Abstract
This chapter while referring to (and building upon) the most popular and conventional analyses of Mean Streets—which tend to interpret it mostly through ethnic and religious lenses—discusses Scorsese’s movie in light of its symbolic references and its cinematic storytelling strategies. In so doing, this chapter touches upon this film’s mise-en-scène, its metacinematic quotations, and the variety of cinematic tools employed (ranging from voice-overs to the mixing of different media and the occasional transition from the diegetic to the extradiegetic level). Although the Italian-American ethnic lens is what gave Scorsese the uniqueness of his gaze, and even though religion is one of the most important keys to reading and understanding most of his movies, this study focuses more on the multiplicity of this director’s generic discourses and his cinematic style. The repeated usage of reflective surfaces such as mirrors (and windows)—arguably one of Mean Streets’ most fascinating symbolic acts—is also discussed at length. Moreover, since the film’s protagonist is the only character going through these ‘reflective’ moments, this chapter also compares him with the mirroring archetype represented by the Narcissus myth.
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Notes
- 1.
See for example how Federico Pontiggia emphasizes the “ahistorical suffering” (“una sofferenza a-storica,” 15) depicted in Ferrara’s films.
- 2.
More than criticism against Ferrara’s films per se, many examples of hostility for the enthusiastic approach of some scholarship can be found. See for example Jonathan Rosenbaum’s review of Stevens’ Abel Ferrara: The Moral Vision at https://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/2018/04/abel-ferrara-the-moral-vision-book-review/ (accessed November 10, 2020) and David Sterritt’s thorough dismantling of Brenez’s book at https://www.popmatters.com/abel-ferrara-by-nicole-brenez-2496196678.html (accessed November 10, 2020).
- 3.
Data reflecting entries by year are in the U.S. Department of Justice and Naturalization Service, Annual Report of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1969, 63.
- 4.
“[N]ella realtà è proprio essa a richiedere a tali stranieri servizi di mediazione, e beni più o meno illegali come gli alcolici, il gioco d’azzardo, la prostituzione, la droga.” All translations in quotes are mine.
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Films Cited
The Addiction (Abel Ferrara, 1995)
Bad Lieutenant (Abel Ferrara, 1992)
Body Snatchers (Abel Ferrara, 1993)
China Girl (Abel Ferrara, 1987)
The Funeral (Abel Ferrara, 2000)
The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
The Godfather: Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
The Godfather: Part III (Francis Ford Coppola, 1990)
The Irishman (Martin Scorsese, 2019)
King of New York (Abel Ferrara, 1990)
Ms. 45 (Abel Ferrara, 1981)
The Petrified Forest (Archie Mayo, 1936)
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Barattoni, L. (2023). Abel Ferrara’s The Funeral: Taking Aim at the Stereotype. In: Fioretti, D., Orsitto, F. (eds) Italian Americans in Film. Italian and Italian American Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06465-4_8
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