The Romance and Reality of the American Gangster

From Tony Soprano to John Dillenger, American pop culture has embraced the image of the gangster. However, these glamorous bad guys are also responsible for brutal murders and illegal activities. So how does one reconcile the violence with the romance? Head over to the Museum of the American Gangster in New York City to find out. Lorcan Otway is the curator of the museum, which is celebrating its first anniversary. He says that rather than glamorizing the gangster, “I put it in the context of American history and how much our society is shaped both by gangsterism and the reaction to it.”