It's really weird how many people are defending Scorsese about this, or calling the thread ridiculous.

Yeah the word bothered me in the Godfather. It also bothered me in Goodfellas, and in Casino (via 'sand-niggers) and in The Departed. Just like with Tarantino, I notieced it in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.

As a writer and fan buff, I look at the dialogue as in driving the story and developing the characters--all to some purpose.

Scorsese and Tarantino and anyone else are all fully aware that when some white character uses the word nigger, it is NOT going to go unnoticed. It won't slip through the cracks, people won't give it a pass.

You can say it's character development, but...that seems like a stretch in some cases. Okay for instance: in True Romance I thought it was necessary, as use of the word is biting BUT integral to the story. In Reservoir Dogs, it's just a throwaway line or two.

In The Departed, I almost tried to see justification of the use, as the one and only black person in the film is basically the only un-corrupt character in the movie, and though he dies, in the end he turned out to be DiCapprio's (though failed) only hope for salvation. You know, irony and stuff.

I didn't see that in Goodfellas. They use the word, then go and throw Sam Jackson into the mix, although I don't believe they ever use the word in any of his scenes, nor does it really contrast with his character. I don't remember if it was Pesci or Liotta or both that use the word. If it's Pesci, it contrasts to how he's also pals with Jackson, but then also kills him later on. I don't know though.

This is all open for debate, but basically I just think that this should be looked at in terms of its applicability to the story, either explicitly or implicitly. Saying that it fleshes out the characters as thugged rugged tough guys is a copout. Plenty of movies have done that without throwing n-bombs. And the makers of these movies know that well enough.