Between the release dates of the two Scorsese films under analysis, a number of crucial factors contributed to the shifting of social attitudes towards violence against women. After “the battered women’s movement began pressing for a social response to the needs of women abused by their spouses”, in the late 1970s (Dugan, Nagin, Rosenfeld, 3), the reformation of social attitudes towards this issue was set in motion. In 1980, The First National Day of Unity was introduced with the intention to acknowledge this epidemic and raise awarness nationwide (Mead). It was a day of mourning for the deaths of battered women, and a celebration of all who contributed to the fight against domestic violence. Consequently, this Day evolved into Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which focused on promoting awareness activities each October (Mead). In 1983, Maryland passed important legislation, one of which introduced a marriage license fee that allowed the counties to impose a surcharge to fund domestic violence programs (“Domestic”). In 1984, the U.S. Congress passed the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, which allocated federal funding for social programs assisting domestic violence victims (Mead). In 1985, the Surgeon General submitted a report identifying domestic violence as a significant public health problem (Mead). In 1989, Maryland also established the marital rape statute and by 1991, it began recognizing "battered spouse syndrome" as an adequate defense in court (“Domestic”). Moreover, Congress passed the Battered Women’s Testimony Act in 1992, which insisted on the acceptance of expert testimony in criminal cases concerning battered women (Mead). Later that year, a monumental bill was enacted in Massachusetts producing a statewide-computerized registry for reports of domestic violence (Mead). This bill compelled judges to check this registry when dealing with cases of this nature. According to a report funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, dated 2001,

In the United States, rates of homicide involving “intimate partners” -- spouses,

ex-spouses, boyfhends, girlfiiends -- have declined substantially over the past 20 years.

Public awareness of and policy responses to domestic violence have increased during the same period. (Dugan, Nagin, Rosenfeld, 1)

This report goes on to state that domestic violence policies, programs, and services had substantially broadened between 1980s to the mid-1990s (Dugan, Nagin, Rosenfeld, 3). By the mid-1990s, over 1,700 private and government agencies were addressing the effects of domestic violence against women and children (Dugan, Nagin, Rosenfeld, 3). The below figure, illustrates the rapid growth of legal advocacy programs and hotlines, dealing with this issue.

Upon examination of the given chart, which was acquired from the same report, it becomes evident that the “legal advocacy index” increased nine-fold, with especially rapid growth after the mid-1980s (Dugan, Nagin, Rosenfeld, 5). In 1994, Congress enacted the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which represented some of the most significant legislation passed in favor of women’s rights (Mead). It was enacted under the Omnibus Crime Control Act, as a reaction to previous deficiencies of the state justice systems in their approach to violent crimes against women. In 1995, the U.S. Department of Justice assembled a national conference to enforce implementation of the VAWA (Mead). Furthermore, as American perspective on domestic violence continued to evolve, Robert De Niro attempted to broaden the dimensions of his career by departing further from his violent persona.

Upon consideration of De Niro’s, pre-Raging Bull career arc, it becomes apparent that many of his characters possessed an inclination towards abuse or exploitation of women. This pattern can be traced as far back as 1968, when he appeared in his second film entitled Greetings, which was a consecutive collaboration with the director, Brian De Palma (Brode, 27). This low-budget feature depicts the attempts of three young men to avoid the draft. De Niro plays the role of Jon Rubin, who pretends to appear unsuitable for the army by posing as an underground terrorist, which proves ineffective. While in Vietname, Jon proceeds to make exploitative pornographic films of Vietnamese women (Brode, 30). Two years later De Niro played the role of Floyd, in Bloody Mama, directed by Roger Corman. Floyd was referred to as an insecure, redneck who is a “fractured, disconnected, drug crazed person.” (Brode, 44) In one of De Niro’s most memorable scenes, a beautiful, rich woman flirtatiously seduces Lloyd at a public beach. The clan, comprised of him and his three bothers, angrily gathers around her and begins to sadistically inflict physical torture. She is eventually drowned after being repeatedly raped. This film depicts graphic violence and “insults traditional sensibility whenever it can.” (Brode, 43) Mean Streets, produced in 1973, stands as a landmark in movie history as the film that launched the “De Niro-Scorsese collaborations.” (Brode, 70) In this film, De Niro incarnates, “the crazy, out of control, compulsive gambler”, Johnny Boy (Brode, 75). The disrespectful attitude towards women harbored by this character is depicted in the scene where Teresa cringes in panic as Johnny and Charlie fight. Teresa is Johnny’s schizophrenic cousin and Charlie’s lover. During a heated argument between the male characters, Johnny enlightens Charlie as to the fact that he always wondered about, “What happens when she comes?” De Niro sustains consistency with the persona of a dominating and chauvinistic male, through his portrayal of Jimmy in New York New York, of 1977. This is exemplified in the scene taking place in the Meadows. As Jimmy frantically leads Francine outside of the jazz-bar, he begins to express his frustrations with her unaffectionate nature through a series of abrasive, yet habitual outbursts. He attempts to affirm his masculinity by declaring, “You don’t say goodbye to me. I say goodbye to you” and further solidifies his dominance by repeatedly insisting for Francine to “Come here!” However, it should be noted that the above list excludes some of De Niro’s performances preceding Raging Bull, such as Vito Corleone of The Godfather II, and Travis Bickle of Taxi Driver. This list addresses performances that exemplify the highest degree of violence against women.

