Released in 1979, director Walter Hill’s now-classic film The Warriors depicts a specific moment in New York history, when the city’s streets were overrun and controlled by various street gangs, each with their own identifying uniforms, or “colors.” The film follows its titular gang, the Warriors, as they navigate New York’s dangerous underbelly in order to get back to their home neighborhood after they’re framed for the murder of a rival gang leader. As a part of the narrative, the Warriors commit various acts of violence, but due to their casting as the admirable heroes of the film, these acts and events are glamorized as necessary for their survival, leading the audience to sympathize with the often aggressive ways that the Warriors deal with their situation.
The Warriors are a gang that exist as the heroes of a 1970s action blockbuster and, because of this, they are depicted and characterized as such, both visually and in the manner in which they interact with other characters in the film. Each member of the gang sports a personalized, decorated vest (their “colors,” which indicates their ties to the gang), as well as varying amounts of jewelry and other accessories that mark them as individual’s within the gang’s structure. This very visually apparent individuality allows for each character to present himself as an action hero in his own right, as the Warriors’ distinct style sets them apart from the members of the enemy gangs that they grapple with throughout the film.
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"The Glamorization of 1970s New York City Gang Life in The Warriors".
This distinct style doesn’t only serve a visual purpose, however, as the Warriors’ colors serve as a symbol and a source of pride, through which they indicate their belonging to a specific gang in a city that is overrun with them. When they are encouraged to remove their vests and personalized accessories in order to more safely traverse a rival gang’s territory, the Warriors respond aggressively, as they believe that this would be as much of a defeat as if they turned around and ran. This adherence to their colors is depicted in the film as something admirable, as the Warriors refuse to bend to the violence and danger around them, in order to uphold their own values and reputation as a gang.
However, any admirability in the Warriors’ united attitudes must be measured against the fact that they exist within and participate in the culture of violence that they are portrayed as being trapped in. To continue the previous example, when they refuse to remove their colors in order to peacefully travel through a neighborhood, the Warriors instead use a molotov cocktail to blow up a car, and escape in the ensuing chaos. This act is glossed over as a mere diversion in the film, but it indicates that the Warriors are truly no better than the gangs that they are attempting to escape, as they will resort to the type of violence that is being used against them in order to defend themselves from it.
The Warriors depicts its titular gang as struggling within and against a culture of gang violence, as they attempt to both distinguish themselves from and interact with their rivals. However, the fact that the Warriors are cast as the heroes of the film must be taken into consideration when discussing their supposed heroism and plight, as they are depicted as perpetuating this violent lifestyle as often as they are shown as fighting against it.
