American Gangster assignment

April 13, 2020
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The film is “American Gangster” (2007).

The Reading is Will Cooley, “The Work: Dealing and Violence in the War on Drugs Era,” Labor: Studies in Working- Class History, 15:2 (2018), 77-110.

Here are the questions:

  1. The critic David Denby says American Gangster sends a confusing message. Is Frank Lucas’s ascent meant to be a “strike against racism” or a “cruel joke on his own community”? He states, “viewers may ask why it’s supposed to be better that hundreds, maybe thousands, of people in Harlem were destroyed by black gangsters rather than by Italians.” What are your thoughts? Answer in 8-10 sentences, citing the film and the reading.
  2. Many critics argue that the Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) character does not add much to the film and makes it yet another cops and robbers movie. The source material for the film did not include the Roberts character at all. Why did the filmmakers choose to give this character so much screen time in a film called “American Gangster”?
  3. For “The Work,” what is the author’s thesis (argument)?  Cite page numbers.
  4. What are the author’s secondary claims (the major key points that support or help prove the argument). Examine at least two. Cite page numbers.
  5. Summarize your thoughts about the essay. Does the author prove his argument? Which evidence or which points most persuaded you that the historian’s interpretation was correct? Which arguments or claims provoked the most skepticism?   Cite specific examples and page numbers. Use 6-10 sentences.
  6. Critics of the essay and the film argue that drug law reformers do not properly address the problems that would come with ending drug prohibition and claim changing drug laws could make things worse.  Do you agree?  Why or why not? Use 5-8 sentences.
  7. Why did Frank Lucas succeed in becoming a powerful black gangster and an equal of the Italian mafia when so many of his predecessors had failed to reach these heights? What changed in this era? Use 6-10 sentences and cite the reading and the movie.
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