the ignorance that is present in the criminal mind set. I think its a conscious effort to make sure that certain characters are truly seen as bad people, and not someone to idolize.

If the sometimes racist characters in his films reflect on Marty himself, it also becomes very likely that he is intentionally advancing the stereotype that Italians are all involved in the Mafia. We're not supposed to like many of the characters in his films. I think he is very aware of what he is doing. Scorsese has been doing this for quite a while.

What could be a problem is that so many other directors use this same approach but don't seem to understand the purpose or at least don't pull it off as well. Tarantino's "dead nigger storage" line just has an air of trying to be cool more than anything else.

Has anyone watched the documentary in "Gangs of New York"? I thought it did a decent job in explaining some of the racist attitudes in New York. A lot of the shit seems deeply rooted. Everyone seems to have been pitted against each other in their attempts to survive in the U.S. after their arrival.
-------------------------------------------
Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chaidealo/