The Bronx Tale - Teaching the Film as Literature

The Bronx Tale
TEN FILMS
THAT ENGAGE
STUDENTS
The Bronx Tale
This is a very simple story about a boy who is torn between two men, one his
straight-laced father who plays by the rules and the local gangster chieftain, a man who
breaks the rules and lives outside the law. It is an extremely engaging film for young
urban viewers, capturing them by effectively taking them back to an environment from
an earlier period (the 1960s) while illustrating how very similar that period was to their
own; the choices teenagers had to make in the sixties were much the same choices they
have to make today.
The film is found in that limited range I call very engaging films: films that deal
with a classic journey into our shared similarities. I have classified it in the season of
spring as a coming of age story. It deals with the birth, death (symbolic) and rebirth
(hence the season of spring) of a boy by the name of Cologio, later shorten by Sonny
(the gangster) into “C.”
It is C’s struggle that my students identify with because they all have had to make
similar choices (or they expect to) in their young lives. In his coming of age, C faced
having to decide these issues: Whether or not to “do a good thing for a very bad man” as
his father expressed it; how far to carry loyalty to friends he grew up with even while
knowing they were wrong; Whether to give in to the pressure of racism, or continue to try
to date a young woman who is from a different race; whether to continue a relationship
with a man he respects, even loves, but who would kill him if he felt he was threatened.
One could make a list of the lessons to be learned from The Bronx Tale, a list that
covers many of the common human concerns we all share. Some I have already
mentioned. These shared similarities include these themes:
1. Whether to do a good thing for a very bad man. This is the choice C has to
make in what is the inciting incident of the film.
2. There’s nothing worst than wasted talent. This comes from C’s father and he
is probably speaking from his own experiences and certainly, could be a reference to the
gangster whom we suspect would have been successful in any line of legitimate work.
3. Never underestimate your enemy. Closely aligned with this is—
4. For twenty bucks you can get rid of a problem. Between point 3 and 4, we
have covered both sides of the issue: How to deal with an enemy or a bad friend.
5. Nobody cares. Whether this true or not is one major theme that C struggles to
determine.
6. The door test and the Mario test. Two ways offered to judge whether a girl is
classified as being one of the great ones. You might not wish to discuss the Mario Test,
but your students will certainly have made note of it. Is there anything to these tests?
7. It’s better to be feared than loved. This is probably the central theme in the
relationship between Sonny and C. C appears to both love and fear Sonny.
8. Live in the neighborhood you rule. That way, you can stay on top of any
trouble. Perhaps teachers should live in the neighborhood they teach in? There is a valid
point here: live close to your work so you can stay understand and stay on top of any
problems.
9. How do we judge someone? By what they say or what they do? In this film,
Sonny is a killer but not a racist; C’s father is an honest man until it comes to racial
issues.
10. How do we determine what is friendship? Is it friendship when it is in the
best interest of someone to be our friend? Or do we judge a friend by the fact that there is
nothing to be gained by being our friend?
All of these questions could be asked of your students as writing prompts to be
discussed first and then written on as an essay prompt.
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The Bronx Tale
US: 1993, Drama
122 minutes, Rated R, Color
Director: Robert De Niro
Cast Includes:
Robert De Niro
Chazz Palminteri
Lillo Brancato
Francis Capra
Taral Hicks
Katherine Narducci
Clem Caserta
Alfred Sauchelli
Frank Pictrangolare
Joe Pesci
Classification: Spring,
The Coming of Age
Notes
Although this is an R-rated film, it is mildly so, having
only a few offensive four-letter words and some violence that
does not come close to comparing to the violence found in most
modern R-rated films. The film falls into the season category
of Spring, the Coming of Age genre where man (woman) wants
woman (man) or some combination.
The film is based upon a play written by Chazz Palminteri
who also plays Sonny, the local gangster in the film and the
person whom Calogero grows up admiring and respecting. The
boy’s coming of age is a struggle between accepting the values
of his working class father or the values of the flashy and exciting
gangster, Sonny.
There is a girl that C pursues, and in that
pursuit he is forced to come to grips with accepting or rejecting
his father’s or Sonny’s values. Since the girl is not of the same
race as Calogero, a level of irony plays out in the film as the
expected values of the father and Sonny clash and commingle
with unexpected results.
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The Bronx Tale
US: 1993, Drama
122 minutes, Rated R, Color
Director: Robert De Niro
Cast Includes:
Robert De Niro
Chazz Palminteri
Lillo Brancato
Francis Capra
Taral Hicks
Katherine Narducci
Clem Caserta
Alfred Sauchelli
Frank Pictrangolare
Joe Pesci
Classification: Spring,
The Coming of Age
Notes
What is it about this film that makes it so engaging to
students, even though it has so many features going against it,
including a setting that takes place in the sixties?
