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Essay / Portrayal of Bulger's life in the film Black Mass
Aiming to draw attention to Bulger's criminal life, Black Mass allows the viewer to experience Bulger's life upon his release from a nine-year incarceration. Bulger has served prison sentences in various correctional facilities. Facilities include the Alcatraz and Atlanta penitentiaries, as well as the federal penitentiaries at Leavenworth and Lewisburg. But how did Bulger become a crime boss? Upon his release in 1965 and 1972, the Mullen gang had just destroyed the Killeen gang, and once they reached a truce, Bulger ended up becoming an influential crime boss in Boston. However, those crimes would prove too costly for Bulger, 89, who is currently serving a life sentence for 11 murders committed during his criminal life and as a Boston crime boss. The article examines the film Black Mass and highlights the similarities and dissimilarities in Bulger's portrayal. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In September 2015, Bulger, then 86, through his lawyer, protested Johnny Depp's portrayal of his criminal life. Through his attorney, Brennan, Bulger argued that Hollywood's greed led to falsehoods that missed the real scourge. Bulger's relatives have also protested their portrayal as the film attempts to connect Bulger's life with those of his loved ones. The opening scenes are about Bulger winning the lottery. In real life, the scene played out a certain way. In 1991, Michael Linskey purchased a winning lottery ticket from a liquor store at a cost of $14.3 million. Bulger owned the store. An agreement was then signed between Bulger, Linksey and Lindsey's brother to split the winnings. The act was, however, later interpreted by an American lawyer as a scheme to launder stolen money (Michelle, Masslive). Bulger's lawyer's protest is real, with Black Mass exaggerating Bulger's revelation to Flemmi that he is an FBI informant. Bulger reasonably and thoroughly explains his involvement with the FBI and persuades Flemmi to see things his way. However, Flemmi joined the "dark side". Speculation is that Flemmi betrayed Bulger, which subsequently led to Bulger's forced cooperation with the FBI. Additionally, it is estimated that over 90/5 of the tips came from Flemmi. However, most of the advice seems to come from Connolly's Bulger (Time Black Mass: What it Got Right About Whitey Bulger & the FBI). Connolly, an FBI agent, is the officer credited with recruiting Bulger as an informant. According to Time, the recruitment is fictitious in some respects. While it is true that Billy and John were close and grew up together in South Boston, Time points out that Whitney had a condition that her brother was not allowed to know that he was the source of the information . It is unclear, however, whether the information provided by Bulger led to the downfall of the Italian Mafia (Time Black Mass: What it Got Right About Whitey Bulger & the FBI). At his trial, Bulger insisted he was not an informant and his defense attorney argued that Connolly falsified information to make Bulger appear to be a valuable asset in an attempt to protect him from authorities . Bulger later, in a documentary with CNN, says he used Connolly to get answers (Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger, CNN). A federal investigation showed that Connolly was responsible for falsifying certain records. It has also been verified.