Haddad Thesis
Running Head: GAMBLERS IN THE FILM
Gamblers in the Film: Fact or Fiction?
Kevin A. Haddad
Western Connecticut State University
Abstract
How does the representation of gamblers in film reflect Americans'
ambivalence towards gambling? That is the question posed and answered
in this research paper. The researcher examined six films that deal with
gambling and compared them to the attitudes reflected in American society
today. The researcher also examined the negative images presented in the
films and analyzed how traditional attitudes toward gambling helped to
influence these images. The researcher has used a blend of contemporary
essays for and against gambling and compared them to the characters
portrayed on screen.
Gamblers in the Film: Fact or Fiction?
How does the representation of gamblers in film reflect Americans'
ambivalence toward gambling? That is the question posed in this research
project. Gambling, along with alcohol and prostitution, can be traced back
throughout the ages as one of society's great moral dilemmas. Gambling,
like everything else in society has been portrayed on the big screen. This
paper will look at how Hollywood has portrayed this social issue in the way
it presents characters who gamble on the screen. It will compare people's
historical attitudes on gambling as well as current attitudes on gambling
with what Hollywood has projected. Specifically, what happens to the
characters in films that deal with gambling. In the researcher's quest to
see what has already been written about this topic, he was somewhat
surprised to find very little. "Few sociologists have shown much interest
in the topic"(Frey, 1984, p.108). Gambling is an industry with revenue
reaching well into the billions each year, some say "legal commercial
gambling is one of the fastest growing industries in the United States and
throughout the world (Rose, 1995, p.15). However, it seems no one has
looked into how it is portrayed on the big screen. Gambling is a topic that
is often hotly debated in this country and like many ideas, people's first
exposure comes through the film.
It is indeed surprising then that no one has critically examined it.
Most of the literature written about gambling centers on the psychological
nature of excessive and pathological gambling. Many of these writings
themselves admit that "Estimates of the number of compulsive players in
the gambling crowd range from 1 to 5 percent" (Thompson, 1994, p. 25).
The majority of the other writings discuss the social attitudes and moral
dilemmas brought on by gambling, very rarely mentioning the film. One can
see America's love-hate relationship almost daily when looking at gambling.
The communities that sponsor it in any way reap the financial reward and
those that debate the topic always raise the underlying moral issue of
gambling. Thompson (1994) discusses gambling throughout history and its
economic impacts as well as reasons why people gamble. He also discusses
past and current social and religious views of gambling and reports on
various studies regarding people's attitudes towards gambling, pros and
cons of legalized gambling, arguments for and against gambling. The
researcher will use this information to make comparisons between what
is shown in the films and how society views gambling, particularly how
social and religious views have shaped people's attitudes about gambling in
today's society.
Rosecrance (1988) looks at the state of gambling today and current
opposition to it as well as the history of gambling from the 1800's to the
present. Rosecrance (1988) also looks to explain certain aspects of gambling
as they relate to psychiatry and sociology and how they have evolved over
time as well as compulsive gambling and a look ahead into the future of
gambling. These topics will also be used to show how American's attitudes
towards gambling have been shaped throughout the years by various
legislative decisions and religious views. Brenner & Brenner (1990) take a
look at why people gamble and examines their motivations. They also discuss
who gambles and why gambling is condemned, they also take a look at what
they say is a distorted negative image of gamblers. The Brenners also take a
look at some historical aspects of gambling and people's attitudes towards
it. This source will also support the historical shaping of attitudes and
what they say are changing attitudes in today's society and that will be
compared to recent films to see if there is a change in attitude.
Abt, Christansen and Smith (1985) mainly focus on the commercial
aspects of the gaming industry, however there are several interesting
chapters on gambling behavior, gambling as a social institution and
gambling as it relates to American values. They discuss changes in
attitudes, different levels of gamblers, and changes in American values.
They seem to take a particular stance that since a majority of Americans
gamble anyway, what could be so wrong with it? They will also be used to
compare current attitudes toward gaming and compare the values that they
see to the values reflected in gamblers in the film.
Frey (1984) discusses gambling as it applies to current society and
th effects of social class on the gambler. His opinions will also be examined
to see how well they are reflected by the gamblers on the screen.
Gambling in America provides the source for Rush (1810). It is a
collection of essays that includes everything from poetry by Chaucer to
Readers Digest articles of the 1950's. Several of the pieces can be used to
show how attitudes toward gambling have changed over the years. The
essays are broken down into several sections including, The Moral Question
and Should Gambling Be Legalized. One by Rush (1810) will be used to show
particular influence.
Eadington (1995) discusses how the economic need for gaming has changed
people's moral attitudes and how the recent wave of legalized casinos has
influenced people's attitudes. This article will also be used to compare
people's attitudes, most notable the recent shift towards an acceptance of
gambling as entertainment. Rose (1995) examines the current trends of the
expansion of legalized gambling in North America and speculates that this
wave of expansion may quickly come to an end as general acceptance of
wide-spread casino gaming may only be short-lived. Rose will be used to
show how the debate over the moral issue of gambling is still alive. Scriven
(1995) discusses the social norms of Las Vegas as compared to other parts
of America and how that is changing with the additional legalization of
casinos. Scriven also looks at the ethics of gambling relative to Las Vegas
and the acceptance of an activity with some negative consequences due to
the offsetting positive economic benefits. Scriven also examines the major
ethical arguments against gambling. This article also show the ongoing
debate of gambling and will be compared to the films of gambling. Skea
(1995) discusses the idea that the architecture of Las Vegas warps peoples
attitudes about the city as a gambling center and makes their experience
there more acceptable. Since Las Vegas in considered by all "the gambling
capitol of the world" it seems fitting to include an article about this city
that certainly helps to shape the gambling attitudes of all those who have
ever heard of it. Since several of the films looked at are set in Las Vegas
this article will help be compared to the several ways in which Las Vegas
is represented on the screen. As stated earlier most of the literature
related to this topic is geared toward a psychological background however
the researcher has chosen these pieces due to their extensive look at social
aspects of gambling and people's attitudes toward gambling both past and
present. The researcher should be able to use these sources to draw
conclusions on people's attitudes and see what happens when they are
portrayed on screen.
ETHODOLOGY
The data needed for this research project consisted of films that have
gambling as their central subject. This will allow the researcher to view
them and draw conclusions as to how the characters reflect people's
attitudes toward gambling at the time the films were made and how they
reflect people's attitudes in society today. Literature about gambling and
its' social aspects will be used to show what people's attitudes are like and
will be compared to the films. The films chosen were those easily
obtainable at local video stores. The films used were selected by gathering
information via postings on the Internet, The researcher asked users to name
films with gambling as a central theme and from Thompson's book in which
there is a chapter devoted to feature films with gambling themes (Thompson,
1994, 167-180). Using these sources as a guide the researcher viewed six
films that were readily available at local video stores. The films chosen
were Lost in America (1985), The Pickup Artist (1987), Jinxed (1982),
Atlantic City (1980), The Gambler (1974), and Diamonds are Forever (1971).
Although the films vary in overall theme and setting, they have one common
bond and that is gambling in some way shape or form and they each feature
one or more characters who gamble. These films were chosen mainly since
they were readily available and since the plots tended to stay mainly
focused on gambling where other films tended to use gambling only as a
backdrop. The researcher viewed the films over a two week period and
analyzed their content according to how the characters that gambled were
portrayed. The researcher examined the outcomes of the characters in the
films as well as what traits they exhibited as gamblers.
ESULTS
The data were broken down by individual film and then compared to the other
films analyzed.
Lost In America tells the story of two yuppies, David and
Linda who are fed up with their jobs and decide to drop out of society. They
sell their home and their cars and cash in all of their investments. They
purchase a motor home and plan to tour the country for the rest of their lives
living off the nest egg of cash they have created. Against her husband
David's wishes, Linda convinces him that they should spend one last night in
a hotel in Las Vegas. David awakens the following morning to find Linda
missing, when he finds her she is at the roulette table waiting for her
number to come up. The problem is her number hasn't come up and she has
lost their entire life savings. The rest of the film focuses on the couple's
newfound financial woes. Throughout the remainder of the film Linda is
forced to pay for her mistakes as a gambler by her husband. He constantly
verbally berates her and humiliates her. Eventually the couple decides to
give up on dropping out of society and take their old jobs back. The film
plays it off as a happy ending, but one can't help but realize that Linda's
gambling has devastated their lives and caused considerable suffering.
