For some reason, Goodfellas (1990) wasn’t the kind of movie that I’d look back at in racial and ethnic terms. This was probably due to the film’s heavy emphasis on crime, mafia and violence. I found myself clenching my teeth and squinting my eyes at the bloody scenes rather than focusing on Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) in terms of Richard Dyer’s “Whiteness”. I mean of course Henry was white because his complexion said so, but after analyzing his race through Dyer’s lens, I realized that the protagonist was much more than what his skin color dictated him to be.
Before even relating Whiteness to Goodfellas, I’d like to touch on some of the most interesting points made by Dyer. I just feel like Dyer captures the human mind’s vision and perception towards race and color so accurately. I found myself agreeing to most of what Dyer had to say, and thus, found his thoughts fairly easy to relate to Henry Hill and his neighborhood. Dyer states that its difficult to see whiteness as an ethnic category. Films depict white characters in a way that simply represents the social norm, where an average white guy goes about his life. The audience doesn’t care to especially notice that a character is white and thus, privileged or even exceptional. In contrast however, if a black person is placed in a movie, the film is automatically associated with oppression, struggle and the concept of race. The nothingness of whiteness itself, yet the everything-ness of whiteness and the weight placed on “white” in contrast to color, is an extremely fascinating point brought up by Dyer. He even goes off to explain existential psychology where one becomes aware of oneself by perceiving his/her difference from others.
As I try to relate Dyer ideas to Henry, I fail to see the nothingness in Henry’s whiteness. Henry’s ethnicity is everything but nothing. In other words, the man isn’t your average white guy walking through the norms of life. He isn’t simply thrown into the white category with the complete absence of actual ethnicity. In fact, this man’s ethnicity is emphasized throughout the entire movie as he is an Irish-American who falls short of a 100% Italian ancestry to be “made” into a Mafia leader. Had the film been about Ray Liotta committing up and down streets without any Irish or Italian identity, perhaps then I’d call him a white gangster. However, his identification with the Italian mafia and his own ethnicity of Irish makes him something. He can no longer be nothing to be called white. Interestingly enough, although my brain didn’t consciously think of white as the first adjective for Henry, as soon as a black gangster was introduced in the film, my brain automatically highlighted the contrast and informed itself of the racial differences that existed.. It is only here, in contrast to something, that Henry Hill’s “whiteness” is brought to light. And although this whiteness isn’t truly deserved, as we see that Henry is Irish, he is temporarily considered white because the other gangster is black. Existential psychology after all, plays a great role in the brain as it makes the audience aware of the white mafia only when it’s juxtaposed with black people.
Another apparent characteristic of white people as depicted in movies, is the civilization, repression and moral codes by which these people live, explains Dyer. White people are rational and calm in their approach to life whereas non-whites are shown as the barbaric and impulsive ones. Taking this into consideration, I must then argue that Dyer would not consider Henry Hill to be white at all. Not only is this man’s identity highlighted by the something-ness in his ethnicity, he seems to be untouched by civilization as well. Murder, violence, crime, drugs, and betrayal are all uncontrolled and irrational behaviors characteristic of non-white barbaric races. Henry’s un-white behavior is evident when he steals with the Mafia, gives in to his desires when he starts having an affair with Janice Rossi (Gina Mastrogiacomo), and starts taking cocaine.
As of Henry’s neighborhood, I’d like to argue that it was pretty white in comparison to the mafia that thrives within it. This in specifically evident when we see little school children outside the garage fence, as they stare at Henry parking cars for the gangsters. Without being given any specific ethnicity, unlike Henry’s parents or his gangster friends, we are forced to simply call the kids white.
By the end of the film, Henry becomes a “schnook”. He needs to wait in line to get food and his order isn’t as fancy as spaghetti and marinara sauce. He no longer gets the special treatment and respect that he adored all his life. He becomes your average guy picking up newspaper in his bathrobe in the morning. But does he fully become your average white guy? Is he no longer Irish-American and suddenly forced into nothingness? Is he no longer irrational at heart? Or is it just that his life forced him to take a different route. He had to conform to the societal norms to save his life from ruins. I’d say it’s the latter. Thus, although Henry begins to embody your average white guy at the end of the film, he isn’t truly white, and never will be.
