The Blurring Line

The crime genre has always been concerned with the quest for justice in a corrupted world. In Spade and Marlowe's times, the corruption was caused by the criminal and the distinctions between the forces of 'good and evil' were much more clearly defined; more recently the case is different.
A central figure in Dashiell Hammet's crime fiction was Sam Spade. The character of Sam Spade was fundamental to the formation of the stereotypical noir detective, particularly through his role in The Maltese Falcon. This character also featured in the classic noir film version of The Maltese Falcon. Sam Spade was a private detective who, directed by a cynical perspective, exacted his own personal form of
justice. He is a flawed and damaged character, arrogant and sceptical, because in the pursuit of justice he has been brought into close contact with corruption while trying to expose it. Third person narration is used in Spade's narratives but he is always the nexus around which all events and conflicts occur. His keen eye exposes corruption and discerns what is good and evil. An example of this is the way in which Spade is appeasing to women while at the same time appearing wise to their apparent deceptions. In this way Sam Spade makes it easy for the audience to distinguish between good and evil because he provokes and exposes it with his assertive personality. It is obvious where the source of corruption is in the world of Spade, in the criminals he investigates.Another character found within classic crime fiction and one which provided the mould for the hard-boiled detective so typical of crime fiction is Marlowe. This is another example where the central protagonist in pursuit of justice in a corrupt world does so as an agent of the law. Marlow, a detective, is an everyman, and therefore reflects and embodies all the collective suspicions and prejudices inherent to the population, particularly the working class. An example of this embodiment of collective ideologies can be
seen in Marlow's understanding and intelligence which he uses to undermine the wealthy and authoritative. He is effective at doing this because he is able to recognise the corrupting influence of the pursuit of both wealth and power.
In more recent times crime fiction has developed so that the source of corruption is more complex. It is not necessarily the criminal, or the criminal alone, who is the source of corruption, but there are numerous forces, both human, institutional, and cultural, which act to corrupt. Likewise, distinctions between the forces of good and evil are much more blurred and more difficult to identify. In some cases difficulties in identifying the source of corruption or knowing what is good and what is evil are due to changes in the reflective values of society. In other cases crime fiction actively challenges popular preconceptions of morality. However there is little doubt that it is a two way process, that both art and life imitate each other in their representations of issues of morality such as corruption, good and evil. MacDonald agrees, suggesting that "It (popular literature) reaffirms our values as they change, and dramatises the conflicts of those values" (MacDonald, Ross, Self Portrait, Capra Press, 1981, Mean Streets, Popular Fiction & Mass
Culture Reader, 3109ART, 2009, pg 138). The 1995 film LA confidential, based on the James Ellroy novel of the same name, is neo noir and therefore imitates, but at the same time manipulates, the conventions of classic crime fiction and noir. The
film differentiates itself from those classic narratives by its use of complex characters who represent very different opposing ideas about how to pursue justice in a corrupt world. By the 1990s systemic corruption had been widely explored a. LA Confidential nd accepted in and outside of popular fiction culminates in a revelation of extreme police corruption but the distinctions between good and evil are more effectively explored through the central characters. All three of the main characters are police officers but have contrasting subjective interpretations of not only what distinguishes good and evil and right from wrong, but also the source of corruption in a corrupt world. However each of these characters come to realise
that their own ideas are just that, their own, and that there is no simple way to define justice in world where the pursuit of justice itself acts to corrupt. Ed Exley is the son of a successful police lieutenant, an ambitious and uncompromising officer whos notions of justice could be seen as old-fashioned. They are certainly strictly adhering to procedures and give a sense that he represents the ideal of what a police officer should be, uncorrupt, and obligated to be 'better' than those on which he enforces justice. Bud White is a tough and direct officer, who uses aggression and violence when protocol is insufficient. He is self-righteous and defends those cannot defend themselves, particularly women. Both of these men
become associated with the same woman and subsequently become enemies when this becomes known to each. Not only is this triangle used by the police/criminals to pit the two men against each other, and therefore undermine their investigations, it is also the catalyst for White's realisation that he too is capable of physically abusing women. So the Femme Fatale in this case does not actively seek to corrupt the men but does so because she is manipulated by the real source of corruption, the police, mafia and politicians who are in cahoots. Exley is also corrupted in a sense but only because he comes to realise that his understanding of the politics of a police department can be used to excuse him of murder. The third
officer crucial to the plot is Jack Vincennes. His vice is that he has been seduced like most other people of the period by the glamour of Hollywood's celebrity community. What he uncovers in his investigation, which diverges with the othre two's, is that beneath the bright exterior of this industry and LA in general is
that corruption has permeated all social constructs. This includes the film industry, the famous LAPD, politicians, and others. The 1971 film by Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather, represents a shift in crime fiction, or at least noir/crime film, into organised crime. In this context issues of morality are complicated by a number of forces that work both from within, and independent of, the film. These include familial values, cultural values and differences, historical events, and an awareness of institutional and systemic corruption. Raymond Queneau says of this new wave of organised crime fiction that they may not "present a realistic
portrait of American Gangster life; they are works of pure imagination which have their conventions and arbitrary rules just like the old-fashioned detective story". In the first scene of The Godfather, the Don Vito Corleone is shown meeting with various guests during the wedding of his only daughter. These engagements reveal the head of this Corleone crime syndicate as having qualities that allow us to
