# Gangs of New York question about hanging scene

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-question-about-hanging-scene/154652>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [February 12, 2003, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-question-about-hanging-scene/154652 "2003-02-12T20:50:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![julie1962m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@julie1962m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/julie1962m)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-question-about-hanging-scene/154652/21 "2011-10-11T20:40:54Z")

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Just watched the movie, and it’s implied that the men volunteered to be hanged in a later scene in the movie. They did this so their families would be taken care of.

An interesting note is that the woman with her child is watching her husband being hanged. She shudders and someone suggested on another thread she was actually having an orgasm? I don’t see it this way, but in ancient Rome, people became sexually aroused watching gladiators fight, men being fed to animals etc. I wonder if this is what the director was getting at?

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**Author:** ![numerical25](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/53a042/32.png) [@numerical25](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/numerical25)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-question-about-hanging-scene/154652/22 "2017-10-06T19:26:54Z")

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William Cutting said his father fought in the Revolutionary War. Consdering that most men who fought against the bristish were english. I would assume Cutting was english

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**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-question-about-hanging-scene/154652/23 "2017-10-06T19:45:18Z")

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> [@Mikemike2](#):
>
> I just found it strange that he hung around with so many of them if he hated the Irish so much.

Some of his best friends were Irish…

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-question-about-hanging-scene/154652/24 "2017-10-06T21:41:49Z")

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> [@numerical25](#):
>
> William Cutting said his father fought in the Revolutionary War. Consdering that **most men who fought against the bristish were english**. I would assume Cutting was english

I think you mean “Americans of English descent.”

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