Analysis of Marginalized People in London Society in Guy Ritchies Snatch - Movie Review Example

Guy Ritchie’s Snatch Introduction Guy Ritchie, in his movie, Snatch has presented a quite different side of London. London is shown as a city composed of multiple races and ethnicities. These include the Blacks, the Poor, the Jewish, the Pikies and the Americans. These people survive as the fringes of a society which is dominated by White, Anglo-Saxon Protestants. They do not lead ordinary lives but their lives are often against the law and societal norms. This paper will discuss how Guy Ritchie has portrayed these five different kinds of marginalized people in London society. The survival of these people in London would be discussed in detail. The Blacks The Blacks in the movie are Tyrone, Vinny and Sol. They are shown as petty thieves who survive by pickpocketing and doing small underhand jobs for the rich people. They have a shop that works as a front for their business. The blacks work as a group. Even though Tyrone does not operate the shop, he is willing to help out Vinny and Sol in their quest to obtain the briefcase from Franky Four Fingers. The Blacks are not afraid to use the gun. They have been able to develop a network where they can get guns easily. This is evident when Sol is able to obtain a heavy machine gun for robbing the bookies. However, they are not in a position to buy expensive guns. In order to get the diamond back from Boris, they have no option but to use replicas. Also the blacks are not cunny in their ways. They are unable to hide the fact that they are using a replica. It is their simple ways that lands them in trouble in the first place. The Blacks are also not afraid to use the gun. Vinny has no qualms over releasing the trigger of the gun in the car. He breaks windows and a loud sound ensues but he is uncaring of the impact. Even though the blacks own guns and are not afraid to fire them, they do not wish to kill someone with the gun. They operate within the shadows and do not wish to come out in the open by getting caught over murder. The Poor Turkish and Tommy are shown in the movie as poor white men. In the movie, they operate a small arcade shop. Even their arcade shop is a front. Their real business is to do sticky business for Brick Top, the white Anglo-Saxon Protestant. Turkish and Tommy are aware that the work they are doing for Brick Top is not legal. However, they feel protected by the fact that Brick Top is in an important position and would be able to protect them from small snitches with the law. Their main goal is to earn money even if it involves doing the wrong business. Both Turkish and Tommy realize that survival with Brick Top is not easy. Both of them live with the constant fear that Brick Top would lose his cool and sentence them to the cruelest death. Their commitment towards Brick Top is also based on fear towards the man. The poor survive by being small dealers for the rich man. For this, they have to deal with all kinds of people. This includes the Pickies who continue to plunder with them. But Turkish and Tommy have no way to stop the pickies because they are caught in the middle- between the pickies and Brick Top. They cannot run away because Brick Top is a powerful man. They also do not have the resources to run away. They only have small tricks that allow them to survive for so long with Brick Top. Turkish and Tommy also stick together. In almost every scene, they are shown as a pair. When Turkish’s shop is being destroyed, Tommy comes to help by scaring the gangsters with a gun. Even though Tommy knows that the gun is a fake and that he can run away easily, he comes to save Turkish. The Jews The Jews in the movie are shown as jewelry owners. These include Doug the head, his twin daughters and his wife. The Jews have developed a good position in London. They have been able to do so by opening being good at what they do. In this case, it includes operating a jewelry shop. The Jews, perhaps, have the most power in London when it comes to the marginalized group of individuals living in London. The Jews work in both ways: they have a legitimate business and they are also not afraid of conducting any shady business. In fact Doug has been able to remain in contact with dangerous people like Bullet Tooth Tony. He also has the respect of Tony which shows that Doug has a clever mind. The network of the Jews is also quite strong. Doug and his twins know how to make their way about when they land in trouble. It is because of their network that they are able to help out Cousin Avi in retrieving the diamond from the thieves. The Jews are also very clever in their ways. They have installed cameras in the shop. They know who to deal with and how to deal with them. The status that they enjoy in London is a result of their strong planning and strategy skills. They do not come out in the open but they operate from a legal front. This shows the extent of their careful and sly planning. The Americans Cousin Avi is an American shown in the movie. Cousin Avi is not willing to come to London because he does not want to leave the confines of his home country. He operates by hiring other men to do his job. However, he also realizes that if he does not go to London himself, he would have to lose the chance of getting back his diamond. Cousin Avi is straight forward and direct to the point of being rude. This is evident in the way that he talks with Doug, the jewelry dealer. He says what he is in mind without making his words nice and pleasant. However, Avi also realizes his limit and does not cross them. When Avi loses his diamond, he makes a substantial loss. Even in this situation, he retains his cool. Cousin Avi also survives by being very rational. He is not emotional at all. When Bullet-Tooth Tony is cruel to his informer, Cousin Avi does not blink an eye. Avi is aware that he cannot be soft at this point. He therefore becomes cold-blooded. In this manner, Avi has a narrow focus. He keeps his vision in focus and does not care what is done to achieve that aim. Avi is also able to survive by keeping contact with the right people. He knows that only the Jewish jeweler can help him out in the situation. Therefore he keeps in constant contact with him. Even when he as in America, he continuously communicates with him through the phone. Avi is also very quick. He does not wait for things to improve. He quickly takes a plane to London when things start to go wrong. The Pikies The Pickies are the gypsies in the movie. Mickey O’Neil is their unofficial leader. They pickies live in caravans outside the main city. They have learnt to survive outside the city. For this, they have learnt to be a jack of all trades. Surviving alone requires them to be strong and wily. The pickie sense of community ownership is very strong. When Turkish and Tommy come to deal with the pickies, they come together as a group to make the deal. Before making the deal, they consult with each other. Even though Tommy and Turkish come to deal with O’Neil, they have to deal with the whole lot. When O’Neil’s caravan is destroyed by Turkish, he still agrees to fight to save his community. The pickie are also very sly. They sell the defected caravan to Turkish. The caravan breaks even before Tommy leaves the vicinity but the pickies do not give back the money. In this way, pickie swindle others to gain money. They are thieves in this sense. Also this discourages other people from dealing with them. This suits the pickies to a great extent because they do not like outsiders to enter their area. The pickies are also very self-sufficient. They can also fight their own battles. It may not appear that O’Neil is a good fighter but in order to survive as outsiders, they have learnt many skills that come in handy when the time comes. Conclusion Guy Ritchie shows a London consisting of gangster, book makers, amateur robbers, Jewish Jewelers and the gypsies. These people form a part of London that is not accepted by the rich and the educated class. However, these people continue to exist and it would be wrong to ignore them. These marginalized people in society continue to exploit the society with their underhanded ways. This is perhaps the only way that they can survive. They are not afraid of committing to the wrong ways and even sometimes look out to earn money the easy way. Read More