Category: Mean Streets and Ghostface (Page 2 of 2)

Both Martin Scorsese’s  Mean Streets and Ghostface Killah’s “Shakey Dog” provide images of the lives of members involved in organize crime. They have some similarities and some differences. Mean Streets gives a broad view of mafia life, while “Shakey Dog” describes a more specific incident, an armed robbery by the gang.

Both the mafia in Mean Streets and the gang in “Shakey Dog” exhibit extreme loyalty to each other. In Mean Streets, Charlie is very loyal to his family, collecting money for his uncle, and even his girlfriend’s family, protecting her cousin and his friend Johnny. In “Shakey Dog”, Ghostface Killah describes the teamwork of the robbery and how him and Frank worked together.

Another similarity between the mafia and the gang are their usages of violence to get what they want. In Mean Streets, many of Charlie’s collections turn violent, sometimes containing gunshots. In “Shakey Dog” there is also a lot of violence and gunshots, especially done by Frank, who “put two holes in the doorman’s Sassoon” and “show the skinny dude.”

The movie and song diverge in their characterizations of the mafia members and gang members. Scorsese provides a fuller image of the mafia members, showing how they are violent and flawed, but also have consciences, especially Charlie. Charlie is very conflicted about his lifestyle because he is religious and wants to atone for his sins, but does not want to change his actions. He tries to make up for his sins a little bit by protecting Johnny, but is still restless. On the otherhand, Ghostface Killah does not make any attempt to redeem the violent robbers in the eyes of the listeners. He even seems proud of their ruthlessness. This may be due to the nature of a movie, versus the nature a song, since a movie is significantly longer than a song. It may also be due to the artists’ purposes. Scorsese intends to give a holistic view of the mafia, showing the good and bad parts of it; Ghostface Killah, intends to show one incident and maybe even intimidate others so they know to watch out for him and his friends.

Mean Streets portrayed world of obligations and fluctuating moral beliefs . The characters all have obligations whether it was owing money, taking care of a relative, to your beliefs, or to avenging the honor of a person. Money is a theme that is apparent throughout the film (or at least the first half we watched) where money was owed to loaners, was used for scam, was used as bribery, and it was used as a mediator between parties despite the fighting. Charlie, the main protagonist, has made it his duty to watch over Johnny whom is carefree and negligent and neck deep in debt from borrowing from a lot of loaners.

At the start of the movie, Charlie feels that going to confession does not guarantee pardon from his wrongdoings and thus sets out with the belief that the matter is solely in his hands and actions in the real world, thus his relation to Johnny. However we find out that he most likely does this to be with Johnny’s sister whom he has a relationship with. Including this instance, other moral paradoxes are portrayed by the characters such as the bar owner kicking out a man for injecting substances in his bathroom  which he views as unsightly yet he keeps caged lions hidden in the back from dubious sources without a license to keep them. How Charlie wants to be with Teresa but outrightly declares he doesn’t love her despite spending time with her. These contradicting morals makes it interesting that it makes you want to see what he will choose to follow and where that will bring him and add to the growing turmoil in the story.

Ghostface Killah’s Shakey Dog portrays a much more frank and harsh reality through the recounting of a robbery for drugs and money. In Mean Streets,  the characters Charlie with his connection to his uncle, and the loaners like Michael mostly evoke respect and a code of loyalty from other characters. In Shakey Dog, Ghost and Frank presence evoke fear in the streets to the point that they aren’t concerned about anyone witnessing their robbery. The song then narrates what goes on in a robbery to the last detail from getting out their guns, making the plans, and what goes down in a robbery which doesn’t go as smoothly as planned. Their is no regard to the lives of the people they are robbing from and each other’s since Ghost talked about Frank taking the blame if they get caught. We get straight to the action in the song, we aren’t made to get to know the characters like we do in Mean Streets. It’s the story laid out bare to the listeners with no intention of softening the blow, leaving little to consider of the actions they took and the consequences it brought about.

The world portrayed in Martin Scorsese’s movie “Mean Streets” and Ghostface Killah’s song titled “Shakey Dog,” are both similar and different. They both expose a world of organized crime where innocent citizens will turn a blind eye to the crimes and antics of both groups. “Mean Streets” depicts the Italian-American mob in New York City, specifically Little Italy, while on the opposite end of the city, way uptown, we have Ghostface Killah describing a robbery in great detail with his gang “Theodore,” which was a loose collective of rappers centered around Ghostface.

With “Mean Streets,” the viewer gets a broader look at what mob life was like in general, following Charlie. We see him go to the Catholic church, go to strip clubs, get caught in many shootings, have an affair, and meet with “The Boss.” This kind of view is something only a film would provide, allowing a maximum glimpse into the characters life. Unlike a song, a film has the time to make a compelling piece on mafia life in New York City, leaving the audience wanting and wondering for more.

With Ghostface Killah’s song, “Shakey Dog,” the listener is given a detailed heavy and gritty take on one specific aspect of gang life. We listen to Ghostface rap specifically about a robbery and he describes each detail painstakingly so, the listener can’t help but cringe at his abrasiveness. Ghostface only has three minutes and forty-four seconds to give an accurate portrayal of gang life and he accurately does that by retelling a gritty tale of a robbery.

Despite two gruesome takes on organized crime, mafia and gang. Mafia movies are still extremely appealing and compelling to viewers, yet songs like “Shakey Dog” are too harsh and gritty. This is primarily because the mafia is romanticized in film. We watch Charlie not only commit bad acts but also try to repent his sins and have a forbidden affair with a woman he’s not supposed to love. While all we get with a song like Ghostface’s is straight up real and gritty facts that leave no room for any wandering romantic imagination.