Chapter 3: Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

Chapter 3

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS 

AND RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY

     This paper attempted to determined how the mafia movies affect the behavior of teenagers through media or social media. The media is a very powerful hand of communication and influence to teenagers. 

      This research design used in this study is the investigative method wherein data from articles on the internet were used to answer the research question posed. The research findings are the following:

1. Movies such as The Godfather, Scarface and Goodfellas are some of the most watch mafia movies that portray the kind of characteristic of what a mobster is.

2. It's true that many gangs in the U.S. use teenagers for business, influence them on immoral things that a criminal would actually do.

3. Teenagers are the most easy to be influenced by any kind of things, that especially includes their behavior. 

CONCLUSIONS

      Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions are drawn:

1. Teenagers are vulnerable and are easily to be influenced on how they think and behave.

2. They draw their identity from people who are close to them and has authority over them.

3. Media provides information on how they pattern their lifestyle on people with power like mafia bosses, and their toughness. That being soft and emotional is a sign of weakness.

RECOMMENDATIONS

      After drawing the conclusions of the study, I hereby make the following suggestions/recommendations:

1. The media should have the sense of responsibility on the projection of violent movies such as movies that includes mafia and mobsters. They should know what the possible outcome of what they project on the movies.

2. The parents should choose an environment for their child to grow on, and develop a very good relationship to their children when they grow to be teenagers. So they could know when they are at the adolescent stage, those things they see at the movies, the violent scenes are not to be done in real life. 

References 

A. Electronic Media 

Mokeyane, Nola. Media's Positive & Negative Influence on Teenagers. Retrieved December 10, 2013 from http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/medias-positive-negative-influence-teenagers-10506.html

Welsh, Moira (2004). Mafia Movies Influence Gang. Retrieved December 9, 2013 from http://www.thefreeradical.ca/copycatCrimes/mafiaMoviesInfluenceGang.html

Sorte, Mike La (2009). Analyze This: The Criminal Mentality. Retrieved October 13, 2013 from http://www.americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_433.html

Orlandini, Gino (May 2013).The Iceman Review – Infamous Mafia Hitman Struggles For Work-Life Balance. Retrieved November 11, 2013 from http://hollywoodlife.com/2013/05/03/the-iceman-movie-review-james-franco/

Bradshaw, Peter (June 2013). The Iceman - review. Retrieved November 11, 2013 from http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/jun/06/the-iceman-review

"Mafia in the United States." Retrieved November 11, 2013 from http://www.history.com/topics/mafia-in-the-united-states

Walker, Clarence (Febuary 2005).Help Wanted... Who wants to Join the Mafia? Retrieved November 4, 2013 from http://www.americanmafia.com/feature_articles_295.html

Sorte, Mike La (2009). The Rise and Fall of Omerta. Retrieved November 4, 2013 from http://www.americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_440.html

Moody, Barry (November 2012). Gay anti-mafia politician breaks mold in Sicily. Retrieved October 22, 2013 from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-11-12/features/sns-rt-us-italy-sicilybre8ab0po-20121112_1_mafia-boss-anti-mafia-giovanni-falcone/2

Mulkerrins, Jane (September 2013). My father, New York's most feared mafia boss. Retrieved October 7, 2013 from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/10304254/My-father-New-Yorks-most-feared-mafia-boss.html

Crace, John (Febuary 2013). Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano: my dad, the mafia underboss. Retrieved October 7, 2013 from http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/feb/15/sammy-gravano-mafia-dad-karen-gravano

Chapter 1: Introduction

THE MAFIA










A Research Paper Presented to
The English Resource Center
Asia Pacific College
3 Humabon Place, Magallanes
Makati City







In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Course
Research Writing











James Levi More

December 2013

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

     Numerous corruption and killings in the world of civilization are caused by the mobster works. The process of gaining power over the city merge the interpretation of the spectators and the mafia itself. Most mobsters are psychopaths, they gain it for pleasure, they feel no conscience, while others do it with honor for their family. Mafia mobsters has proven to be one of the most common criminal in the world.

     Corruption provides mobsters or mafia families with more power and money in order to control the city. According to the article entitled, "Analyze This: The Criminal Mentality" by Mike La Sorte, Professor Emeritus in the website americanmafia.com, he said that a  psychopath is someone alienated, aggressive and highly impulsive. It's a person who feels no kind of guilt or conscience, and commits crimes like its a normal thing (http://www.americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_433.html).

