Mean Streets introduces the viewer into a world of unattended crime in the of New York City, specifically in a small area in Little Italy. Johnny, one of the protagonists of the movie, is introduced as a crime seeking character by setting an explosive for reasons still unclear out on the street. In another scene, Johnny and his friends are shown taking advantage of teenagers looking to pay for drugs. Gambling is shown to be a big part of the crime that takes place in the movie as well as debt counts and friendship confrontations. The friendship aspect is what makes Mean Streets so compelling, in my opinion.

In one of the scenes in the movie, Johnny becomes involved in a fight with one of his friends. Charlie then comes in and reminds the two that they are all fiends. Friendship appears to be the one of the bonding forces between these group of men who actively participate in crime and at the make time look out for each other. In the movie, Charlie looks after Johnny and making sure he pays off his dept to Michael. Charlie pressures his friend into keeping up to date with his payments after seeing Johnny enter the bar with two women by his side and without a single trace of preoccupation on his face. Charlie, nonetheless, appears to have hidden motives for taking care of Jonny. Later on in the movie, Charlie is shown in a relationship with Johnny’s cousin and he promises her that very soon they will move out together.

One of the moral paradoxes in the movie is depicted in the scene in which Charlie goes to church for confession. He expresses his frustration with the religious system in handling the forgiveness of sin and points out that praying does not absolve him of his wrong doings. What adds on to the moral paradox in the movie is that Charlie knows what he is doing is wrong because he makes it clear that he goes to church every week, perhaps because of the remorse he feels for what he is doing in his neighborhood. As a result of his dissatisfaction with the way the church “absolves” him of his sins, Charlie goes on to create his own way of paying for the wrong he has done.

“You don’t make up for your sins in church; you do it in the streets; you do it at home. The rest is bulls–t, and you know it.”

What makes Mean Streets different from Ghostface Killah’s “Shakey Dog” different is the level of violence portrayed in each. In “Shakey Dog,” it is clear that people participate in face to face confrontations and that they are ready to either live or die if they have to. Such example is seen in the following lines from “Shakey Dog.” In Mean Streets, on the other hand, the pool fight scene takes place while an upbeat song is played in the background, which takes away seriousness behind the fight.

Frank shot the skinny dude, laid him out
The bigger dude popped Frankie boy, played him out