Charles Arthur, Lester Gillis, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, do those names ring any bells? Recently I have discovered that children today do not know the simplest pop culture references. This was going to be an entry about a few of these references but then my curiosity caught the better of me.
One reference I thought was important to address is typical Disney references in our culture. I was working recently with a bunch of youngster and made a comment on how to be as swift as a coursing river, with all the force of a great typhoon, with all the strength of a raging fire and mysterious as the moon. All the kids looked confused and laughed because they thought I was being typically funny. I was a bit disturb to find not one of these kids have ever seen the movie Mulan. I concluded the age difference and the fact Mulan is not your typical Disney Princess but instead an extraordinary Disney Heroine.
Mulan is a Disney animated film that came out in the 1998. Mulan was the 36th Animated Disney Movie and one of the only three feature films completed at the Walt Disney MGM Studio in Orlando Florida. This movie was nominated for the Golden Globe and the Academy Awards and won the Best Animated Feature. For those of you who do not know; Mulan is based off a Chinese legend. Mulan is the only child of the Fa Family. When the Huns invade China, one man from every family is required to serve in China's Imperial Army. To save her father's life, Mulan steals her father's armor, impersonates a soldier...AND.... Watch the movie to find out!!!
However my recent realization is much more disturbing. That my own little sister plus two other teenagers whom did not know who Bonnie and Clyde were. Even my best friend who thought Bonnie and Clyde were two chicks who lead a dangerous life. None of these people knew or recognized the references that is until my little brother gave me a sense of relief. "Yeah, they were a pair of bank robbers or something." A pair they were, so I decided to do some investigating and discovered the truth behind the old stereotypes and the truth behind these American legends. Before my research, all I knew about these two were they were imfamous in American History. Bonnie and Clyde were known for being a tight duo of robbers that lived during the Great Depression.
Looking deeper I found the real story (granted the information came from Wikipedia) remember when I asked you about these names Charles Arthur and Lester Gillis did those names ring any bells? Maybe you will recognize these names a bit more. Pretty Boy Floyd and John Dillinger were both American bank robbers who lived during the Great Depression. The 1930's must really have been a hard time for many Americans but this is when the crime spree's of the public-enemy era began.
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| Baby Face Nelson |
Charles Arthur aka Pretty Boy Floyd was known throughout Arkansas,Missouri and Kansas. Arthur got the nickname Pretty Boy during his time working in the underworld. One of the witness's from the bank robbery identified him as a mere boy with rosy apple cheeks that's when he received the nickname Pretty Boy, which he despised. He is known as a Gangster and Bank Robber. Pretty Boy Floyd 's most imfamous crime was the Kansas City Massacre.
Lester Gillis aka Baby Face Nelson or Jimmy Nelson to his gang members. His nickname Baby Face was given due to his young appearance and small stature. Nelson was from Chicago IL, not too far away from my hometown Rockford IL. Baby Face Nelson teamed up with John Dillinger in a prison break. Nelson was responsible for robbing banks and murder. Murders of mostly police officers and FBI agents.
However my real interest I have saved the best for last; Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. are my two favorites hands down.Bonnie Parker was from Texas and lived there with her family. When she was in school she was very intelligent and enjoyed writing poems. She married when she was 16 years old but not to Clyde Barrow but to Ray Thorton. However Thorton and Bonnie were separated when Thorton went to prison, even though they were separated Bonnie never took off their wedding band even when she met Clyde. However, some say Clyde was the reason Bonnie turned to a life of crime but many don't know Bonnie was no stranger to the law even before she met Clyde.