     General sources of money and power are the different types of businesses (protection racketeering, money laundry, stealing banks, drug trafficking) or the traditional ways where you only want to have a good life for your family. Some of the most influential elements that contribute to mobsters are historical events of murder in the mafia life. This things are somehow exalted in movies and in games. One of the best personality of a mobster in most of these movies is the toughness. Some of the best movies that shows this kind of characteristic are Scarface, The Godfather, Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction and many more. 

     In spite of all the government authorities chasing and arresting the mafia organization, there is still a bigger problem in terms of looking into the society. Among these are the teenagers, some of them fantasize the life of being a mobster. Living dangerously, being rich, having political power, and the pleasure of all things he could possibly get by being a mobster. Although at present, the mafia is being manifested at computer games, online games and many other types of games to be displayed at. This is where the violence come at most, it displays the most common way of showing that you are tough and unafraid to die. 

    
    There is a perception on some teenagers that the enjoyment of a teenager in watching mafia films will be liberated in having to see the violence and the influence of the mafia organization on the society. Without the guidance of a parent on their teenager son or daughter, what would be the effect on them psychologically? What if many of the teenagers fantasizing the world of mafia get deeply interested and decides to join mafia gang, how would it affect today's generation, if a large group of teenagers wants to join the mafia or be a criminal. Therefore, having background knowledge in mafia will add to the viewers' awareness on why a mobster is does it and taught that way. 

     In similar to what kinds of businesses the mafia does, in the Philippines there are only syndicates, drug trafficking, buying political power and forming different kind of gangs and fraternities. The difference is that, in the Philippines they consider it a brotherhood, while in the U.S. they call it family.  

     Instead of dealing with a mobster, why not block that idea of being tough in a way where you can have a peace of mind, this paper focuses on what the mafia brought into this world, how will it affect the young teenagers who fantasize the mafia and what solution is there to stop the mafia from being a psychopath. 

B. Statement of the Problem    

    This study aims to answer this question:

    1. How will the mafia mobsters movies affect the behavior of an individual teenager?

  

C. Significance of the study

High school and college students. This research paper would be able to help students in high school or college students who are interested in the mafia and their culture. This would help them to open their eyes to what is really happening in this type of organization, its not just the toughness or the violence, it is also about what would it contribute to helping the world stop any kinds of worldly problems. 

Future Researchers. This study is essential for future researchers to make similar studies since there is a need for psychological studies in the minds of criminals. For the future studies to be made, exploiting this paper as a source of valuable data, there might be an improvement in looking more deeply into what the mafia is really all about.

D. Scope and Delimitation

    This study focuses on what the mafia brought into this world and how it operates in a country. Mobsters have been considered since this topic is widely accepted as a topic for toughness and violence. 

    This study does not discuss other topics for politics, poverty and global problems the mafia caused. This is also to give attention to the mobsters way of living and making business. Moreover, some articles say that most of the mobsters nowadays are psychopaths. Therefore, the study would be most suitable to the continuing reports on mafia cases. 


E.   Materials and Methods

      This research employs investigative method, this research aims to find and to discuss how would the Mafia in social media affect the behavior of an individual teenager. This method is defined as a process of gathering, analyzing, and classifying how the media is the bridge of communication to influencing millions of people including young teenagers.

      Information relevant to the study was gathered from various references in the internet such as news articles and other articles from online sources. 

F.   Definition of Terms

Psychopath  
Someone who is alienated, aggressive and highly impulsive. It is a person who feels no kind of guilt or conscience, and commits crimes like it’s a normal thing.

Mobster
A gangster of the mafia family, a person who follows orders from the mafia boss and can be ranked in a highly according to his performance.

Underboss 
A member of the gang second to the boss. He takes orders and delivers the orders to the lower rank the soldiers and associates.

Chapter 2: Discussion

Chapter 2

DISCUSSION

How will the mafia mobster movies affect the behavior of an individual teenager?

Media or social media is a powerful hand in terms of communication to millions of people around the world, specially to the adolescents. Teenagers are the most curious and adventure looking people we could ever hoped for. Teenagers spend their days online visiting sites like facebook, twitter, myspace, as well as playing video games, watching tv, and even reading books that send them confused messages.

Violence in media often conveys a conflict of knowing who has the authority to do violence. Young people such as children and teenagers often view the "bad guys" in the movies as the violent ones, and the "good guys" use the same, they fight violence with violence. Heroes are violent, and, as such, they are rewarded for their behavior. It is just like the usual scenario of using violence for a righteous cause to defend the weak. In the daily life, it may translate as a justification for using violence to perceive victimizers. 

The mafia use violence to protect their families and their illegal businesses, they use violence to gain power, wealth and influence. The adolescent age is the most important stage of development, according to Erik Erikson's "development depends on what is done to a person.  At this point, development now depends primarily upon what a person does.  An adolescent must struggle to discover and find his or her own identity, while negotiating and struggling with social interactions and “fitting in”, and developing a sense of morality and right from wrong." Teens are the most curious people, as Erikson said that at the adolescent age there is role confusion, when the mafia comes in to a life of a teenager, you could expect the worst consequences on young people to joining and be influenced by mafia gangsters.      


According to the article entitled Media's Positive & Negative Influence on Teenagers written by Nola Mokeyane, that at a developmental stage when teens seek greater freedom and independence, the glorification of drugs, alcohol, risky sexual and violent behaviors in the media make it challenging for teens to make responsible behavioral choices. With regarding to this, teenagers are confused because of the dirty and tempting movies and shows that the media portrays. A confused teenager with no guidance and good relationship with a parent might actually be a victim of this kinds of behavior.

After looking for many information, an article entitled Mafia movies influence gang an article written by Moira Welsh on the site www.thefreeradical.ca, gangs often do the usual criminal life, but here they copied the mafia way. According to this there are many teenagers involved in this gang called Malvern Crew.  There are jealousies between the leaders and the younger "soldiers", mostly teenagers, who are required to prove themselves by doing street crimes, the officer said. It's no surprise then, that teenagers are taking a piece of the drug trade for themselves — especially at high school. 

Characteristics of a Mobster

According to the site americanmafia.com these are some of the usual characteristics shown on movies and different books I've read about the mafia. 

A. Fearless

Showing no sign of fear by not creating any face expression.

B. Short Tempered

Easily angered, they tend to scare people by showing unusual types of displaying their emotions. It's either hurting them or destroying things around them.

C. Guilt Free or Conscience Free

They are trained to feel guilt free, by allowing them to do their jobs without letting them feel unhappy that what they are doing is something morally bad.

D. Aggressive

Behaving angry and violent in doing their job and to the enemy.

Aside from these characteristics, a change in a teenager is heavily highlighted. The fact that they fantasize the stereotyped character of a mobster, the toughness, fearless and aggressive faces they display at the movies they watch, they still don't know what is the consequence on having that kind of character. In my own observation, the mafia bosses and other higher ranked gangsters do love their families, regardless of who they are with.

Since these are the stereotyped characteristics of an individual mobster, lets now look on how would it affect the young mind of a single teenager. In watching those kind of movies, action movies, any type of movies that includes killing, violent actions, aggressive display of angry emotions, a teenager tends to watch it a lot more. By watching it, the mind memorizes the characteristics without the teenager being aware of it.

Consequences that may happen

With an individual teenager happen to be on an environment where he could be influenced by those kind of things, he or she might suffer the consequence. When they tend to be obsessive on things like this, especially the mafia life, they tend treat it as if it is their goal in life.

According to the article I found entitled "Help Wanted... Who wants to Join the Mafia?" an article written by  Clarence Walker, an Investigative Reporter & Crime Story Producer (Houston, Texas). A true life story of initiation ritual with a fictional character to cover the real identity of the real life person. According to his article the fictional character named as Carmine De'Angelo is a straight-A student and an outstanding high school football player. The teenager idolized his grandfather's mob connections and wants to enter their world. 

To become a mafia, violence is where you start. They pick a guy for you to kill, and you do it. Through this, they are trying to see if you are weak and soft, brutal killing would be the best way to show and prove to them that you are tough. But during this kind of initiation the consequences may be death and sadness to your relatives.

