Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York is cinematic masterpiece and was released with much buzz in the year 2002. Admittedly, many stimulating scenes in the movie blew me away. The plot centers on mid 1800s racial hatred and political corruption in the Five Points section of New York City. I never really questioned the history in the movie until I recently read Professor DiGirolamo's review, "Such, Such Were the B'hoys..." DiGirolamo's laundry list of historical inaccuracies helped me come to a terminal realization. Gangs of New York was never suppose to be used as a historical text, but rather, Scorsese wanted to teach us something about the present. The time period (mid 1800s), and plot masterminded by Scorsese is a clever metaphor to the state of New York City and America after September 11th. The film serves as a wake up call to the potential moral decay that will erupt if present day hatred towards Arabs continue. This is the message Scorsese wants the viewer to take from the film, rather than a more personal, and accurate understanding of American history during the mid 1800s.
             After September 11, 2001, there was much resentment and racial hatred towards Arabs and even Middle Eastern looking individuals. Hate crimes and negative attitudes toward Arabs arose, especially in 2002, the year Gangs of New York was released. Scorsese uses the film as a metaphor to what is going on in the present. The last scene was one of the most political and powerful scenes in the film. Amsterdam and Jenny are in a graveyard, and the skyline changes from mid 1800s to the present. Smack-dab in the middle of the screen stands the Twin Towers. The changing skyline at the end is Scorsese's way of telling us to use past history, and look at the present situation of racial discrimination. The Natives, led by Bill "The Butcher" Cunning symbolize present day Americans in the film. The I
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