Abstract:
During the prohibition era (1920’s), America witnessed the birth of one of the most notorious gangsters that the country has seen, such as Lucky Luciano and Al Capone. Depending on Michel Foucault’s concept of power and the new historicist theory, the aim of our thesis is to show how prohibition contributed to the rise of Organized Crime, and how gangsters became more organized after prohibition profits in the light of Hickman Powell’s book Lucky Luciano: The Man Who Organized Crime in America. The 1920’s was known as the gangster era. Organized Crime had a huge impact on the American society, from newspapers to the headlines, it became the country’s number one topic. With such an influence and popularity, these criminals attracted Hollywood industry. The public was so fascinated by their stories, and dozens of films were made in their honour, either fictional or non fictional films. In our thesis, we will discuss the impact of gangsters on Hollywood movies, and how fictional works can recreate reality through analyzing Francis Ford Coppola’s movie The Godfather and Hickman Powell’s book Lucky Luciano: The Man Who Organized Crime in America.