In De Niro’s subsequent collaboration with Scorsese on the production of Raging Bull, he embodies the abrasive character of Jake La Motta. La Motta is a Bronx-born prizefighter “who proved even more violent in his home then in the ring, abusing his wife Vicky”, played by Cathy Moriarty (Brode, 126). This film illustrates the horrid depths of La Motta’s “self-loathing, raw ambition, obsessive behavior, and paranoid jealousy.” (Brode, 132) Raging Bull traces the succession of events leading to the eventual deterioration of his career and personal relationships. The scene taking place at the Shorehaven Pool in the Bronx demonstrates the preliminary occurrences surrounding the realization of the romantic union between him and Vicky. Within this scene, both the filmic text and De Niro’s approach to the portrayal of his character, present the undercurrent of belligerence in Jake’s attitude towards women. It begins with Jake buying a coke and sitting down at a table with his brother, Joey, played by Joe Pesci. Jake persistently questions Joey as to the identity of beautiful blond, who turns out to be a fifteen year old girl “from the neighborhood”, Vicky. As though a wild animal, Jake vigilantly finds his prey, who unexpectedly lingers in the near distance. He proceeds to lustfully gaze upon her; while the employment of the POV shot inclines the spectator to adopt this sexual gaze. The POV steady-cam lurks around Vicky, as though it were a wild breast waiting to consume. As Jake’s interest in Vicky becomes increasingly apparent, what is also clear is the strong “romanticism” surrounding this attraction (Brode, 134). “He does not merely lust after her, but she is his romantic ideal…Jake perceives Vicky as something spiritual, magical, beyond the realm of normal life.” (Brode, 134) This sense is best established in the shot sequence depicting Vicky playfully splashing her feet in the water of the pool. This is achieved through a meticulous interweavement of cinematographic techniques, such as the subjective zoom – creating the illusion that Jake’s visual focus is narrowing down on her body, slight slow-motion – establishing a sense of her glorification, and subtle distortion and softening of the image of Vicky’s glowing skin – accentuating the fairytale quality. However, there is a sense of a dangerous perversion in his infatuation, which becomes evident with the progression of the film as his feelings of love transform into uncontrolled enragement. Jake begins to question whether Vicky is involved with the local mobster, Salvy, who is sitting within her vicinity, and is noticeably distracted by her presence. With the progression of Jake’s conversation with Joey, Jake jealously insults the mobsters.

De Niro contributes to the composition of Jake’s persona as someone who possesses aggression towards women, through a number of physical and verbal performance-signs. One of his most distinct contributions to this persona is achieved through the improvised dialogue. Within the conversations between De Niro and Pesci, the high degree of improvisation becomes apparent upon comparison of the final filmic product to the shooting script. The dialogue portion of the sides, which is provided below in its entirety, suggests that the scene was originally intended to be significantly shorter, with Jake’s longest line-sequence not exceeding twenty words.

JAKE

(referring to Vickie)

Who's that?

JOEY

Whadda you care?

JAKE

Whadda ya mean, whadda I care? Who

is she? What's a matter? You afraid

I'm gonna take her on you?

