What's the Fascination with Mafia/Gangster Movies?

You just listed the godfather, Goodfellas, the departed etc. Some of the greatest movies ever made.

I don't get your point? There are some shocking "gangster" movies too.

Confused.

But ok.

I look forward to your next thread about why do people look at porn.

Go home and get your shinebox.

Humans are interested in power as it puts us higher in the dominance hierarchy as Jordan Peterson would say. The higher in the dominance hierarchy we are, the happier we feel. Powerful figures (like in these movies) are interesting to watch because we might learn something about how they command respect. They may teach us lessons about how to be more powerful ourselves.

That's my 2 cents anyway.

One of the interesting things about gangster movies is the person we're rooting for is usually a bad person. It adds complexity to the experience as we don't have black and white feelings while watching the movie.

The Sopranos is a good example of the same thing. For one the focal point of everything is the family, which is common to most gangster material. Everyone can relate to family dynamics and most find it interesting and compelling. Most mafia stuff revolves around the idea of family being the one solid constant in life which is dependable - or turning on one another in the end. Another theme as old as time which is very relatable.

Then you have the power aspect. Tony didn't attend a great college, isn't an elite professional like many of his neighbours, he's just a normal working class type who lives in a very wealthy area and has all the trappings of money. He knows powerful people and is influential. People are attracted to that and it's something which is also common in the mob genre.

Then you have the criminality. Gangsters take the shortcut to wealth. They don't work 18 hour days in a drab office. They get rich through unlawful activities and are constantly trying to stay a step ahead of the authorities. Tony is in "waste management" but never goes to the office. The staff don't know him. When he's not gambling big money in one form or another he splits his time between a small deli shop and a lap dancing club. People are excited by the fantasy of chucking in their factory job and maybe trying a bit of armed robbery, extortion etc..

Humour - the whole witty wiseguy thing, embodied by Joe Pesci basically.

It's as old as time itself. The concept of the 'flawed' hero. And when you find yourself rooting for a lying, cheating, psychopath, you do begin to wonder about your own moral compass. All part of the fun of the engagement. All the world loves a 'bad boy'

You're misunderstanding.

When you watch The Soprano's you think Tony is a scumbag, but you also want him to win whatever war he's fighting.

You don't have to think in a black and white way.

Scarface is the only film I like out of the ones you listed. The soundtrack alone is brilliant. I hate films with constant narration. Snatch is the only exception.

The True Romance Mafia bit was inspired I have to say, there's also the guest appearance of the little known actor at the time who would play Tony Soprano.

The Irishman is the only mafia series I like, messy and unglamorous.

Cant stand pulp fiction or the like anything thing that stylises violence or machoism.

It is the vicarious thrill of watching violence while never having to encounter it themselves is a lot of the attraction

Danger, suspense, violence, good vs evil, the emotional rollercoaster of life and the turmoil of the protagonists, or some fûckin shît I dunno.

I do like gangster movies, Goodfellas I one of my favourite movies. But they're pur escapism, I know the reality of organised crime is thuggery and brutality.

I actually rewatched Goodfellas at the same time as the horrible murder and dismemberment in Drogheda. I could still enjoy the movie but that murder showed how far from real life it was.

There is no honour among murderers.

There are hero cop movies which are very popular too?

Appeal of Gangster flicks is how the protagonists stick 2 fingers up at society and do whatever the feck they like and get rich doing it.

At the back of it all everyone wishes they could do it at one time another.

They also tend to be very appealing with 70s and 80s nostalgia and people recalling the good old days where life wasn’t lived so sedately.

You don’t have to do it in real life like!?

Seems most can separate entertainment and a dose of escapism from real life though. Surprising how many can actually.

You took that a little too literally it looks like.

People enjoy these movies as a vicarious fantasy of acting outside the law and becoming rich easily, which doesn't mean the viewer really thinks it's okay.

The movies aren't necessarily amoral celebrations of gangsterism.

Here is film critic Pauline Kael's description of Michael Corleone in God father II:

"Driving through the streets of Batista’s Havana, which he’s buying into — buying a piece of the government — Michael sees the children begging, and he knows what he is: he’s a predator on human weakness. And that’s exactly what he looks like. He wears silvery-gray nubby-silk suits over a soft, amorphous body; he’s hidden under the price tag. The burden of power sits on him like a sickness; his expression is sullen and withdrawn. He didn’t have to be what he is: he knew there were other possibilities, and he chose to become a killer out of family loyalty. Here in Part II he is a disconsolate man, whose only attachment is to his children; he can never go back to the time before that moment in the restaurant when he shot his father’s enemies."