American Gangster: Symbolic Interaction Theory

Symbolic Interaction theory refers to the ongoing language or gestures that can affect a conversation. Within this conversation it has a symbolic meaning which affects how one reacts to the conversation within a family. Sign Language is a very popular form of the symbolic interaction theory, because when using sign language you are demonstrating different gestures to communicate with another person. Symbolic Interactions theory was a very popular theory seen throughout the movie, as far as the many interactions that are involved in a drug trade and between Lucas and his family. In one of the scenes in “American Gangster” Frank and his cousin get into it at a party because his cousin starts acting up in front of everyone. Frank gets angry and punches him in the face and then slams his head in the piano. This is a part of the symbolic interaction theory because Frank’s cousin basically turns on him because of his addiction to crack and Frank was fed up with it a forced to take some action and in that he beats him up.
In end gets his point across not only to his cousin but everyone else around him that he was not playing around and business means business. In another scene in the movie Frank’s mother was beginning to get upset at the fact that she did not know what was going on with her son. Her and Frank had a brief conversation about how his brother’s looked up to him and followed his footsteps. She became upset because she did not want to lose her sons and did not know what they were doing to get the money they were getting. Frank was on his way to go shoot a cop and his mother knew about it so she slapped him. This then affected how Frank was thinking because he knew his mother did not want to lose him and he lied in her