JOEY

No, I'm not afraid. Why? You wanna

meet her?

JAKE

Yeah --

JOEY

Cause I'll go right over there and

bring her here.

JAKE

Go 'head.

JOEY

You sure you wanna meet her? Don't

make me go over there, you change

your mind and you make me look bad,

cause she's really a knockout.

She's 15, this kid -- a great piece

of ass.

JAKE

How do you know? You know her that

good?

JOEY

No, I see her around the pool. I

know her. I know her like that --

not like that.

JAKE

(gesturing to his bandage)

Nah, not now... I wanna wait. I

don't feel right...

JAKE watches VICKIE. (Schrader)

Under Scorsese’s guidance, instead of sustaining consistency with the words on the page, De Niro infuses bitter jealousy into his character by saying,

Look at them…your friends, they’re in a huddle. Big business meeting. Come by the pool and sit around and talk, big deals…make sure she can hear, like the big men…get the fuck outta here. Big shots. Get them alone in the backroom smack them around, no more big shot – without his gun. They are all tough guys. Big shot.

Through this improvised speech, Scorsese subtly interlaces Jake’s affectionate feelings for Vicky with his counter impulse for violence, directed towards those who he feels compromise that affection. All of Jake’s emotions stem from aggression, which is his strongest familiarity.

De Niro educes believability into Jake’s character by adopting physical attributes of a fighter, and adjusting their characteristics throughout the course of the film in order to simulate Jake La Motta’s physical changes.

In the space of four months he became two characters. First he was the fighting-fit boxer with thick neck and bulging pectorals; then he turned himself into a drunkard, aging has-been, which required him to increase his weight by an incredible 60 pounds. (Parker,

119)

Moreover, De Niro attempted to sustain authenticity of Jake’s character not only through the imitation of his visual attributes, but through a creation of unique mannerisms. This becomes event in his approach to Jake’s voice and tone of speech. De Niro emulates a Bronx accent that would have been a definite requirement of the role. As he questions Joey, he delivers each line in the same fluidity and rhythm, with the emphasis being placed on the second last word of the sentence. The tone of his speech differs from the other scenes, because it is more constrained. It could have been a directorial decision to have De Niro speaking quieter, considering that Jake wouldn’t have necessarily desired for Vicky to hear what he was saying; however, the rhythmic quality of his questioning was in all probability De Niro’s personal initiative.

Upon consideration of De Niro’s use of gesture, it becomes apparent that they are largely attributed to two influences; the first of which is his acting style and the second consists of the physicality of the stereotypical Italio-American males of the time. De Niro’s performance technique can be defined as Method acting, derived from Stanislavski’s system.

He was enrolled as being the embodiment of the Method, living his part so intensely that Hal Hinson of Sight and Sound said, “The identification is so complete that the distinction between the actor and the role becomes blurred – he enters a character the way a somnambulist enters a trance. (Agan, 98)

While asking for a coke from the bartender, De Niro casually points without looking at the target, which comes across as part of Jake’s unmotivated and habitual behavior. This constructs Jake’s character as someone who is unaware of, and indifferent to, people’s perception of him. The inclusion of this nuance illustrates Jake’s vulgarity even when it is unnecessary. As Jake converses with Joey, De Niro’s gestural vocabulary is abundant with hand signs that accompany his speech. These gestures consist of him slightly raising his hands, shaking his finger in front of Joey in disapproval, or unconscious waving of the hands. The movements become increasingly animated as Jake’s emotional investment in what he is saying builds. However, this is not exclusive to either De Niro’s treatment of Jake’s character or De Niro’s style of acting. This gestural-expressiveness is a common characteristic of the mannerism of Italian males, thus making it a physicality often adopted by actors who play them.

De Niro ascribed some unique qualities to Jake’s body posture and movement, which differs from the posture of many of his previous characters. As Jake stands at the bar De Niro adopts a slanted stance, which is accomplished through the placement of his body weight on the left leg and the drop of his left shoulder. When Jake sits at the table, he leans on his left elbow, which supports his weight. This inclination towards an imbalanced physical frame creates a visual of a character that is loose and relaxed but also lacks composure or stability. This character choice presents a deviation from De Niro’s portrayal of Vito Corleone, whose posture is very erect, centered, and balanced.