First of all, the inciting incident (that event that must
take place for there to be a conflict and resulting story)
involves a struggle that all students go through on a daily
basis: whether to tell the truth and “rat” out someone to the
teacher or other authorities. It might be observing someone
who cheats on a test in the classroom; it might be when
students observe a fight on campus but keep quiet. My
students’ response in most cases was the same as Callorego in
the film: remain silent and be loyal to the unwritten code that
one does not bear witness against another to authorities,
either for the sake of the code of silence or for the sake of
one’s own safety.
Immediately at the point of the inciting incident, my
students are strongly engaged as they wonder whether
Callorego will “do the right thing.” (The right thing in this
case is not to rat out Sonny). When Callorego adheres to the
unwritten code of his and my students’ value system, the film
has taken the first important step to tapping into my student’s
schemata and hooking my students into the story.
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Previewing Prompt: How much influence should a
father or mother have on who a child is able to date or marry?
What does a child owe his family for giving life and protecting
and raising to adulthood? Discuss the role of family in the
choices a child should make to please or not please his or her
family.
THE BRONX
TALE
Initial Response to Film.
Write your response to this film without speaking to anybody
about it. Rate it and explain why you like it or dislike it, what worked for you and what didn’t work
for you.
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1. The father in this film refuses any path except the straight
and narrow. Why does he refuse the friendship of Sonny when it
is offered? How would it harm him or his son?
THE BRONX
TALE
2. The father says that there is “nothing more tragic than a wasted talent.” Do you agree? Disagree?
Discuss.
3. The street corner gangster says, “Nobody really cares.” Do you agree? Disagree? Discuss.
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4. The father is very honest, yet, when it come to doing the right
thing as a citizen (identifying Sony as a murderer), he tells his
son not to get involved. Do you think this is a contradiction in
the character of the father? Explain.
THE BRONX
TALE
5. Also the father, when he learns that his son has been dating an African American girl, discourages the boy
by reminding him that people should marry their “own kind.” What does this tell you about the character of
the father and is this a contradiction? Discuss.
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THE BRONX
TALE
6. Sonny is a gangster and a murderer, yet, when Calogero asks
him for advice about dating an African-American girl, he
replies that the color of skin is not what matters but whether she
is a good person. Is this a contradiction in his character?
Explain and discuss.
7. When the father and Calogero are sitting in the “nosebleed” section of the fights and Sonny
offered them a seat at ringside, why didn’t the father go and sit with him?
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8. Why didn’t the boy go alone and sit with Sonny ringside?
After all, his father had given him permission—that it was O.K.
with him if he wished, but Calogero remained with his father.
Why?
THE BRONX
TALE
9. What was the “test” Sonny uses to determine if a woman is a “good person” or not? Why do you
think, or not think, this is effective in determining someone’s character?
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10. What role does the violence play in this film? In other
words, what function does it serve to the film? Explain and
justify your answer.
THE BRONX
TALE
11. Describe how the violence is filmed and what effect this has on the function of the violence in
the film. How is it different (if so) than in other violent movies?
12. Some critics have described this film as a moral parable. Define parable and explain what is the
parable of this film.
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13. Discuss the transformation (change) that Calogero undergoes
in his relationship to Sonny as the story of the film moves
forward. Explain in the space below:
How Calogero felt toward Sonny
at first (illustrate with selected
scenes)
How Calogero changed toward
Sonny (Give the scenes below)
THE BRONX
TALE
What made it happen and
what does it mean?
14. The scene at the fight foreshadows something at the end of the film. What is it? Explain
how it is foreshadowed by the fight scene.
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The Bronx Tale
15. Above is an “open mind” diagram, a way of making a visual representation of what a character
might be thinking or feeling. In order to understand the two characters more fully, create an “open
mind” for them. Inside the drawing fill in symbols, images, words, phrases, or any combination of
these which represent what first Lorenzo (the father) is thinking or feeling during the film, what he
cares about, or what he might say, and then, the same for Sonny (the gangster). Contrast the two men
as much as possible.
WHY I CHOOSE THE VISUALS I DID.
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16. The double entry journal
The Bronx Tale
In the left column, you will describe the events or scenes of the movie. In the right column, you will
write your responses to the events or scenes of the movie. Your responses might indicate what the
scenes mean, what it reminds you of, what you don’t understand, how you feel about it, or any
other comments that seem appropriate.
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17. The double entry journal
The Bronx Tale
In the left column, you will describe the events or scenes of the movie. In the right column, you will
write your responses to the events or scenes of the movie. Your responses might indicate what the
scenes mean, what it reminds you of, what you don’t understand, how you feel about it, or any
other comments that seem appropriate.
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