Clyde Barrow was one of seven children, born to a poor farming family. Clyde's first run-ins with the law were youthful indiscretions is how I would classify it but stealing turkeys most likely for food and then going away for four years in prison I think was a total unnecessary punishment. During his time in prison, Clyde committed his first serious crime; murder. He beat a guy to death but this guy sexually assaulted him while Clyde was in prison and he blames the so-called justice system. They treat him as a criminal and he ended up being a victim. This experience changed Clyde and when he came out of prison he was a different person. Some believe Clyde's violence towards police officers and FBI agents stem from his experience in prison. He blames them for what happened to him and I don't blame him in the least. I think he is a victim of hard times and unfortunate to be dealt a cruel hand in fate but I think a part of him changed when he met Bonnie. Love might have been able to find its way into his life, even though most of his life he spent on the run and in the slums. When Bonnie and Clyde met their were instantly drawn to one another, They were never married but their love story still lives on today and in history.
The Barrow Gang
Clyde was the leader of the Barrow Gang and its members included Bonnie Parker, his brother Buck Barrow, his brother's wife Blanche Barrow, childhood friend W.D. Jones, Henry Methvin, Joe Palmer and Ralph Frults. The Barrow Gang robbed throughout the Central United States mostly banks and a few gas stations here and there. This time, (the Great Depression) was labeled the public-enemy era Bonnie and Clyde were no strangers with the other outlaws in fact partnerships have been formed and alliances alined.
Where there is a villain there is always a hero. The heroes' this time are the police officers, those who are supposed to uphold the law and protect the people. However, when I was reading about Clyde, Bonnie and their gang I found myself immersed in their world of crime and adventure but like all adventures they must end. The Gibsland Posse ambushed them on a dirt road in Louisiana. Their public image of guns blazing and bullets flying was what the public thought of the couple. Bonnie and Clyde's car was shot up in a blaze of bullets. Clyde died first with a bullet to the head, once Bonnie realized Clyde was dead. Bonnie's scream rang throughout the entire field until she followed him in death. 50 bullets total were used to kill the couple The news of their swarmed the nearby town, the posse went to the sheriff's office and left their bodies to get their reward money.
This is the real sick part, a public swarm of people started raiding the car and disrespecting their bodies. People would cut off Bonnie's hair and pieces of her bloody clothing. Grabbing glass from their car or fragments of the crime scene, several people cut up their bodies, one man even took Clyde's trigger finger all as souvenirs. For their reputations were popular among the public but what disgusts me is how much the public benefited from their deaths. People from all over the country would come to see their bodies and all the surrounding towns made profit off food, gas and beer from the tourists who came to Bonnie and Clyde's funerals.Bonnie and Clyde wished to buried together but her family would never allow it so they are separated only physically but spiritually they are together or so I believe. Bonnie Parker is buried in Dallas Texas and Clyde Barrow is buried with his brother in Dallas as well but in different cemeteries.With the the death of Bonnie and Clyde came the beginning of the end of the public-enemy era.Two months after Bonnie and Clyde's death, John Dillinger was killed in the city of Chicago, then Pretty Boy got shot and killed in Ohio and one month later Baby Face Nelson rounded up the end of the Public-Enemy Era in Illinois.
The stereotypes of these two has been exaggerated over the years. Something about these two have intrigued the nation now and even back then in the 1930's. Public impressions of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are misconceived. Bonnie was this malicious woman who smoked cigars and just as trigger happy as her boyfriend Clyde which is false. W.D Jones former member of the Barrow gang said Bonnie disliked guns and he never saw her ever shoot a gun. All the photos taken were for their fun times and completely harmless. Clyde however was very cold and often trigger happy when dealing with police officers but even though he was said to be cold and heartless he never lacked loyalty. He would never leave any member of his gang behind. He even went as far to spring his friends out of prison and cared very deeply for Bonnie. All impressions I had of those two were from the television show The New Adventures of Superman: Lois and Clark. There is an episode where a scientist brought their clones back to life and I caught a glimpse of their persona's.
Hollywood has immortalized many of these gangsters in feature films but then Hollywood gives us many supposed-villains to hate but then we end up rooting for them and they end up being our hero's. One commonly thought of supposed-villain that comes to mind with this famous quote: "You will always remember this as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow."
