ABSTRACT
There is a large number of movies, television programs, video games, and Internet sites that deal with, or revolve around, organized criminal gangs and famous gangsters. This is evidence of an abiding fascination in society with the criminals, which has allowed them to become celebrities. This chapter will deal with the representations of crime and organized criminals in the media and pop culture. The synergy that exists between the two – criminals and pop culture – has been a significant one in perpetuating a mythology about the Mafioso as an honorable gangster, which itself taps into the origin myths that the gangsters have created for themselves, turning them into larger-than-life celebrities. Mario Puzo’s 1969 novel The Godfather, which was the basis for the 1972 movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is perhaps the prototypical example of how pop culture has mythologized the Mafia. Why are we so intrigued by the Mafiosi as portrayed by the movies? There are various psychosocial theories explaining this fascination, some of which will be examined at the end of the chapter.
