American Gangster - Frank Lucas

Sarah Chaulet

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American Gangster

“American Gangster” based on the true story of Frank Lucas’ life. It is the story of how he cut out the intermediary in the heroin business and the story of how Ritchie Roberts caught him. Throughout the film, we see the parallel between a cop and a criminal as we inch forward to see their lives finally meet. In the opening scene of the movie, we see Frank’s character played by Denzel Washington.  As soon as the film begins, we can see his violence and power. This is the first motif introduced to us. We see Frank stand tall over his victim, and the dark shadowing on his face and body show his dominance.

According to the autobiography of Frank Lucas on Wikipedia, “Lucas smuggled the drugs into the country with this direct link from Asia. Lucas said that he made US$1 million per day selling drugs on 116th Street though this was later discovered to be an exaggeration. Federal judge Sterling Johnson, who was special narcotics prosecutor in New York at the time of Lucas' crimes, called Lucas' operation "one of the most outrageous international dope-smuggling gangs ever, an innovator who got his own connections outside the U.S. and then sold the narcotics himself in the street (2008).                                                                                        Frank Lucas grew up impoverished and saw a lot of violence in his community and family. Frank wanted to become something more than just a product of his environment. He wanted to be rich and did not care what or who he destroyed in the process of becoming so." In an interview, Lucas said, "I wanted to be rich. I wanted to be Donald Trump rich, and so help me God, I made it." Lucas only trusted relatives and close friends from North Carolina to handle his various heroin operations. Lucas thought they were less likely to steal from him and be tempted by various vices in the big city. He stated his heroin, "Blue Magic", was 98–100% pure when shipped from Thailand. Lucas has been quoted as saying that his worth was "something like $52 million", most of it in Cayman Islands banks. Added to this is "maybe 1,000 keys (kilograms), (2,200 pounds), of dope on hand" with a potential profit of no less than $300,000 per kilo (per 2.2 lb).(2008)                                                                                                         Frank seemed to have a sense of entitlement. In my opinion, I would say he was definitely a narcissist. Considering the definition of a narcissist is, “Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others. However, behind this mask of ultra-confidence lies a fragile self-esteem that is vulnerable to the slightest criticism. A narcissistic personality disorder causes problems in many areas of life, such as relationships, work, school or financial affairs. You may be generally unhappy and disappointed when you are not given the special favors or admiration you believe you deserve. Others may not enjoy being around you, and you may find your relationships unfulfilling” (1998-2016).