White People Ain’t Left Us Nothin’ But the Underworld: Historicity, Race and the American Dream in Ridley Scott’s American Gangster
Released in 2007, Ridley Scott’s American Gangster tracks the career of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), who dominated the Harlem drug trade in the 1960s and 70s through his monopoly over heroin, which he imported directly from Vietnam and Thailand. The film follows the character of Detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), who led the police task force ultimately responsible for toppling Lucas’ regime. This paper investigates the historical validity of the film, taking into consideration the consultant role Roberts and Lucas adopted during production alongside the political implications of Scott’s decision to cinematize (and so implicitly condone) the life of a convicted drug lord and accused murderer. It examines both filmic elements of music, casting and cinematography as well sociological concerns of race, space, masculinity and class in order to determine whether the film realistically portrays the lived experience of gang members and Harlem residents alike. Moreover, it considers the film’s political backdrop and its engagement with events like the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement and the 1970s recession. Ultimately, the paper concludes that despite Scott’s efforts to undermine traditional iconography by portraying Lucas as a complex, rational and respected outlaw-businessman, the narrative’s lack of critical engagement with the socio-economic context of its era ultimately render it presentist in style, content and intention.