Nowadays the word ‘Mafia’ refers nearly all groups or gangs involved in organized crime. However, originally, Mafia meant an organized criminal organization of Italian, predominantly Sicilian, heritage. In fact, this word is a mere literary creation while the real name is ‘Cosa Nostra’ meaning ‘our thing’.
For many years the common understanding of the Mafia was strictly limited by argument on whether there even was a Mafia. In the recent decades that argument was more or less settled, and the principal argument remaining is whether or not organized crime and the Mafia are one and the same thing. According to Finckenauer:
To this end, this useful primer to the phenomenon quite rightly tarts with a simple question that begs a complex answer: what is organized crime? Sometimes, the mobsters are easy to identify, a collection of ne’er-do-wells with no visible source of income but owning flashy cars and homes; involved in the staples of organized criminality, whether trafficking drugs or infiltrating legitimate businesses. The old stereotypes, which were always something of a caricature, are becoming even less applicable in the modern world. [...]
In part the confusion revolves around an understanding of the real nature of organized crime that existed since the earliest days of the nation and, indeed, earlier. It is worth remembering that, organized crime achieves its status not only by the fact of groups of practitioners, but also due to the fact that organized crime is syndicate crime in which certain activities are apportioned out to the various gangs and honored in the main by these gangs.
What is interesting, in the beginning and even till the 1950s, many people regarded the Mafia not as law-breaking criminals but as role-models and protectors of the weak and the poor, as the state offered no protection to the lower classes. The question arises, where from such interest and the phenomenon of ‘good-Mafia-attitude’ within the societies all over the world.
As it will be presented within the course of this paper, out of the numerous fiction books and movies, above all, Mario Puzo’s The Godfather from 1969 and obviously the film adaptation made by Francis Ford Coppola – were so successful that they deeply shaped a general understanding of the mafia [...]
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
Chapter One: The History Behind “Black Hand”
1.1. The Brief History of Mafia Development
1.1.1. The Development of the Mafia
1.1.2. American Mafia
1.1.3. The Commission
1.1.4. Vegas and the Mafia
1.2. The Structure of La Cosa Nostra:
1.3. Mafia Divisions
1.4. Mafia Induction:
1.5. Mafia Activities:
Chapter Two: The Cultural Effects of Mob Fiction
2.1. Mob Fiction and American Culture
2.2. The Effects of Mob Fiction on Organized Crime
2.3. Echoes of Mob Fiction
Chapter Three: Mario Puzo and the History of Sensational Novel
3.1. Pulp Fiction and its Development
3.1.1. ‘Penny dreadfuls’
3.1.2. Dime novels
3.1.3. Pulp fiction and the hard-boiled fiction
3.2. Mario Puzo – Italian American novelist or the Pulp Fiction writer?
Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
The thesis examines the dual nature of the Mafia phenomenon by exploring its historical evolution in Sicily and the United States, and investigating how popular media—specifically Mario Puzo’s "The Godfather"—has fundamentally shaped, romanticized, and cemented public perceptions of organized crime in modern society.
- Historical development of the Sicilian Mafia and its transition to American organized crime.
- The hierarchical structure, induction rituals, and illegal business activities of La Cosa Nostra.
- The influence of pulp fiction and sensationalist narratives on the depiction of criminal underworlds.
- The sociological impact of Mario Puzo’s "The Godfather" on American cultural identity.
- The dichotomy between the factual reality of organized crime and its popular media archetypes.
Excerpt from the Book
The History Behind “Black Hand”
Mafia was a name given to a number of organized groups of Sicilian brigands in the nineteenth and twentieth century. Unlike the Camorra in Naples, the Mafia had no hierarchic organization; each group operated on its own.
Historically, the Mafia originated in feudal times, when lords hired brigands to guard their estates in exchange for protection from the royal authority. According to The Columbia Encyclopedia: “the underlying assumption of the Mafia was that legal authorities were useless and that justice must be obtained directly, as in the vendetta.” Italian attempts to curtail the Mafia have suffered from political corruption and the assassination of judges.
Through emigration the organization spread to the United States (where it was sometimes called the Black Hand). It was and continues to be involved in many illegal operations such as trade in narcotics, gambling, prostitution, labor union racketeering as well as certain legal enterprises, such as trucking and construction, within the United States.
Summary of Chapters
Chapter One: The History Behind “Black Hand”: Traces the origins of the Mafia in feudal Sicily and its subsequent evolution into a complex criminal organization in the United States, including key events like the Apalachin Raid.
Chapter Two: The Cultural Effects of Mob Fiction: Analyzes how literature and films, particularly "The Godfather", have influenced public perception and created a romanticized myth surrounding the Italian American Mafia.
Chapter Three: Mario Puzo and the History of Sensational Novel: Explores the origins of pulp fiction and the literary trajectory of Mario Puzo, analyzing how his work bridged the gap between popular sensationalist writing and cultural mythology.
Keywords
Mafia, Organized Crime, La Cosa Nostra, The Godfather, Mario Puzo, Pulp Fiction, Cultural Impact, American Culture, History of Organized Crime, Omerta, Crime Fiction, Syndicate, Prohibition, Criminal Archetypes, Ethnicity
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary subject of this academic work?
This thesis explores the history and cultural representation of the Mafia, focusing on how factual organized crime evolved and how it has been perceived through popular media.
What are the central themes discussed in the paper?
The central themes include the historical transition of Mafia structures from Sicily to the U.S., the influence of media on public perception, and the role of "The Godfather" in shaping the identity of the Italian American criminal archetype.
What is the core research question?
The work investigates why Italian American organized crime remains such a dominant mainstay in pop culture and to what extent "The Godfather" created the persistent pop-culture archetype of the Mafioso.
Which methodology is utilized?
The author employs a historical-analytical approach, synthesizing existing literature, historical documents, and sociological studies to model organized crime as a government-like enterprise.
What is the main focus of the chapters?
The chapters provide a chronological and thematic analysis: beginning with the historical development of the Mafia, moving to the cultural impact of mob fiction, and finally analyzing the literary origins of the sensational novel in relation to Puzo's success.
Which keywords best describe the work?
Key terms include Mafia, Organized Crime, La Cosa Nostra, The Godfather, Mario Puzo, and Pulp Fiction.
How did Prohibition influence the American Mafia?
Prohibition provided the wealth and infrastructure necessary for the American Mafia to transition from local street gangs into a powerful, organized criminal syndicate that infiltrated legitimate sectors of the economy.
What role does the 'Commission' play in Mafia structure?
The Commission was established to resolve disputes between families, provide a hierarchical framework for national activity, and maintain order, effectively transforming the Mafia into a multi-family syndicate.
How does the author define the influence of 'The Godfather'?
The author argues that "The Godfather" did more to alter public perception of the Mafia than any scholarly work, embedding specific myths of family, honor, and business into the global consciousness.
What is the connection between pulp fiction and mob narratives?
The author demonstrates that mob literature derives from the sensationalist traditions of earlier "pulp" publications, which prioritized excitement and escapism over factual representation.
- Arbeit zitieren
- MA Marta Zapała-Kraj (Autor:in), 2009, Mafia - the history with Mario Puzo's Godfather in background, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/159068
