Could one gang run a major city like Cyrus spoke about? I can't imagine organized crime paying a tax to a gang. It is easier to believe organized crime using gang members as low level soldiers for collections and muscle.
It is hard to imagine the cops throwing up a white flag to a gang. The cops would bring in the National Guard if they needed to.
I guess it depends on your definition of "gang" and what "running a city" amounts to you...
I consider the Mafia (or Triads, or Yakuzas) as a gang(s) and they certainly were/are in control of a lot of things in a lot of major cities.
If we disregard the Mafia/etc... (considering you mention "organized crime using gang members"), there are some "Motorcycle Clubs" (ie.: Hells Angels) which held/hold a lot of power in many cities.
If we also disregard the biker gangs and focus on street gangs, there are gangs which hold control of their "hood", so if the Bloods, Crips, MS-13, etc... were to sign a general truce and join forces as per Cyrus' plan, they probably could consolidate some very serious power over many major cities, but I don't see that happening any time soon.
Further, as you mentioned, higher authorities would probably get involved, should municipal police be unable to maintain order by themselves.
That said, if you pay them well enough, police will usually look the other way, so everything is possible, given the right context...
The Mafia has a lot of power. I consider them to be on a higher level than street gangs. Motorcycle gangs are also very powerful.
It is hard to imagine so many street gangs maintaining a truce and working together. A lot of these gangs members are very young, impulsive and abuse drugs. They don't seem stable. If a gang coalition could run a city then every bunch of losers like The Orphans would come out of the woodwork looking for a piece of the action.
Cyrus said there were 20,000 cops in New York. That was fairly accurate. But that 20,000 was just NYPD. There are also county, state and federal police. As mentioned previously there is the National Guard for times of emergency. I think park rangers and others can be deputized and armed in times of emergency. I also think New York has auxiliary police as backup.
It is easy to imagine the NYPD looking the other way and letting the Mafia and motorcycle gangs take care of the street gangs.
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The Mafia has a lot of power. I consider them to be on a higher level than street gangs. Motorcycle gangs are also very powerful.
It depends. In a first or even 2nd world nation...not going to happen. Gangs for the most part are very basic in intellect and wouldnt have the training or resources to deal with a strong millitary/federal authority.Take a look in Chechnya where there was civil unrest and the people took up arms by the thousands. Russia moved the tanks on in and crushed them pretty quickly. But as another poster noted, nations with less resources are more vulnerable to such a possibility. So if the US plunged....say if we overspent until our dollar collapsed, then yes....it could be possible the scenario in the movie could come to pass. The cities would be very chaotic as you have more people and less resources in a concentrated area...ripe for the taking under the right leader/circumstances.
Holding the city would be another matter and would depend (as stated) upon the strength of the government whether it was local, state, or federal.
"Freedom and morality do not go hand in hand. In fact, they are usually devoid of one another."
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"Luther would want to be the leader and try and kill Cyrus which would start fights."
This. I always thought one of the main reasons why Luther killed Cyrus (besides the fact he is bleeping crazy and wants anarchy) is that Luther did not like the idea of Cyrus giving him orders. I apologize for restating something I said in a different thread but I really think it holds true that many of the gang leaders (including Cleon) were too memorizied by what Cyrus was saying and didn't understand the full rammifications of it. They were basically all little kings being the leaders of their gang and owning their turf. Now they are going have to take orders from someone else when push came to shove. I am sure for a while they be okay with it but eventually, they are going to get sick of it since they are so used to running their own show.
Cyrus' plan probably would have included some type of congress of gang leaders for it to sell.
shareTo answer your question, the answer is no. The reason it could not happen in a "major" city, in most major cities they are extremely wealthy people with political connections to the top.
Ever notice that although the mafia had at one time a major presence in NYC, they never messed with the wealthy, They kept most of their harassment to the blue collar neighborhoods. I grew up in NYC and even pre-Giuliani the mafia had zero presence in my neighborhood since they knew there was a lot of money and power and if they crossed the wrong person it could have severe consequences. As NYC has become even more safe and many neighborhoods that were once war zones are now safe, the mafia's influence is even less.
Ever notice that although the mafia had at one time a major presence in NYC, they never messed with the wealthy, They kept most of their harassment to the blue collar neighborhoods.
As NYC has become even more safe and many neighborhoods that were once war zones are now safe, the mafia's influence is even less.
The mafia would have loved to have shaken down the stores in wealthy neighborhoods. However they knew that if they ever tried to, the outcome would not be good if the wealthy called in their political connections. I will give you an example, even before the Hamptons became "The Hamptons" it still was were a majority of wealthy New Yorkers had summer homes. The mob tried at one time in the 70s to take control of the pier in Sag Harbor. Well, one phone call from a wealthy resident to the Ford administration and their whole project got shut down.
The mob controlled neighborhood were always safe as far as muggings go. What I am referring to is places like Williamsburg, Boreum Hill, Flatbush, etc. that were once war zones and now safe. The mob and gangs could always shake down those neighborhoods businesses when they were bad neighborhoods and cannot anymore now that they are safe and many wealthy people and corporations have moved in.
The way Cyrus and the director puts it,the idea of the NY gangs joining forces and running the city was more of a dream that was too good to come true.At first,he himself who expresses this wish is murdered by a gang leader in order to eliminate another gang.The gangs hate each other and there is war between them.Even the Warriors-who were in desperate need to be united- could not avoid the inside quarrel.The cops were just there to take advantage of this situation.
As two of the gang discuss-at the last half of the film-Cyrus wish seemed unable to fulfill but it could be the root of a new beginning if only the gangs-and maybe,people in general-realized that ''it's all out there,all we need is reach out and take it''.
In other words,even look for a new life,as Swan decides when seeing the Warriors'territory at daylight.
It's possible if you can count and you can dig it.
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