“The City and The World, 1945-2000,” and “The Center of the World, 1946-2003,”
Due to the destruction of many cities, New York assumed global distinction. This resulted in New York assuming active roles such as being the host of the United Nations headquarters, a center of the arts that was previously held by Paris, and acquired rival status in the international finance and art market against London. Due to postwar prosperity, New York experienced unprecedented bloom with the destruction of old building and new constructions taking over. This realization had more people moving into the city, including immigrants. With many industries and factories shutting down, the 1970s saw jolting economic shocks with the prosperity associated with postwar coming to an end. This end of postwar prosperity resulted in high rates of crime and social disorders due to economic stagnation. As the economic stagnation worsened, the class and social status trend rose in New York. This can be heavily attributed to the crime and criminal activities present today.
“On the Waterfront” and “The French Connection”
On the waterfront focused on union violence and the presence of corruption amongst longshoremen. It rotates around themes such as extortion, corruption, and racketeering that took place on the waterfronts. The film depicted crime and justice based on connecting both the law and God, as evident from the priest’s presence and court. The most critical point in this film is the portrayal of corruption in prominent officials. Considering the era in which the movie was released, this depiction illustrates that the first step to getting rid of corruption, bribery, and fraud is to start from high-level officials.
The French Connection focuses on drug smuggling and drug trafficking in the 1960s and 1970s. Drug business involved influential individuals and crime families. The film depicted justice with the arrest and sentencing of guilty individuals who get out of jail and try making clean money through legal businesses. From the analysis of this film, the drug business involves prominent individuals, and drug smuggling and trafficking. As a result, the law enforcement officers have to take out the crime families. While justice can be served, more often than not, the individuals convicted are the juniors while the seniors continue with running the drug businesses.