The Bloody Streets of New York
The 2002 film, Gangs of New York, directed by Martin Scorsese, presents a somewhat accurate description of New York City during the 1860’s through the eyes of two rival gangs in the Five Points area. The events in the film take place in the midst of political corruption and the American Civil War between the Northern and Southern states. Bill Cutting and Priest Vallon lead two rival gangs who both want to control the Five Points. Priest Vallon is killed by Bill, and the Priest’s son, Amsterdam, is sent away to an orphanage. Many years after, Amsterdam arrives in the Five Points thirsty for revenge. Amsterdam’s developing relationship with Bill Cutting and his experiences with the bitter ethnic feud between the Irish Catholic immigrants and Protestant natives in the film, explore the development of American identity in the mid-19th century.
To Bill Cutting and Priest Vallon, America, and what it means to be an American means something different. For Bill Cutting, an American is a man who is a native-born Protestant. Bill thinks of himself as American because his father is a White-Anglo-Saxon-Protestant (WASP) who fought for America in the War of 1812. He sees Priest Vallon and his men as invaders. On the other hand, Priest Vallon sees America as inclusive of all peoples — native and foreign, Catholic and Protestant. Priest sees being an American as something that is beyond blood heritage. These two men clash at the Five Points to fight for their own version of America.
Due to polarization between their two groups and the circumstances at the time, Bill and Priest simply couldn’t coexist. The only option was to die fighting for an America they each believed in. Priest Vallon leads his gang of Roman Catholic Irishmen against Bill Cutting and his gang of Protestant Americans. Even though Bill acknowledges the similarities between himself and Priest when he says, “The Priest and me, we lived by the same principles, it was only faith divided us,” it is not enough to unite them. Both Bill and Priest are seen as honorable men in their respective street-cultured groups and they both trust in God — whoever that God may be — to deliver justice; but they are too headstrong in their beliefs to even consider reconciliation. Just as America is in a violent war between the North and South, and whites and blacks, Bill and Priest are in a violent battle with each other. America is divided and the director makes this clear by including scenes that show the effects of the American Civil War, draft riots, racial lynching, and corrupt politicians that converge on the Five Points.
For Bill and Priest, there is no room for compromise. Still, the role both of these men play as father figures for Amsterdam suggests that there is hope for a better future. After Priest dies, Bill plays a large role in shaping the American-born, Irish-blooded, Amsterdam. Amsterdam finds himself under the “wings” of Bill when Bill takes him in as an apprentice. In time, Amsterdam adapts and changes to dress like Bill and interact with Bill’s crowd. Despite his Irish roots, he could pass as an “American.” Bill begins to play Priest’s fatherly role in guiding and protecting Amsterdam. He even teaches Amsterdam how to use a knife properly, an important part of the street culture. At the very beginning of the film, when Amsterdam tells Priest Vallon what Saint Michael did, Priest replies, “Good boy!” This is equivalent to the scene in the film where Amsterdam demands no pistols and Bill replies, “Good boy.” Both of these men, seemingly different, are able to contribute somewhat to a common goal of raising and protecting Amsterdam. Priest gives Amsterdam his religion and Bill gives Amsterdam the skills he needs to survive on the streets of the Five Points. Both men are able to benefit from raising Amsterdam. Priest is able to carry on his legacy and Bill gets to feel what it’s like to have a son.
They both influence Amsterdam. As a result, Amsterdam is conflicted about what he should do. Throughout the film, Amsterdam cries for Priest and for Bill, telling the audience that he sympathizes with Bill and considers him to be like a second father but feels a blood obligation to kill Bill and avenge Priest. In the end, Amsterdam avenges Priest’s death but cries as the dying Bill holds his hand. Although Bill and Priest were unable to see eye to eye, Amsterdam symbolizes the possibility of unity in the future because he was touched by both sides. This is shown when Amsterdam buries Priest Vallon and Bill Cutting next to each other and buries the blade Priest gave him in between their bodies. In the movie, Amsterdam represents the possibility of a new era because he was able to witness the tragedy, and feel the losses that resulted from the ethnic battles of the Five Points. Behind Bill and Priest’s graves is a dark view with smoke rising out of New York City which is cinematically symbolic. The collapsing of the graves, and the fading in of bright skies and skyscrapers in the film, shows that from the death of these two men grew the religiously and ethnically diverse America seen today.
According to the film, America is diverse in many ways, but it is not these differences that matter. The director makes it clear that it is the ability to live in commonality that is truly American. In the United States of America, to be an American is to believe in a united America and to fight for America, not within America, against each other. In the end, the blood spilled is all American blood. The director makes this clear by emphasizing the tragic effects of the American Civil War, racial lynching, draft riots and ethnic conflict. This idea is shown symbolically in the bird’s-eye view shots of blood staining the streets when the Irish and nativists clash in the beginning of the film and the shots of the splashing pools of blood, symbolizing the destructive result of the people’s escalated hatred and violence, when several opposing groups converged and the end of the film. It is also shown in the slow pan shots throughout the movie of the coffins lining the harbor as a result of the American Civil War and the dead bodies lining the streets as a result of the converging of all the different groups (opposers of the draft, enforcers of the draft, the rich, the poor, the Irish, and the nativists) on the streets of the city to fight. Looking at the chaotic scenes, one cannot separate the blood of one person from that of another. Amsterdam says, “Friend or foe, didn’t make no difference now.”
The idea of what makes an American — religion, origin, history, ethnicity or shared values — is addressed from the beginning to the end of the film through the character relationships and the emphasis on cinematic symbols. Bill and Priest, like many other people in opposing groups in the film, could not coexist. The director makes a statement that a more diverse and tolerant American was born from the violent interactions between individuals, gangs, and the state militia in the mid-19th century. He does this by showing the tragic effects of a divided America. Hope for a better, more united future is presented by the director, through Amsterdam, who buries his father’s blade and walks away.
