Goodfellas Themes
Respect and Reputation
In Goodfellas, respect, power, and masculinity are wrapped up tighter than a burrito with cement salsa. Having respect is the sign of being a man. Sometimes, it's earned, like when teenage Henry do...
Power
In Goodfellas, having money is a superpower. The wiseguys are fueled by a one-two punch of ambition and greed. Their wives run on mink coats and expensive sofas, rationalizing that their husbands a...
Family
What if you had two families? Two sets of parents. Two totally different sets of siblings. Double the fun on Christmas and your birthday. Sounds pretty good, right? Henry might beg to differ. In Go...
Traditions and Customs
While they may not have a cool, top-secret handshake, the wiseguys in Goodfellas definitely belong to their own exclusive club. Membership has its privileges, but it also includes a set of traditio...
Morality and Ethics
To say that the wiseguys in Goodfellas play fast and loose with morals would be an understatement the size of Tuddy Cicero. Henry and his crew take what they want, from whomever they want, whenever...
Violence
Kill or be killed: that's the law of the jungle, popularized by Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (and less so by Disney's adorable adaptation). It's also the law of Goodfellas' New York underworld...