To make the long story short, the Fictional character Carmine got investigated and was put to court, charged with murders and racketeering, and went to jail. His dreams of being a football star was put to an end. With regards to this story, the Elements of the story about the fictional Carmine De'Angelo and His arrest at the wedding of the man whose brother was killed by De'Angelo is based on real-life mob associate John Pappas. 

blogpost 7:What the life of Mafia brought to the world

Mafia brought us a world with no fear, hope and freedom of will into this world. As of today, at this present time, in some part of the world, the mafia still dominates in different cimes. One of wich is that the mob create new ways to extort money. They have made connections on big banks, and different companies and industries. According to this article entitled: Italian Mafia Rakes in Billions as Global Economy Struggles at the website foxnews.com, the mafia never stop on growing, even as the global economy struggles, the mafia just sits and relax on their golden life. 

The crime syndicates are flush with billions of euros from extortion rackets, drug trafficking and booming sales in fake designer clothing made in China expressly for the Italian mob. While businesses around the world are struggling down for survival, the Italian mob is living a golden moment. The Mafia used brutal force and terror to make sure the peasants worked hard and didn't cause trouble. Revolts were repressed violently, often with the help of the army or more often the police. No wonder so many Sicilians left for America. “Coffee, water, fruit, bread, milk, meat, cheese, and even biscuits are all products of organized crime,” says author and journalist Roberto Saviano, who lives under police protection after receiving death threats from the Neapolitan Camorra, one of Italy's Naples-based organized-crime syndicates. 

Going back to the money, I found this article entitled:  Mafia now "Italy's No.1 bank" as crisis bites: report by James Mackenzie on the website reuters.com, extortionate lending by criminal groups had become a "national emergency," said the report by anti-crime group SOS Impresa. Organized crime now generated a turnover of about 140 billion euros ($178.89 billion) and profits of more than 100 billion euros. Until now, the mafia still controls the biggest companies and industries and is living in mansions. Taking a gold shower and is never stopping. In many ways the feds can find a way to stop this, but what if a member of the feds is a mobster, this madness won't ever stop.

blogpost 6: Mafia on Movies

Action movies are one the most watched genre in the film industry. No one seems to dislike it. There are many movies about the mafia mobsters, some in fictional characters, while some are true-to-life history. On these movies, they have portrayed what the mafia is like and it works. Lets try to look in deeper to the true mafia stories. One is about a contract killer of the mafia. There are many question that can be asked, but we should be careful, because we should not judge the book by its cover, nor judge it otherwise. In this blog, we will look into what the movie is sayin and what the real life mobster portrays. 

According to the article entitled: "The Iceman" Review – Infamous Mafia Hitman Struggles For Work-Life Balance by Gino Orlandini on the website hollywoodlife.com, he asked that is this man is an evil killer or a family man. Looking into this article, a man with a family to feed is a difficult job. In this story, we began to ask; Is this guy really evil? Or is it just a warface so that the enemies that he might face would be afraid of him?  It also paints Kuklinski as averse to killing women or children as a matter of principle – even going out of his way to save a young girl who witnesses him commit a murder. In his story, I saw a man with a good heart. A man pressured, assuming that he has no more job, he dicides to join the mob and work for them as an hitman. 

After looking into that, I found this review article entitled: The Iceman - review, written by Peter Bradshaw on the website theguardian.com, Kuklinski, a guy who runs a porn distribution business, kept secret from his respectable wife, Deborah. But then he is recruited as a chillingly calm assassin by local mobster Roy Demeo, whom he later enrages by going into business with another psychotic murderer and violence enthusiast, nicknamed Mr Freezy. Even though he runs a porn ditribution business, he respects his wife morally good. He is an assasin, but looking in deeper into him, he is a loving and caring family man who just wants a balanced life for his family. A family he loves so much, Kuklinski even mention that he never hurted his childrenn not even once in his life. This is a man who has two sides in his daily life, a man who is soft and jolly to his family, and on the other side, on his job, a mean scary assasin who does his job. His job to kill people was not personal to him, its just business.

blogpost 5: Why the Mafia was born in the world

One of the main objective of the mob is to gain money and power. To gain control of the city by money and by scaring the weak with its soldiers. On the recent blogs that I've posted,we already answered how they do it. Now in this particular blog, we are going to find out why do they do it. Going back to the year 1920's and 30's, the U.S. had an economic crisis, they called it the "Great Depression". In those times, there we're lots of citizens who did not have any jobs at all. Many of them lived in the streets, beside the dumpster and some of them steal for their daily meal, for them to eat and to survive the daily life. Looking deeper into this, some of the most wanted, rich and powerful mobsters grew up to this environment. 

