American Prankster

Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in American Gangster

DENZEL WASHINGTON ONCE AGAIN STRIKES THAT GANGSTER LEAN IN 'TRAINING DAY'...ER, 'AMERICAN GANGSTER'

American Gangster will certainly be lauded as an achievement in American film; the dapper and exquisite contribution of Denzel Washington combined with the gritty and rugged performance of Russell Crowe, set against the backdrop of a classic gangster tale.

Despite the plausible argument that American Gangster actually revolves around Crowe’s character and that he truly is the protagonist, we will presently address Washington’s starring role in American Gangster as the notorious convicted criminal, admitted murderer and former heroin magnate, Frank Lucas. How does the racial subtext affect the black market?

Well, Denzel is undoubtedly, one of the most talented actors to ever grace the silver screen. His commanding resolve and arresting demeanor captivate the attention of any onlooker, despite the range of the role. While we do not recall that many movies featuring Washington in slapstick comedies, he nonetheless has proven a broad range of dexterity in his role selection. This brings us to our central point: that despite the indisputable ability of Washington to energize audiences and stimulate box office receipts, his roles unfortunately do not stray too far from the traditional tree of archetypes that continue to bear forth the fruit of virtually every minority actor still working in Hollywood today.

For instance, with his role in American Gangster as Frank Lucas, the heroin crime magnate, there are several subtle nuanced patterns at work and at play. Aside from Washginton’s acting ability and individual performance in this movie, his role raises several interesting issues to parse out. We only have time for six:

1. UTOPIC REVERSAL: While admittedly Lucas is a “badass,” for our purposes, the question is to what extent do we see Washington manifest true indicies of power as Lucas onscreen? Washington onscreen dresses well – sure. However, as a ruthless drug kingpin, he appears to be holding the short end of the power stick when harassed by corrupt narcotic cops like Detective Trupo. Noticeably absent from the movie are any scenes of Washington explaining or demonstrating his power to or on any White authority figures. If anything, we see Washington display his steely resolve with the cold-blooded killing of another Black male (played by the RZA?).
2. WHITE CATHARSIS: Crowe’s character is arguably more developed onscreen than Washington’s. While we see Crowe struggle onscreen to balance his family life, we see that his career blossoms when he passes the bar and is able to personally prosecute Washington’s character after amassing the requisite evidence to arrest him in the first place.
3. EMASCULATION: Washington in the movie’s final scenes completes his Utopic Reversal fall from grace when he literally is divested of his expensive raiment, and is seen with (poor posture and) a white T-shirt, glasses and a smile as he divulges names and additional evidence in hopes of reducing his sentence. The movie’s final scene depicts Washington looking disoriented and alone as he is let out of jail in 1992, an anachronistic symbol of criminalism that did not pay.
4. BLACK FEMALE SEXUALITY: