he is also showing the world the beautiful woman on his arm, as if (like in The Wolf Of Wall Street ) she is something he has won to place on his mantelpiece in such an overtop way that it can’t be ‘believable as anything other than a subtle critique of the way men may place women on pedestals in an effort to cripple them’ 17 . However, in order to get this point across, Scorsese ends up marginalizing Karen (and other women in his other films), placing her on the ‘pedestal’ himself. In GoodFellas , Karen is also the most established female character in Scorsese’s films, being the only one who shares the protagonist role with a man owing to her voyeuristic voice-over scenes. Film director Michael Powell also loved the women in the film saying that they were ‘very good’ 18 and well developed when they arrived, with other women being arguably as crucial as Karen, like Henry’s babysitter-turned-drug-smuggler Lois Byrd who causes Henry to be caught by the cops. In conclusion, as a film maker whose main question in a film is ‘what is a man and what is a hero?’ 19 , Scorsese is highly pre-occupied with the female gender, often showing us a male-dominated world ‘only to reflect women’s views on it.’ 20 . Whilst this comes with occasionally marginalizing the women, he balances this with characters of great depth who have as much power as the men. As James Brown sang, ‘It’s a man’s world but it wouldn’t mean nothing without a woman or a girl.’ 21 Carvajal, N., & Winter, M. (2014, February 7). Women in the Works of Martin Scorsese. Retrieved June 4, 2014 from indiewire: http://blogs.indiewire.com/pressplay/video-essay-women-in-the- works-of- martin-scorsese O’Hara, H. (2014, March 7). The Case of The Wolf Of Wall Street, Surprisingly Feminist Film . Retrieved 4 June, 2014, from Empire: http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/empire-states/post/p1442 Landau, E. (2013, December 12). ‘The Wolf Of Wall Street’ Is This Year’s Most Misogynistic Blockbuster . Retrieved 4 June, 2014, from Bustle: http://www.bustle.com/articles/10767- the-wolf-of-wall- street-is-the-years-most-misogynist-blockbuster Schickel, R. (2013). Conversations with Scorsese. New York: Knopf Scorsese, M. (1976, March 7). Interview with Martin Scorsese. (R. Ebert, Interviewer) Bibliography
Scorsese, M. (2011, March). Wise Guys . Total Film, pp 44-45 Scorsese, M. (Director). (1995). Casino (Motion Picture) Scorsese, M. (Director). (2013). The Wolf Of Wall Street (Motion Picture)
Scorsese, M., Christie, I., & Thompson, D. (2003). Scorsese on Scorsese. New York; Faber and Faber Wain, A. A Retrospective of Martin Scorsese’s Complex Female Characters . Retrieved 4 June, 2014, from SoBadSoGood: http://sobadsogood.com/2014/02/18/a-retrospective-of-martin-scorseses- complex-female-characters/
17 Carvajal, N, & Winter, M. (2014) Women in the Works of Martin Scorsese. URL: http://blogs.indiewire.com/pressplay/video-essay-women-in-the-works-of-martin-scorsese [18 June 2014] 18 A letter from Michael Powell to Martin Scorsese in 1988, contained in Scorsese on Scorsese , 153 19 Schickel, R (2013). Conversations With Scorsese . 2 nd ed. New York; Knopf. 118 20 Carvajal, N & Winter, M. (2014) Women in the Works of Martin Scorsese. URL: http://blogs.indiewire.com/pressplay/video-essay-women-in-the-works-of-martin-scorsese [4 June 2014] 21 Lyrics from the song “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” by James Brown and Betty Jean Newsome, 1966
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