Goodfellas The Movie, Sociolog

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throughout the movie. Some of the informal rules held by the Mafia were the codes of trust and silence. In other words, never rat on a friend and keep your mouth shut. These rules were highlighted when the narrator, Henry Hill, had his first arrest. He was brought to court; defended by a Mafia paid lawyer and after his release he received praise and money from the family for honoring the code. This was considered his Mafia graduation and as important as losing his virginity.
It was also sanctioned behavior to buy your way in and out of the mainstream culture with bribes to local authorities and officials. Because of fear and respect of family members in the community, it was very easy to persuade the authorities to look the other way when crimes were committed.
An important Mafia folkway was to conduct business transactions were usually done face to face as a one to one communication. No one but the two parties talking knew what was said. Business was rarely discussed around ...

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