The Pickup Artist also features a female gambler, Randy. Opposed to
Linda's character in Lost in America, Randy has a reason to gamble. Randy's
father is $40,000 in debt to gangsters who are seen throughout the film
demanding their money. They give Randy an option, become a girlfriend to
their leader or pay up the money. Randy's father is an alcoholic who ran up
the original gambling debt. Randy meets Jack who is unaware of her
problems until later in the film. Randy manages to bet a few horse races
and gain $5,000 to take to Atlantic City. Once in Atlantic City she manages
to bring her bankroll up to $20,000. She places one bet on blackjack and
loses the whole thing. Just as she thinks the end is near for her and her
father, Jack sells his car and he takes the money and bets it all on one
number at roulette. He wins and manages to pay off Randy's debt. The
characters' are saved so to speak. However the gamblers in this film have it
easy by no means. Randy's father is so out of control he cannot even care for
himself and Randy has to be bailed out by Jack to get by.
Jinxed takes a look at blackjack from both sides of the table. It
looks at Harold who supposedly has a jinx on a blackjack dealer named Willie,
although exactly how is never divulged. As the gambler Harold is played as
the typical bad guy. He manages to win all of the time, but also abuses his
girlfriend Bonita. Once again the gambler is portrayed as a troubled soul.
Eventually Harold loses all his money at the blackjack table and commits
suicide, hardly a billboard to come to Las Vegas. Eventually Bonita becomes
the gambler and becomes a winner and quits. She too is made to pay for her
mistakes as she loses her new boyfriend for most of the movie and later
gains him back and must conceal the fact that she tried to make her ex-
boyfriend's death look like a car accident to collect the insurance money.
She is another gambler who wins in the end, but must pay for her mistakes.
Atlantic City tells the story of Sally who is trying to make it as a
blackjack dealer in Atlantic City, until her drug dealing ex-husband come to
town. He gets involved with Lou. Lou is an aging man who used to be a
gambler with the Mafia many years ago. Lou gets involved with the drug
deals and we see a different kind of gambler. He is pretty much done with
his gambling days. He is seen in the casino for only a short period of time.
However, he too is made to pay for his mistakes and that also has an impact
on Sally and his other friends. So once again the gambler suffers the most.
The Gambler features the most hard core gambler of any of the films.
Alex is a man obsessed with gambling. He has also fallen behind on his
gambling debts and become threatened by organized crime. Alex will bet on
almost anything. He is seen betting pickup basketball games with high
school age kids as well a number of sporting events and casino games. Alex
is finally able to convince his mother to loan him money. The rest of the
family has cut him off. He takes the money and his girlfriend to Las Vegas
where he manages to win enough to pay back his bookie. However not
satisfied to quit, he pursues additional gambling ventures and loses them as
well and loses the money he was going to pay back to the bookie. Upon not
being able to pay back his debt, he loses his girlfriend, gets beat up and
threatened to help shave points at the university where he works by bribing
one of his students. The movie ends on that note. He is no longer in danger
by the mob, but his spirit has been broken and gambling has completely
demoralized him.
Diamonds are Forever is part of the James Bond series of films and
takes place in Las Vegas where Bond is trying to recover diamonds.
Although there is little gambling in the film, Bond is the good guy, and
traditional Hollywood says that good guys always win, even at the craps
table. Bond shows this is true when all the other players are losing, Bond
gets the dice and proceeds to win, due to luck and nothing else. His winnings
also attract a beautiful woman. Bond is a winner here as well as when the
film ends he is victorious in recovering the diamonds. He too must pay for
his gambling by enduring life and death situations that put him in jeopardy.
Overall there are several recurring themes that come up in these films.
First the gamblers all suffer at some point in the film, despite whether or
not the ending of the film is good. The gambling characters always suffer.
Linda is perpetually reminded of her mistake by her husband, Randy and her
father are terrorized by the Mafia. Harold commits suicide. Bonita endures
physical and emotional abuse. Lou is also terrorized by the mob. Alex is
totally humiliated and even Bond must endure pain before he wins.
To fully analyze the data one must understand what exactly are Americans'
attitudes toward gambling and what makes them ambivalent. In the past 25
years there have been three major studies of gambling. The most recent of
which sponsored by the Harrah's casino organization in 1992 found that 50
percent of the adult population had visited a casino at some time; 22 percent
had made visits during the previous year" ( Thompson, 1994, 26). Thompson
(1994) adds that "respondents indicated entertainment as their primary
motivation for gambling"(p. 26) and that "Harrah's also pinpointed a solid
majority of American's, 55 percent, that supported the view that gambling
was perfectly acceptable for anyone"(Thompson, 1994, p.26). Looking at
these results, one can see that about half the population approves of and
takes part in gambling while another half is somewhat skeptical.
