Made Men: Mafia Culture and the Power of Symbols, Rituals, and Myth

by Antonio Nicaso

The novel The Godfather (1969) and the movie of the same name (1972) entrenched the myth of the Mafiosi as valiant knights, men of honor, and defenders of the traditional concept of family. As a result of this movie and other popular portrayals, the image of mobsters as “men of honor and tradition” has become iconic throughout America. Yet the truth of the matter belies this more noble image. The Mafia is a ruthless organization. Their concept of family is a twisted one. But viewed through the lens of popular culture, it is often difficult to separate the fiction from the reality. Made Men demystifies this image by dismantling the code of honor that Mafiosi live by, including its attendant symbols, rituals, and the lifestyle that it demands.

Since the end of World War II, the Mafia in Italy and America has undergone major changes, which are charted by the authors through the present day. Nicaso and Danesi also consider all kinds of related organizations, not only the Italian ones, including the Yakuza, the Triads, and the Russian Mafia. The authors look at organized criminal culture in general, attempting to explain why its symbols, rituals, and practices continue to draw people in, both as literal members, or as consumers of the pop culture that glorifies them. This story traces and decodes the origins, history and success of the mafia in the U.S., bringing a better, and more accurate understanding of this ultimately brutal, violent, and corrupting “family business.” It is a story that has rarely been told in this way, but which is believed, nonetheless, important to tell.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Antonio Nicaso is an internationally recognized expert on organized crime. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including Bloodlines: The Rise and Fall of the Mafia's Royal Family; Global Mafia; and Deadly Silence. Nicaso is a regular consultant and lecturer to universities, governments and law-enforcement agencies in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Reviews

[Toral · Rating 3 out of 5]

shout out italian studies 265

[a. · Rating 3 out of 5]

while the approach taken to this book/the premise is interesting (the use of symbol and ritual to create a mythology for the gang) i'm not sure whether the authors actually accomplish what they're setting out to prove. the research is decent and i particularly appreciated the specific italian translations they made, but it's a lot of conclusory statements and logical leaps that i'm not entirely sure are born out in the text.

[Joelle Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hollywood has led to the idea of a glamorous gangster, but the truth is the Mafia is nothing but cruelty, thugs, and money by any means. We tend to think of Al Capone in this romantic light, but drawing a distinction between him and say, the Russian Mafia. But all the movs/mafias are murdering cohorts. They traffick people. They control drug routes - the Calabrian mafia controls the entire cocaine trade in Europe. They have their tentacles in politics. And they are world wide. The Russian Mafia may be known more because of their sex slave trafficking, but they aren't the only slave traders working in the 21sr century. The Godfather trilogy was the greatest thing to happen to the Mafia: it gave them celebrity status, good attention, and easily recognizable symbols and myths. It also successfully obscured the fact that they are pure evil, with no redeemable aspects. It's time to strip away the garish polish, and expose the terror and horror that the Mafia/mob - no matter where it comes from - is.

[dejah_thoris · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sufficient and short cultural analysis of organized crime. I learned a few new facts about the international gangs, but there's nothing particularly surprising in this book. Gangbangers consume media like everyone else and much of their 'culture' is invented or copied to create a feeling of purpose and community. Then media steals it and the circle resumes.

[Elise Van Manen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for my class, overall I do not think it was bad. I think it was very interesting to read this and learn about the symbolism in different movies and everything that makes the mafia, the mafia. I find some of the wording was not the best but also some of it felt a little out of reach in a sense that it was not super cultivating to read. I read it three times which is more than I can say about other books and all textbooks I've read for school so that was good.

[Erichyde · Rating 2 out of 5]

So dull. This is what happens when someone tries to write a book based on the images of something like organized crime just by using movies.