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Made Men: Mafia Culture And The Power, Ritual, And Myth

411 Words2 Pages

The film Donnie Brasco tells the story of Joe Pistone, an undercover FBI agent who investigates a large crime family in New York City. Pistone goes undercover as Donnie Brasco, who is a new member of the Bonanno crime family. His new companion and mentor is Lefty Ruggiero, who has been a member of the family for years. Lefty teaches Brasco the ins and outs of being a member of a gang, and a bond between Lefty and Pistone form. As time goes by, Pistone becomes more involved with the Mafia and does not realize he is starting to become a real criminal instead of an agent. Pistone’s home behavior starts to become more aggressive and abusive as the film goes on. Since he got involved, Pistone feels that he cannot escape the gang because he fears that it will put other members in harm. Made Men: Mafia Culture and the Power, Symbols, Ritual, and Myth is a book that details what a Mafia is like. The book informs the reader about Mafia origin and what it is like to be in a Mafia. One chapter in particularly, detailed the structure of a Mafia. Each gang has a hierarchal structure, boss, underboss, lieutenant, and soldiers; the boss sets principals, rituals, and …show more content…

The Bonanno family had a hierarchal structure, with Sonny Red as boss and Sonny Black as captain. When Sonny Red was promoted, this boosted his self-esteem and he felt very powerful. Throughout the film, Pistone moves along with the gang and he feels a sense of belonging. His wife and fellow FBI agents warn him to stop the investigation, but Pistone refused to quit. Pistone feels that he is officially one of them and considers himself to be a member of the family. He becomes violent at home and fears that the Mafia will find out that he is a FBI agent. If they find out, they will kill Lefty because he introduced Pistone to the gang. Pistone becomes warped and starts to have real feelings towards the Bonanno

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