Le Parcours des gangsters

An entertaining but ultimately poorly researched piece with many glaring potholes and an idealistic view on all things mob related.

It states Al Capone died in prison when he actually died in his Florida mansion from the advanced stages of syphilis.

It also bangs on about Whitey Bulger evading capture for so long but fails to mention that he was savagely beaten to death in prison, both for his stool pigeon antics and rumours of sexual deviancy.

I thought the visuals were entertaining and the pace kept you interested. Not bad for a tongue in cheek piece but not definitive by any stretch of the imagination.

"How to Become a Mob Boss" is a disgraceful documentary that shamelessly glorifies criminals and killers. Instead of providing a critical examination of organized crime, the documentary romanticizes the nefarious activities of mob bosses and their associates, inadvertently perpetuating a dangerous and damaging mythos around their lifestyle.

The documentary fails to offer any meaningful insight into the devastating impact of organized crime on communities, focusing instead on glamorizing the lavish lifestyles and illicit exploits of these ruthless individuals. By presenting these figures as charismatic and powerful leaders, the documentary irresponsibly downplays the suffering and violence they have inflicted on countless innocent people.

Furthermore, "How to Become a Mob Boss" neglects to shed light on the real-life consequences of engaging in criminal activities, such as the loss of life, destruction of families, and perpetuation of fear and corruption. By failing to provide a balanced perspective, the documentary effectively sanitizes the heinous actions of these individuals, thereby undermining the gravity of their crimes.

In a time when society should be striving to condemn and dismantle organized crime, "How to Become a Mob Boss" disappointingly contributes to the romanticization of criminal behavior. It is a disservice to the victims of organized crime and a dangerous distortion of reality. Viewers are better off seeking out documentaries that offer a more responsible and critical examination of this subject matter.

Why cant you just make a documentary without pretending youre doing something else. Also on episode three there is a woman who is about as Italian as borscht that breaks out in an Italian accent when she says a word she deems needs to be said that way. Its like listening to a record and suddenly hearing a scratch. Like news anchors usually do. Its annoying when they do it but hers is way worse. She tries way too hard. Other than that its worth a watch. Keep in mind a lot of the facts are wrong too. Peter Dinklage must haven either had some free time on his hands or owed someone a huge favor. The end.

I finally got through this series and came away with the knowledge that personal integrity was not high on the list of features that these six individuals possessed. However, determination, greed, selfishness and an exaggerated sense of self, along with the lack of respect for others is quite prominent in all of these criminals. Also, one or two of them was a nitwit, but so are a lot of people who have attained positions of power, just fool people, tell them what they want to hear and who to blame, it's easy.

From the beginning, due to the narration, I knew is was "tongue in cheek" " satirical" "sarcastic" etc. It was the tone and delivery of the narration that kept me watching, despite getting bored with the Frank Lucas and Whitey Bulger episodes. I didn't know who the narrator was since I rarely look at the credits before a movie or episode of what I'm watching, so once I discovered who it was, I had to Google Peter Dinklage. Now I know that he was in "Game of Thrones," which I didn't watch (not interested) and "The Station Agent" which I'll look up. Finally, I realized he was in "Three Billboards etc..." This entire series struck me as entertainment, not to be taken seriously, just enjoyed it for what it was. What does it matter if it's not completely factual, what movie is these days?

I have mixed feelings about this series. I think the content of each separate series is educational, there were previous ones about how to become a cult leader, and how to become a dictator. If you have never read anything about the mafia or other organized crime groups, it is a good introduction. Even if you have read a bit about the topic or seen a few movies or documentaries, things in it that are new for you. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, I really don't like the way it's presented. I know it's tongue in cheek, and most likely no one is going to use this to go out and become a mob boss, put isn't it possible to produce an entertaining documentary about the same topic without the silliness? I think it is, fictional movies have no problem handling the topic well. Why is it so hard with documentaries? I think maybe because the field of serious documentaries has been taken up by true Crime, so that doesn't leave a lot of space for serious crime documentaries that are not about sensationalistic murders. But on the other hand, there are a lot of good documentaries about cults, so why can't they make a good serious documentary about organized crime? So it's worth your time, don't be surprised if you find it irritating.