Jake’s existence centers around the most primal condition, which is survival of the fittest. He transfers the rules of boxing into the core of his being by sustaining the sense of internal or external movement at all times. De Niro demonstrates this quality by constantly moving his body and head during speech. This illustrates more physical expressiveness then that of his less aggressive characters such as Moroe Stahr, of The Last Tycoon. This also suggests that Jake experiences a constant internal fight in and out of the ring.

The second scene under analysis begins when Jake walks into the bedroom, while Vicky is making the bed. Due to his suspicions of her infidelity, he persistently questions her. After Jake becomes increasingly assertive and slaps Vicky, she attempts to evade the abuse by locking herself in the washroom, at which point Jake kicks down the door. The scene ends with Jake storming out of the washroom after repeatedly hitting Vicky, who has sarcastically confessed to have “sucked his (Joey’s) cock and everyone else on the street too.” In this scene, De Niro contributes to the development of Jake’s character in the employment of a unique approach to facial expression. During the bedroom shot-sequence, the camera remains static and it is angled to capture Vicky’s reaction and the proceedings themselves, while Jake’s face goes virtually unseen. Through this choice of framing, Scorsese provides a more objective depiction of the action, which disallows identification with the protagonist and encourages reflection of, rather then relation to the events. This serves as an example of Brechtian influences in Scorsese’s work. As De Niro walks into the washroom, his facial grimace expresses coldness and enraged-stillness, while his eyes appear unusually dark. His approach to the portrayal of Jake’s anger is unlike the conventional standard, which involves teeth grinding, flared nostrils, and eye twitching. De Niro’s expression resembles that of a possessed person. This treatment of Jake’s anger is powerful and effective because within this stillness seems to linger intense aggression. Jake proceeds to grab Vicky’s head and repeatedly scream out “Why did you do it?” De Niro chooses to deliver this line through a partially closed mouth. This particular detail is undetectable in his previous work. Jake is so extremely consumed by jealousy that De Niro needed to find a facial expression that reflected this extreme. In such moments of degradation there is no sense in the formalities of articulation, thus a half-opened mouth seems logical. After Vicky declares that she performed the act of fellatio on Joey, Jake asks in astonishment “You sucked his cock?” while strongly squinting his eyes. The nuance of eye squinting during questioning is part of De Niro’s acting style; however, this quality seems exaggerated in Jake’s character.

Similarly to De Niro’s facial expression for the first half of this scene, which communicates false composure with a strong undercurrent of anger, his walking is grounded and slow in tempo. This choice adds to the composition of Jake’s character as someone who is destructive in a premeditated rather then completely impulsive way. He is committed to punishing Vicky and Joey for the illusions he has convinced himself are factual, which had been in conception for a while. It should also be noted that De Niro automatically contributes to the construction of Jake’s character, in the eyes of the spectator, through “star identification” (Dyer, 125). The audience’s association with De Niro as an actor, which is comprised of his public persona as well as their experience with his previous work, places the spectator’s expectations within a certain position. Due to the fact that a significant amount of his previous characters have illustrated a disposition towards disrespect for women, the spectators possess pre-established expectations of what Jake might be like. It is interesting to note that during the shooting of Raging Bull, De Niro’s marriage was also deteriorating and by 1979, he and his wife separated (Parker, 116). “Actors are not always able to shake off their character when they go home at night.” (Parker, 116)

