Conflict Analysis

The internal conflict that I want to discuss comes from a movie of which I am very fond of: The Departed. In short, the film revolves around the Boston Police Department's relentless quest to catch Irish mob boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) and hold him accountable for the crimes he has committed over the past several decades. In order to do so, the BPD must employ the use of a rat to infiltrate Costello's inner circle. The rat in this case is Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio). 

Now that there is some background on the principal issue of the film, I want to examine an ongoing conflict that takes place between Costigan and his superiors at the BPD. After originally gaining access to Costello’s group, Costigan is forced to partake in activities that are not only illegal but take a toll on him as a human being (arson, murder, assault, etc.). After multiple months of leading a completely different and brutal lifestyle, Costigan confronts his superiors Captain Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Staff Sergeant Dignam (Mark Wahlberg). As Costigan explains: “I can’t be a new person every day! I’m going crazy!” Costigan and Dignam continue to exchange fierce words between each other and eventually come to blows. From Costigan’s perspective, if he is caught by Costello then he most likely will be murdered by the mob and quickly forgotten despite his sacrifices made to catch Costello. Similarly, as Dignam and Queenan explain, he is on no official record as actually being a cop (for Costigan’s own protection) meaning there will be no funeral with bagpipes and rifle salutations to commemorate him. Costigan’s workload and risk in this operation is extremely high in comparison to Queenan’s and Dignam’s. Costigan rightfully has reason to question a) if he can deliver the proper evidence the BPD b) is this operation truly worth the investment to become a fully recognized cop.

Essentially, the source of the problem is the divide between administration and employees. The administration (Dignam and Queenan) have a different opinion on which manner they should expose Costello. Costigan, having seen first-hand Costello’s cruelty and power, wants to arrest him on the crimes that he has partook in. On the other hand, Dignam and Queenan want to progressively build a case and capitalize on Costello when he is weakest. Unfortunately for Costigan, the operation requires him to give much more of himself in order to complete the mission. However, Dignam and Queenan need Costigan to keep his cover from being blown and carry on with the objective. Consequently, the administrators do not necessarily make the job easier for Costigan, but provide him with psychiatric help and are slightly more tolerant to his outbursts.

In a high-stress situation such as infiltrating a mob, conflict is bound to occur as many ideologies wrestle to discover the most optimal path to achieve success. Once the first conflict became apparent (in the film, it is Di Caprio’s outburst) the dynamic of the group is altered. In The Departed, Costigan’s character is viewed less as a soldier on the ground and his emotional state as a human being is taken into consideration finally. Conversely, the administration recognizes that their plan may not be as straightforward as originally planned. Similarly, overall group collaboration is improved because the three are willing to open up and describe what could be changed and altered to reach the goal of catching Costello. Throughout the film, more conflict ensues between Dignam/Queenan and Costigan as more obstacles arise. However, I feel this conflict did not hurt the group dynamic but rather improved it. There was mutual respect gained between the group in addition adapting their plan to catch Costello.