There are several arguments for and against gambling that have caused
this conflict of opinions. Let's first look at the argument against gambling.
This negative attitude can be traced back throughout history. Many of
mankind's values are shaped by religion and Thompson (1994) looks at
Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, and Shinto beliefs and concludes that
"religious doctrine also morally condemns gambling as a form of
stealing . . . that by participating in gambling, we trifle with God's plan
for the universe"( p. 28-29). However there appears to be a conflict as
Thompson (1994) continues "many religious organizations approve of
gambling, most notably the lottery form"(p.29). In essence there is a
contradiction. Church writings condemn gambling while the churches
themselves support it with such activities as bingo. It's already easy to
see how Americans are confused on the subject of gambling.
Abt, Smith, and Christansen (1985) also note the traditional non-
acceptance of gambling. "The traditional Horatio Alger-hero and his
descendants lived for the future, shunning self-indulgence in favor of
slow investment, self improvement and a painstaking climb up the ladder
of success"(p. 208). Negative images have been further enforced by
organized crime. We see several references to it in film and Brenner and
Brenner (1990) agree by stating "the negative attitude toward gambling in
the United States may stem from . . . that time it was outlawed, the games
were supplied by the underworld (p. 41). Even before the onset of organized
crime as we know it there has been opposition to gambling including this
passage dating back to the early nineteenth century. "Sleepless nights,
corroding passions, and a neglect of business, accompanied with the
intemperate use of ardent spirits, soon plunge the gamester and his family
into one common ruin"(Rush, p.182). It is beliefs such as these that have
laid the ground work for the traditional negative attitudes toward gambling.
It is a collection of these beliefs that makes for the argument against
gambling today which Eadington (1995) refers to.
Many people oppose the spread of casinos, slot machines, lotteries, and
betting parlors for a variety of reasons ranging from religious beliefs, to
concerns about the victims of problem gambling, to nagging feelings that it
is just not a good idea for society to embrace commercial gaming so quickly,
so completely. Some view the spread of gambling as an exploitation of the
poor (p.10). In contrast the views for gambling aren't rooted deep in history
but are fairly recent mainly after having reviewed the arguments against
gambling. "The primary case for gambling, as for swimming is that many
people enjoy it; the secondary case is that it generates jobs, income for
stores and hotels-and tax revenue" (Scriven, p. 65). While many will
concede that gambling does have some problems, a majority agree that "the
mere existence of some negative consequences is not enough to change"
(Scriven p. 65). Eadington (1995) continues to show how attitudes are
changing. "What had recently been considered a sin, a vice, a deviant form
of behavior, an outlaw industry, is now frequently being presented as a
legitimate form of adult entertainment"(p. 9) Eadington shows how
attitudes are changing and he also shows how attitudes have commonly
been in the past.
Skea (1995) also adds that the thematization (casinos that are offered
as a themed resort) of Casinos and the overall architecture of Las Vegas
"allows the visitors to perceive gambling as an acceptable activity that is
only one component of the Las Vegas experience"(p. 233). This is just one
more argument as to how Gambling is becoming more accepted today.
Brenner and Brenner (1990) also tend to support gambling in its form today
by stating "people are ignorant of the facts, and those who preach banning
gambling do it because of religious beliefs"(p. 41).
Another recent pro-gambling writing by Rosecrance (1988) supports the
idea of acceptance. Rosecrance (1988) states "the growing public
acceptance of gaming and its increasing legalization have combined to
effectively remove much of the moral stigma previously attached to
gambling"(p. 2). He further adds that "gambling is an established,
mainstream American leisure activity. Gambling is also big business"(p. 9).