Upon a consideration of De Niro’s later work, it becomes apparent that there is a shift in his character’s attitude towards violence against women. This is exemplified in Scorsese’s Casino, produced in 1995. In this film, De Niro plays the role of Sam Ace Rothstein, who is a mob-connected operator of a casino in Las Vegas, the Tangiers. Sam attempts to maintain a decent lifestyle, which proves to be difficult because of his money-hungry wife, Ginger and his childhood friend Nicky Santoro, who is an excessively violent and ruthless Mafioso. The scene where Ginger throws the pile of chips in the air, after the man she was escorting refuses to give her a substantial share of his winnings, illustrates Sam’s initial encounter with a woman he regards as his equal. As he stands across from Ginger, observing her mischievous yet charming behavior, he becomes mesmerized by her beauty and the boldness of her character. Similarly to Jake’s immediate infatuation with Vicky, Sam confesses that he “fell in love right there and then.” This notion is established both through Scorsese’s approach to sound and cinematography, and De Niro’s portrayal of Sam’s character. While throwing the chips, Ginger flirtatiously acknowledges Sam’s presence, who appears to be in a definite position of authority. She accomplishes this by seductively smiling and glancing at him. Scorsese demonstrates the effect she is having on Sam by freezing the medium close-up frame of her and running the soundtrack of a song, “Baby, oh baby, my sweet baby, you’re the one.” The next shot zooms in on Sam’s face, as he stares at her in intrigue. De Niro’s choice of facial expression communicates poised and controlled contemplation. It differs from Jake’s facial grimace as he observes Vicky, during the pool scene, for a number of reasons. In playing Sam staring at Ginger, De Niro’s mouth remains closed, his left eyebrow is raised, and his facial muscles appear immobile. His eyes are the only part of his face that sustains mobility. Prior to the engagement of the soundtrack, which marks the midpoint of the scene, De Niro’s most noticeable facial activity is the sudden glance at the flying chip. He does not move his head, which is the most common way of observing, but chooses to remain static. By making his eyes more active, Sam’s constant awareness of his surrounding is emphasized. This choice is appropriate to Sam’s character because the biggest requirement of his job is constant observation.

In one of his interviews, De Niro suggested that for an actor “your body is an instrument and you have to learn how to play that instrument (McKay, 161). De Niro’s manipulation of his physical habits, with the intention of presenting a character’s unique physical predispositions, becomes evident upon comparison of Sam and Jake’s posture. Sam possesses physical solidity, which communicates his position of power and security. Jake, on the other hand, embodies restlessness. De Niro’s choice of body posture remains consistent with the notion of steadiness and balance. As Sam actively watches Ginger, his posture is well aligned and erect, which conveys his ability to “stand on his own two feet.” Sam’s strength and integrity of character is mirrored in the verticality of De Niro’s posture. Furthermore, Sam’s authoritative presence is heightened through the visual of De Niro standing with his arms crossed on his chest.

The second scene, that demonstrates De Niro’s progressive departure from characters with inclinations towards women abuse, begins when Sam confronts Ginger after he overhears a phone conversation, which discloses her desires to have him murdered. He proceeds to hang up the phone at which point she violently attacks him. Sam attempts to tame Ginger and begins to forcibly drag her out of the house. The sequence concludes when Sam shuts the door behind her. This scene marks the pivotal moment in the final stages of their dysfunctional union. While Sam has proven to be a loving, and patient husband, Ginger exemplifies a woman who is unfaithful, dishonest, and incredibly materialistic. The preceding shot-sequence presents Sam’s attempts to diplomatically handle the fact that Ginger has kidnapped his daughter and run away with her old “pimp-boyfriend”, Lester. She had taken 40, 000 dollars of Sam’s money and spent it on her degenerate lover. Sam possesses unfathomable tolerance and composure throughout all of the ordeals his wife puts him through. De Niro’s approach to Sam’s speech adds to the construction of his character as a patient and decent man. Unlike Jake, Sam speaks without an accent and is rather articulate, which would have been more of a directorial decision. As Sam proceeds to drag Ginger out, De Niro infuses his words “Come with me”, with a strong undertone of pain, which Sam is undoubtedly experiencing. He achieves this by sounding as though he is speaking through tears, which allocates a vocal quality to the tone of his voice that is shaky and slightly fragmented. De Niro enhances the sense of suffering and anger, through his choice to scream out some lines in an almost cathartic manner. Unlike Jake, who questions Vicky about her infidelity in an unsettlingly controlled volume, Sam expresses his frustrations through a vocal eruption, which is conducive to moments of heightened stress. This nuance exemplifies one of the biggest differences between Jake and Sam’s approach to women. While Sam’s vocalization of anger is dynamic, he restrains from the transformation of such feelings into physical force even under extreme conditions. Jake, on the other hand, is less vocally expressive but is physically violent toward his wife, which is ironic considering that Vicky is portrayed as being completely undeserving of such treatment. De Niro further assists in the composition of this character by manipulating his facial expressions. Throughout the course of this scene, De Niro’s most dominant facial expression consists of a downwardly crooked mouth, and slightly squinted eyes. As he yells at Ginger, De Niro tenses his face and raises his nose and his breathing pattern seems to accelerate with the progression of the scene. It is also interesting to note that in the depiction of his characters, De Niro has a tendency to make loud and airy exhalations, during moments of frustration.

