ItalianAmerican Traditions in film :: essays papers

ItalianAmerican Traditions in film Work Ethic A Bronx tale is a story of a father who tries to win back the love and pride of his son from a showy neighborhood mob boss. In my opinion this film is the best portrayal of work ethic. Lorenzo, played by Robert DeNiro, plays a father who tries to teach his son that discipline and hard work pay off from working, in the long. His son Calogero, played by Lillo Brancato, is exposed to the life of a mob boss Sonny, played by Chazz Palmenteri,, and doesn’t understand why he should live a life of difficulty when he can have a life of luxury. He tries to explain to his son that the men in the community don’t look up to him, but rather they fear him He also tries to make clear that it’s easy to do what he does, but try waking up every morning and working everyday, that’s a real man. Throughout the film Sonny and Calogero develop a very close relationship. More than just a friendship, Calogero looks up to him as if he were a father figure. Sonny tells Calogero that he does not want him to do what he does, he does it because he has to; he has no other way out. He wants Calogero to finish school and make something of himself, and not to follow in his footsteps. Sonny feels like there’s always someone out there out to get him and never feels safe. He doesn’t want Calogero to have to go through the same thing. In the film Sonny murdered another person because of the fact that he took he took his parking spot. This haunting feeling he has throughout the film finally comes true in the final scene of the movie as the son of the father that was murdered earlier comes back for vengeance and kills Sonny. This action of revenge is another stereotype of Italian-American men. As the film ends Calogero is in the prime of his life so we do not know how his life continues. The viewer, in this case me, thinks that because of this dreadful ending Calogero will follow the advice of Sonny and his father to complete school and life his life like every other hard working individual in America, because as his father mentioned earlier hard work pays off in the end.