In summarizing his opening chapter he concludes that "while recognizing
that the American attitude toward gambling has historically been ambivalent
. . . much of that ambivalence has been resolved in favor of continuing
acceptance and increasing participation" (p. 9). Having established that
American's views of gambling seem to have moderated over the years, let's
see how the gamblers in the films analyzed stack up to the attitudes of
Americans and some of the reasons why people gamble. In the Harrah's
survey discussed by Thompson (1994), a majority of the respondents stated
that entertainment was their primary form of motivation. In the films
analyzed the only character who fits that profile is James Bond. Bond
happens to be in Las Vegas and seems to enjoy gambling. He winds up a
winner at the tables and doesn't really seem to care. The characters in The
Pickup Artist and The Gambler have financial motivations to pay off
organized crime from previous bets they have made. The motivation for the
original bets is never explored, perhaps entertainment is a reason or perhaps
reasons provided by Frey (1984) are more correct. "In reference to lower
class, those frustrated individuals would turn to activities like gambling to
provide hope (p. 115). Randy and her father could be considered "low class".
They live in a somewhat small rundown apartment and survive only on her
low paying salary. The characters in Jinxed live in a mobile home which
typically signifies low class and that could account for their gambling
activities. But what about Alex, he seems to have a normal life as an
English professor. Frey (1984) offers another reason that could be applied
here. "Many people need to seek activities that will provide a substitute or
compensation for the lack of thrills and the dominance of order in their
daily lives (p. 109). Perhaps the monotony of his life drove Alex to the
excitement of gambling. A case could also be made for Linda, the character
from Lost in America. Having abandoned their jobs because they hate the rat
race. She clearly suffered from a lack of thrill in her life. Lou, the main
gambler in Atlantic City also suffers from a lack of excitement. He has
been a caretaker for a woman for the past 15 years and judging by his
modest surroundings could also be considered low class. As you can see
five of the six movies analyzed feature characters who gamble with
motivations not consistent with the majority of American gamblers. "Most
people bet to have fun with friends, to have a good time, for excitement, for
the challenge. Few bet to make money"(Frey, 1984, 119). Brenner and
Brenner (1990) also offer some reasons why gamblers gamble. "Those who
like risks gamble, whereas those who do not like risks do not (20). This is
especially true in Atlantic City. Lou who takes chances in his personal life
by getting involved in drugs is also seen at the blackjack table while Sally
who wants nothing to do with the drugs relegates herself to the role only as
a blackjack dealer, determined to earn an honest living. The other
characters also take risks. David and Linda sold all their belongings. Randy
and Alex take on the mob and jeopardized personal relationships. Bonita
tries to cheat the law to collect her boyfriend's life insurance and to say
James Bond simply takes risks is an understatement.
Overall it is difficult to really say if Americans' ambivalence toward
gambling is really represented by the portrayal of gamblers in the film.
To make this conclusion, let's think about the term "ambivalence". It is
defined as a love-hate relationship, which could also be looked at as a win-
loss situation. Gambling is clearly a win-loss situation. People love to win
when they are gambling and hate to lose when they are gambling, thereby
creating these ambivalent feelings. They are translated to the screen
through the fact that in all of the films the characters sometimes win their
bets and sometimes lose their bets, thereby creating an ambivalent
situation. So the answer becomes a yes. Americans' ambivalence toward
gambling is represented by the portrayal of gamblers in the film. Another
question raised however, is why do these films tend to emphasize the many
negative connotations of gambling? Three of the films depict organized
crime and two of the films depict pathological gambling. Only one of the
films depicts what a majority of American gamblers claim, and that is that
they gamble for fun or entertainment. The answer to this question is found
earlier in this paper, when the traditional arguments against gambling are
discussed they are the views that have existed for a number of years that
have plagued gambling. Hollywood was only responding to the attitudes
that have been circulating for many years. The most recent of the films
was released in 1987. It wasn't until the mid to late 1980's that writings
in defense of gambling began to emerge. This comes at the same time that
gambling has seen a huge growth all around the United States with an
expansion in Casinos all over the country. To expand this project, the
researcher would probably want to examine more films about casinos that
span a greater length of time and compare them to the way attitudes have
changed over time. The hardest aspect involving that is the fact that
support of gambling is still evolving in many areas. Future projects could
include a more recent study on people's attitude's toward gambling and to
see how they have been shaped by the media. A sample question could be
"Based on what you have seen in television and film do you believe casino
gambling is run by the Mafia?" When the researcher first began this project
he believed that gamblers would be glorified in film and that they mislead
the audience to believe it is a glamorous way of life. Indeed some of the
characters win, however they all lead lives filled with pain. In contrast
the researcher found that these film paint a rather sad portrait of the
gambler, while these people do exist. A vast majority of American
gamblers just want to play cards and have fun.
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