As Sam continues to argue with Ginger, while throwing clothes at her as she packs, Sam proclaims that he needs “eyes in the back of his head.” This moment is significant for several reasons. It reaffirms the previously established notion that Sam’s character is highly observant, which heightens his introverted quality. This moment is also significant due to De Niro’s choice in gesture. As he delivers his line, De Niro accompanies the verbal outburst with an illustrative hand movement. This movement consists of him literally pointing to the back of his head, which parallels Jake’s pointing gesture during the pool scene. This choice of movement is important to the composition of Sam’s character because it demonstrates his desperate desire to get through to his wife. As though speaking to a child, he feels an inclination to mime out his words. As Sam throws down Ginger’s clothes from the shelves of his closet, De Niro chooses to enhance the appearance of Sam’s anger by aggressively kicking them. This detail in physicality forms an indirect connection between Sam and Jake. Jake repeatedly kicks his brother Joey, after his delusional suspicions chaotically erupt, while Sam unconsciously channels his anger towards the material objects, which Ginger values most in life, by employing the same method of releasing aggression. Furthermore, De Niro physically leans in as he delivers his lines, during the scene where Sam screams at Ginger while she frantically throws clothes into a bag. This choice in body movement accentuates his dominance over Ginger and strengthens the sense of confrontation. This physical approach differs from De Niro’s treatments of Jake’s manner of confronting his wife because Sam leans in by slanting his upper-body downwards, while Jake sustains an upward postural stance while completely entrapping Vicky against the wall, during the washroom scene. This choice reflects the temperaments of the two characters - Jake assertively blocks opposition while Sam attempts to comprehend his/her condition by partially descending to their level. As Ginger and Sam stand in front of the door, he attempts to make his final words before completely ejecting her from the premises of his property and his mind. De Niro emphasizes his deep displeasure and annoyance by waving his finger in front of her face. De Niro’s choice in the inclusion of this gesture is not restricted to the character of Sam because he employs this hand movement with the majority of his other characters, including Jake during the pool scene.

Between 1980 to mid-1990s, as the societal perspective on the issue of violence against women was progressively evolving, the temperaments of De Niro’s characters reflected such maturation. This was manifested in fact that they exhibited decreased inclination towards women abuse. After a close analysis of De Niro’s performance in Raging Bull of 1980, it became evident that the composition of Jake La Motta’s character involved dedication – in order to authenticate his physical attributes, and creativity – to construct a highly compelling portrayal of his mannerisms and his overall presence. The counter assessment of De Niro’s performance of a later character, Sam Ace Rothstein of Casino, and a comparison of De Niro’s treatment of the two protagonists, illustrates a shift in their attitudes towards women abuse. This shift was detected after a consideration of two scenes from each film. These scenes demonstrate two distinctive phases in the relationship between his characters and their spouses; the first illustrates their initial encounter, and the second demonstrates the chaotic climax that is virtually irreversible. It is beneficial to acknowledge that the motivation behind this shift is in all probability less attributed to De Niro’s conscious efforts to make a contribution to the women’s movement, as it is to his desire for role diversification. As actors gain increased recognition and credibility, they often strive to expend their professional boundaries by departing further from their established persona. However, regardless of the true motivation behind De Niro’s career choices, the two films under analysis reflect a definite growth in the societal ideology concerning this issue.

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Bronde, Douglas. The Films of Robert De Niro. New York: Carol Group, 1993.

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Dyer, Richard. Stars. London: British Film Institute, 1998.

McKay, Keith. Robert De Niro: the Hero Behind the Masks. New York: St. Martin P, 1986. 1-189.

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New York New York. Dir. Martin Scorsese. Perf. Robert De Niro, Liza Minnelli. Dvd. Mgm, 1977.

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Schrader, Paul. "Raging Bull Script." Daily Script. 7 Mar. 2006 <http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/raging_bull.html>.