Both the film Mean Streets and the Ghostface Killah’s song Shakey Dog encapsulates New York as a harsh place with an abundance of illegal activity. Both medias contain gun violence as well as references to New York. This can be seen in Mean Streets through the shooting at the bar and the many shots of old New York as well as in Shakey Dog when the lyrics reference gun violence and 125th street separately. The mix of gun violence and relatable references to New York City helps develop a sense of sentimental criminality. They convey an element of organized illegal activity but do not preach against that activity. The people conducting the illegal activity are not painted as evil, but somewhat moral and relatable. This can be seen through the religious aspect and the humor prevalent in Mean Streets as well as the situational humor in Shakey Dog. This desensitization of violence and criminal activity could potentially reflect the rampant amount of criminality in both the New York depicted in Mean Streets and Shakey Dog.

Despite their similar tones and subject matter, Mean Streets and Shakey Dog have some distinct differences. The song Shakey Dog seems more narrative that the movie so far. The movie seems to have a loser plot that focuses on capturing the life of the characters rather than telling a story. This slow-paced narration is very different than the narration heard in Shakey Dog, as the song is extremely fast-paced and action-packed. That being said, in general, a film gives a slower and more detail and perhaps nuanced view of life while a song gives you the most important, action-packed moment that captures the life.

 

The slower pace of Mean Streets, along with the film genre itself, allows for a more detailed depiction of characters when compared to Shakey Dog, or the music genre in general. For example, Mean Streets is able to dissect Charlie’s struggle with balancing religion and criminality in a way that Shakey Dog cannot. This struggle is one that can be developed throughout the time span of a movie, while Shakey Dog only has three minutes to convey and necessary plot and character points. Mean Streets is able to depict character development in a way that Shakey Dog cannot.