viewer must have contextual sensitivity when watching this movie to understand the cultural climate throughout the movie. In the end Sonny himself is shot and killed as an act of revenge for a murder he committed 16 years earlier. The film shows that racism creates a “no win” environment, especially when retaliation and violence are used as the means of communication. The superiority of any one group is shown to be fallible as everyone suffers from such territorial and retaliatory actions. Stereotyping is addressed through the portrayal of children being children—riding their bikes, playing “rock, scissor, paper” etc.—no matter what their race. As sonny enters into his early adulthood, naivety and whimsy takes over him in his quest to win over Jane’s heart. The women in the movie exemplify the false stereotyping that exists. The female African American, Jane, is well-spoken, well-groomed, and well-disciplined. She is not subservient; in fact the character of Calogero’s mother displays much more deference to her husband than Jane does to Calogero. Racism is motivated by a sense of insecurity, hence the territorial behavior associated with racism. A person or group feels threatened by a person or group who is unlike themselves. The human need for survival and dominance may sometimes be expressed as bigotry, racism, or prejudice. It is the lack of communication and cultural understanding which underlies the issue of racism. The differences among people accompanied by closed-mindedness with a lack of humility lead to racism and prejudice. The Italian gangsters in “A Bronx Tale” especially reveal this power struggle, even within their group of gangsters. Calogero’s father is a humble man, a bus driver, who believes in respect for others and family values. “A Bronx Tale” has believable characters and situations and presents a stark depiction of racial disparity. The film is an adaptation of a 1990 play by Chazz Palminteri. While the film was not released until 1993 the issues of racism and prejudice are ever prevalent in today’s society. The main character, Calogero, shows a strong moral conviction and a questioning intellect. He is not willing to accept the status quo just because of the accepted norm. With the encouragement of his mobster father figure, he pursues Jane despite adversity from his and her peers, their neighborhood residents, and his father. The ugliness and absurdity of bigotry and racism is well illustrated in “A Bronx Tale.” References A Bronx Tale. (n.d.) In Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bronx_Tale. Gatien, P., Kilik, J., & Rosenthal, J. (Producers) & De Niro, R. (1993). A bronx tale. (Motion picture). United States: Savoy Pictures. Read More