Re: Advice for Godfathers -- Mimetic Theory and Literary Study

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Date Posted: 13:22:05 02/08/08 Fri
Author: Katelyn R.
Subject: Re: Advice for Godfathers
In reply to: CS Holden 's message, "Advice for Godfathers" on 13:50:46 02/05/08 Tue

I think the mafia is a great example of mimetic desire. It seems like the people involved are always trying to work their way up in the business. They are protective of each other but when someone gets in the way they see the only resolution as being violence by killing them. For example when there is a rat it�s fascinating to see how they go about deciding who it is. Once the boss (or someone high up) has named a possibility there is that tendency to gang up on that person and more than likely kill them. Even when people have their doubts whether a person is a rat or not their trust is weakened. One example I keep thinking about is Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) in the movie Goodfellas (which is based on a true story). Henry comes out and says "As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a gangster." He grew up across the street from a restaurant run by mafia members. He saw their money and success and decided that�s what he wanted. The guy he idolizes the most is Jimmy Conway (Robert DeNiro) who later befriends him. Hill and Conway are not pure blooded gangsters, so they cannot make it that far up the chain but Conway is pretty successful. Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) is Hill�s best friend and is pure blooded. (Spoiler Alert) Through their time together DeVito lets his anger get the best of him and ends up being one of those selected to be �cleaned up�. At the end, Hill becomes suspicious of Conway thinking he is going to try and have him wacked. So, basically, I thought this might be a good example of mimetic desire since Hill desires to be a gangster and his models end up obstacles. There is also a clear depiction of the use of repeated violence as a way to resolve issues (like lying low from the cops).

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