Public Enemy and The Godfather

Public Enemy and The Godfather

The film “Public Enemy and The Godfather” portrays criminal activities developed from societal and cultural interactions between people. Tom is a criminal and the leader of a gangster group that kills and oppresses people in the community. Tom is violent and is easily frustrated by small disagreements between him and other siblings like Mike, who served as a marine in World War I (Cummings 51). Tom has fewer connections with his family members due to his violence and frustrations, limiting his ability to create lasting relationships. Besides, Tom is brought up in the era of World War I, which impacts his interaction with other people. A gangster community is filled with frequent war and drug abuse. Tom is ruthless, which are trait adopted through observation and practice because of his society. Tom has a role in organizing crimes, but these actions are unwanted in his society. 

The Godfather consists of organized crimes based on family gangsters, where criminal activities were done for business purposes. The Corleone family supported gangsters and criminal activities, and the head of families was entrusted with these roles. The Corleone conducted criminal activities in an orderly manner (Loda 40). The leaders had the skills and abilities to conduct crime because the values were natural at the family level. The Corleone were powerful and had the power to influence the operations of their gangsters in their families. Eventually, the community praised the Corleone for restoring the power of the family after defeating bother gangsters that engaged in riots leading to the killing f family members like the Sicilian wife of Vito. 

Societal values and beliefs influence victory or defeat or organized and disorganized crimes towards the criminals and the portrayed actions. The Godfather depicts a culture that supports criminal activities, while the public enemy illustrates unorganized criminal activities. The crimes at Corleone at based on business interaction with other families, while Tom engages in unorganized crime in selling drugs and unplanned murder. The nature of insider culture supports these differences at Corleone, which is powerful, whereas Tom is involved in crimes condemned in the community. The difference is a societal connection to crimes leads to a victorious ending gained by Corleone and the death of Tom.  

Works Cited

Cummings, Andre Douglas Pond. "Derrick Bell: godfather provocateur." Harv. J. Racial & Ethnic Just. 28 (2012): 51. 

Loda, Jakob. The Public Enemy, The Godfather, and Pulp Fiction. Diss. 2018. 1-50