sympathise with him, even admire him. He displays "a paternal generosity to those who serve him" (http://www.sparknotes.com/film/godfather ), a degree of empathy and understanding, a civilised manner, and a willingness for discussion and compromise. The audience is then shown how distinctions between good and evil are much more complex for a man in the position of Vito Corleone. An Italian acquaintance tells the Don how his daughter was assaulted by American youths and that she had been greatly hurt and shamed by the event. He then reasons that since the course of justice carried out by police was inadequate, surely the Don with his power and influence could offer a better one by murdering the perpetrators. That shows that this is a realm that with very different conceptions of justice, which often
seem no less, and arguably more, just, than that offered to some people by authorities, and one which is based on a greatly different priority of values. To understand the reasons for these differences it is important to consider the differences between Italian and American cultures and also the difficulties
certain Italian and other immigrants experienced while assimilating into American society. Unlike American culture which encourages individual enterprise, Italian cultural values are based around the concept of 'campanilismo', meaning there is a necessary loyalty and consideration not only toward the benefit of immediate family but to the community or township as well, which supersedes individualism.
Loyalty to the state is only secondary to values such as family, campanilismo, and the church. On this basis law and bureaucracy was something to be manouvered not to conform to. The unification of north and south italy resulted in numerous peasant rebellions by Southern Italians in the late 1800s. Unfair taxes, and poor working and living conditions forced many of these people to immigrate to America and
other countries. Many of those who arrived in America did so with limited education, qualifications, and resources and so had little prospects, particularly when also faced with general racism, and competition with the Afro-American community. They also experienced little or no political representation. All these
things meant their survival depended on a structure based on Italian familial values and an sense of commerce which was based on personal influence and favours. Like in Italy, any act which threatened this social construct of community or damaged another individual within this community, was known as by infame'. Best translated into English as 'snitch', infame’ was the worst label within Italian circles and was severely punished, often by death. It is easy to see how this concept of justice was a necessary for the Italian minority living in America, but also how it resulted in a friction with the American concept of justice. The presence of the forces good vs evil are most clearly distinguishable within Michael's internal struggle, which becomes an ongoing process continuing into The Godfather II and the Godfather III films. With a focus on the original, The Godfather, one can see that Michael is an anomaly within the inherently corrupt
world of organised crime, where the corruption extends beyond the criminals to include police, politicians, and judicial representatives. It must be noted that such implications were not so boldly made prior to the 1970's when the film was made. However events such as the Vietnam War, where Americans found themselves to be perpetrators of unprovoked aggression and brutality, as well as the assassination of JFK, brought awareness in the public sphere of institutional and systemic corruption. In this way the sense of inherent corruption in the film reflects the feelings of society at the time. "Coming on the heels of the turbulent 1960s, while the Vietnam War and the culture wars raged, The Godfather films took part in the New Left critique, exposing the hypocrisy of institutions of power. The Godfather highlights police corruption and the questionable morality of politicians who send their citizens abroad to fight wars" (http://www.sparknotes.com/film/godfather )."Senators don't have men killed...Who is being naive now
Kay?". As well as initially stating his denouncement of his family's criminal activities, Michael, being the youngest of a group of second generation Italians, he is more American than Italian. This is evident in his pursuit of secondary education in America and by his wartime exploits in a conflict that was fought by his adopted nation against Italians, amongst others. As Michael is forced to take control of the family business he is forced to abandon his American values and notions of Justice. This process can be seen to begin with his assault by the corrupt police Sergeant. The black eye that he carries afterward is similar
to Gittes’ nose cut in Chinatown, a symbol of his wounded character. So the force of good, represented by Michael's promise within the family, is in direct opposition to the Italian values he is forced to embrace to ensure his family's survival. That is not to say that the source of corruption is the Italian values of
family, campanilismo, and infame’, it is more a matter of him being able to find a balance between conflicting obligations. In this way Michael is a unique protagonist within crime fiction by his existence in both the world of crime and that of decent law-abiding American citizens. However, like classic crime
fiction Michael's search for justice makes him vulnerable to corruption because he too is a less than perfect character. Ironically, it is Michael's firm confidence and conviction, not his more Italian traits which seal his descent into evil while attempting to apply justice in a corrupt world. It is these traits, along with
his insatiable vengeance, which allow him to murder so many people, including his own brother Freido, in the name of the greater good of the Corleone family.
Distinctions between good and evil are much less clearly defined in more recent crime fiction than in the classics featuring Sam Spade and Marlowe. This is demonstrated by crime fiction's move into organised crime, which began with The Godfather. It has also been further explored by neo noir films such as LA
Confidential which reveal a level of corruption that characterises an entire city community. These films represented changing attitudes towards notions of justice, which includes a growing awareness of institutional and systemic corruption. What these sources of corruption are as vast and numerous as one could imagine. Cultural frictions, the emergence of the Hollywood and media industries, money, power,
status, political influence. All things that motivate people's lives in contemporary society.

Ryan Butler



Bibliography

Articles
MacDonald, Ross, Self Portrait, Capra Press, 1981, Mean Streets, Popular Fiction & Mass Culture Reader, 3109ART, 2009, pg 138
Queneau, Raymond, Entry for 15th September 1945 - Batons Chiffres Et Lettres, Mean Streets, Popular Fiction & Mass Culture Reader, 3109ART, 2009, pg 140
Chandler, Raymond, The Simple Art of Murder, 1950, Mean Streets, Popular Fiction & Mass Culture Reader, 3109ART, 2009, pg 142

Internet
http://www.sparknotes.com/film/godfather