Research Task: Mafia

Our thriller represents a Mafia looking boss character for a brief moment, towards the end. This post will be discussing Mafia, different organisations of them and my we decided to use one in our Thriller.

A Mafia is a type of organized crime syndicate whose primary activities are protection racketeering, the arbitration of disputes between criminals, and the organizing and oversight of illegal agreements and transactions. Secondary activities may be practices such as gambling, loan sharking, drug-trafficking, and fraud.  



Why did we choose to have a British looking Mafia? Well, mainly because that we are making a small independent british thriller. So it would make sense to do that. We wanted to have some common robbers doing the job, subsequently interrupted with a higher authority. I will give a few real life Mafia Bosses that were inspired to create our character.


Al Capone, an American gangster from Brooklyn. A crackdown on racketeering in Chicago meant that Al Capone's first mobster job was to move operations to Cicero. With the assistance of his brothers Frank (Salvatore) and Ralph, Capone infiltrated the government and police departments. Between them they took leading positions within Cicero city government in addition to running brothels, gambling clubs and racetracks.
Capone kidnapped opponents' election workers and threatened voters with violence. He eventually won office in Cicero but not before his brother Frank had been killed in a shoot out with Chicago's police force.

Capone had prided himself on keeping his temper under wraps but when friend and fellow hood Jack Guzik was assaulted by a small time thug, Capone tracked the assailant down and shot him dead in a bar. Due to lack of witnesses, Capone got away with the murder, but the publicity surrounding the case gave him a notoriety that he had never had before.

Reggie and Ronnie (The Kray Brothers) were both exceptional boxers but chose the life of extortion and robbery that were among their illegal activities. They built up their own group known as "The Firm," which became a dominant force in the East End. Each brother had his own strengths with Reggie being known for his charm and brains while Ronnie was known for his might and short temper. Both loved to dress to the nines, and their high-end suits became part of their signature look. They ran several clubs and rubbed elbows with many celebrities, including singer Frank Sinatra and actor George Raft.

No amount of polish could hide the Krays' vicious actions, however. Reggie created a move called the cigarette punch. He acted as if he was going to place a cigarette in his intended target's mouth and then hit him while his mouth was open. The blow was meant to make it easier to break the victim's jaw. Both Reggie and Ronnie spent time behind bars for various offenses, but it didn't made a dent in their criminal activities.

Later in 2015, a film was made about the Kray Brothers called 'Legend'. Inspired by real life gangsters. Our character was inspired by the Kray Brothers outfits. Since they are a East-London organisation and have similar culture and clothes we decided to give our character a similar look ( A bit more 'Northy' look, but yet intimidating).

The Godfather film series consists of three crime films directed by Francis Ford Coppola inspired by the novel of the same name by Italian American author Mario Puzo.

The series follows the trials of the Corleone family, Italian Americans whose patriarch, Vito Corleone, rises to be a major figure in American organized crime. His youngest son, Michael Corleone, becomes his successor. All three films were distributed by Paramount Pictures and released in 1972, 1974 and 1990. The series achieved success at the box office, with the films earning over $550 million worldwide. The first two films have received wide acclaim since release; the former, The Godfather, is seen by many as one of the greatest films of all time. Its sequel, The Godfather Part II, is viewed by many as the best sequel in cinematic history. The series is heavily awarded, winning 9 out of 29 total Academy Award nominations.

Many films were made inspired by real life Mafia.