 According to this article I found, entitled: Mafia in the United States, from the website history.com, the American mafia was composed of Italian-American organized-crime network with operations in cities across the United States, particularly New York and Chicago. During the 1920s Prohibition era, they  rose to power through its success in the illicit liquor trade. After the Prohibition era, they moved other operations on criminal ventures. This includes drug trafficking, illegal gambling, and even infiltrating labor unions and legitimate businesses such as construction and New York’s garment industry. 

  The Mafia’s violent crimes, secret rituals and notorious characters such as Al Capone and John Gotti have fascinated the public and become a part of popular culture. Trying weaken the Mafia, the government used anti-racketeering laws to convict high-ranking mobsters. However, it remains in business today.  In New York City alone, the number of Italians soared from 20,000 to 250,000 between 1880 and 1890, and by 1910, that number had jumped to 500,000 immigrants and first-generation Italian Americans, or one-tenth of the city’s population, according to historian Thomas Repetto.

 The majority of these immigrants were law-abiding, but, as with most large groups of people, some were criminals who formed neighborhood gangs, often preying on those in their own communities. 

blogpost 4: Are you tough enough to join the Mafia?

Seeing and knowing what the mafia mobster does, seems pretty easy in the movies. Lets try to look at a realistic observation of how the mafia recruits a single person. The things that we see in movies about the mafia, tells what is really implemented in the real life mobsters. A big pack of psychopaths who was trained to feel no conscience of what they do. Imagine that you are a part of the mafia family, your brother is killed by a mobster because of being a rat in the organization. The mobster who killed your brother is friend of yours, he can come whenever you invite them, the big thing is to ordinary person is to feel conscience of what he had done, but the reality is he does not feel anything.

According to the article that I found entitled Help Wanted... Who wants to Join the Mafia? written by Clarence Walker on the site americanmafia.com. "A lots of Mafia guys are psychopaths. "The Mafia isn't something to glamorize" told by retired FBI agent Bruce Mouw. From a moment there, I thought the same thing. I am a fan of mafia and their toughness through every situation, but not their crimes and killings. Many times I wonder, how and where do they get the strength and potential to do things like murder, robbing and visiting the relatives of the people they killed. Is it, desperation? hunger? or that craving mentality for money, power, fame, pleasure and a reputation of toughness. 

The article goes on telling a true example of initiation ritual with a fictional character. To become a mafia, violence is where you start. They pick a guy for you to kill, and you do it. Through this, they are trying to see if you are weak and soft, brutal killing would be the best way to show and prove to them that you are tough. After doing all the work they told you, the induction begins. Joining the mafia is the as same as selling your soul. 

 
On the operation of induction, the boss will test your heart. These are the example questions : 
1. If I told you---your brother was a rat, he's gonna harm us, you'd have to kill him. Would you do that for the family?

2.Your mother, child or wife, is dying in bed and you needed to leave either (one) because we called on you. Could you do that?

At these questions, they look inside you, and figure out if you are weak. Because I think that for the mobsters, caring is for the weak. If you get soft, you will be in a lot of trouble doing business in the organization. The only thing that I was frightened was a sentence on the last part of the oath. It say's: "I enter alive into this organization and can only leave dead." This is big, the only way out is death. That is why they kill, if you rat them out, you get killed by them. 

According to the article entitled, The Rise and Fall of Omerta written by Mike La Sorte still on the site americanmafia.com. A part of that oath is the Omerta code. It is a mafia code of silence. Omerta is a vow by wiseguys never to reveal Mafia secrets or reveal information to members under threat of torture or death. The code establishes as the first duty of a man is to seek justice (retribution or revenge) with his own hands when he perceives an injustice. Early Italian writer's prefer to it as the " spirit of the mafia". It is the code that provides you the law of not being a rat in the mafia organization. A thing that makes you tough against the police or higher authorities. On my conclusion on this blog, some mobsters are not psychopaths, others do it because they we're on the verge of desperation, that includes for example, you have no job, no more food to eat and a relative of yours is dying. In there state, this example is partially true, because it is just what I opinion on observing what the movie and the real life mafia does. In ending to this blog, I would like to share to a famous saying of a mafia mobster, John Dilinger, "I rob banks for a living, what do you do?"