Smith Jr., Dwight C. "Mafia: The Prototypical Alien Conspiracy." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science: Vol. 423, Crime and Justice in America: 1776-1976, p. 75-88.

    There seems to consistently exist a sense of fascination with conspiracy theories. In American culture, the Mafia is one specific type of conspiracy that seems to have captured the public opinion. Dwight C. Smith, Jr examines the conspiracy of the mafia in his paper, Mafia: The Prototypical Alien Conspiracy. This paper examines the worries about not external, but internal aggressors that seek to undermine the status quo or legal system.

    Smith traces the progression of various conspiracies throughout history, what is required to constitute or create a conspiracy and  the way in which these conspiracies affect the mentality of a countries citizens. The eartliest examples of these comspiracies would be the illuminati of the late 18^th century, the Bolsheviks of the late 19^th century, and now the conspiracies that have surrounded mafia activities. In each of these cases and perhaps with all conspiracies, there is a beginning in which there is only an idea or suspicion. For the Mafia, this suspicion started around October of 1890 in which New Orleans Superintendant of Police David Hennesey and a simple allegation that a group of Sicilians known as the Matrangas were the leaders of a 300 person Mafia. The significance of the Death of the Police superintnedant was clear and retaliation swift.

    The work goes on to show the progression of the Mafia as a product of cultural influence to an organization with a complex hierarchy and infrastructure. In the film “The Godfather”  one can see the complexity of the organization as well as a necessity to remain “under the radar” even if it was only a formality. For example, Don Vito tells Solozzo that he does not wish to take part in his drug trade no matter how lucrative it is because essentially it would their quiet existence within circle of government officials to public and too loud for them to continue to take part in the conspiracy. This paper offers a historical understanding of the development of a Mafioso culture as a conspiracy along with all of the political corruption that is associated with it.

Smith Jr., Dwight C.  "Mafia:  The Prototypical Alien Conspiracy." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science: Vol. 423, Crime and Justice in America: 1776-1976, p. 75-88.

 

    The article, “Mafia:  The Prototypical Alien Conspiracy,” written by Dwight C. Smith Jr. discusses the role that the “Mafia” has played in American society, and the ways in which America has tried to deal with this issue.  The term “Mafia” became popularized before the 19^th century, when people began to develop conspiracy theories against Sicilians.  Stemming from the Hennessey murder case in New Orleans, a stigma was developed against the Sicilian population of the town.  Although there was no real proof of mob ties, these Mafia rumors lived on which led to support and implementation of immigration laws. 
    During the post World War II era, the “Mafia” legend was revived.  Beginning with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, rumors persisted about the Mafia and immigrants.  These rumors reached its pinnacle when the President’s Crime Commission agreed with the concept of a Mafia conspiracy.  Smith Jr. writes that the reason behind the creation of this “Mafia” myth is to explain the failure of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics to eliminate the existence of narcotics in America.  By using the “Mafia” as a scapegoat for their failures, the Bureau popularized this idea.  Whether or not it actually existed is debatable, but it led to changes in society.

    From the popularization of the “Mafia,” those in entertainment began to capitalize on it by selling it as a product to the public.  Mario Puzo wrote the book, The Godfather, which focused on the world that America was so worried about. 
    This article gives background into the reasoning behind the making of the movie, The Godfather, as well as providing explanation of the content of the movie.  The movie is a period film, set post World War II, which as the article has shown was the era in which the “Mafia” conspiracy was being revived.  In the movie, the reason that the five families began to fight was due to introduction of narcotics.  At this time, drugs were a big problem in America, thus showing parallels between the period of the movie and societal problems.  Also, Paramount capitalized on the publicity that the “Mafia” genre was receiving by producing Mario Puzo’s book.  This led to The Godfather becoming one of the most successful movies of all time.