Gangster

A gangster is sort of like a mobster, except for the fact that they are not necessarily affiliated with the mafia, or mob. Gangsters were popular during films of the 1930s and 1940s which often presented fictionalized accounts of actual events taking place during the prohibition era of the Great Depression. Notable actors such as James Cagney lit up the screen with explosive gangster movies such as Public Enemy, Angels With Dirty Faces, and White Heat. These movies inspired future filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese to bring the era of the gangster to modern audiences with movies such as Goodfellas, Casino and The Departed.

Another evolution of the gangster motif is that of the "gangsta", which refers to the urbanized crime films that became popular in the 1990s such as Boyz in the Hood, Menace II Society and Strapped.