SarahPhilip

In films and TV shows, ranging from ‘The Godfather’ to ‘Peakey Blinders’, gangsters are almost always depicted sympathetically. They’re the heroes, the people we root for. It doesn’t matter how many people they kill, we see them as being justified. But why do we look at them so favourably? It’s not as simple as them being the focal point. What almost every gangster film or TV show does is show the excitement and glamour of their lives, often against a bleak backdrop. ‘Broadwalk Empire’, for instance, is set in the era of prohibition. It’s not just that their lives are exciting though. There’s this sense that they can do anything, that they have so much power. As much as we might disagree with the violence, the sense that they can do something if someone comes against them is an intoxicating thought. ‘The Godfather’ perfectly captured the idea of Michael getting payback when someone tried to kill his father. In fact, the whole idea of gangsters as family, whether or not they’re related by blood, makes their actions more sympathetic. There’s a sense of loyalty between all of them that is heightened because they are always in life or death situations. This in turn makes betrayal, even worse.

Discuss how and why films and TV shows glamorise gangsters.

Romance novel are often looked down on and seen as somehow inferior. Chick lit is a name that has negative connotations. It suggests something trashy or throwaway. Even Jane Austen, whose books are considered classics, is criticised for not concentrating on weightier issues. But why are romance novels so easily dismissed? Is it because it’s mainly a genre written by women? Is it literary snobbery for something that is so popular? Romance, after all, is an important part of everyone’s life. Most people either get married or live together. Obviously not all romance novels can be of the same calibre but many are well written and engaging. So there does seem to be an unfair tendency to criticise romance novels.

Look at this idea in terms of classic authors like Jane Austen and modern day authors like Diana Gabaldon or Nicholas Sparks.

The evil twin is, at first glance, a predictable trope where pure villainy is set against the heroism of the central protagonist. Evil is subsequently only something that is external to our hero. But is this all there is? Does having an evil twin make the hero confront another side to himself? What does it mean for the viewer to see someone who looks exactly like the hero we know behave in a completely different manner? Does it make us reevaluate his behaviour, think about what circumstances could make him turn to the dark side? Or is this all negated by the disappearance or death of the evil twin and a swift return to the status quo?