I recently watched the film, The Assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford.
Although some articles describe him as a 'Robin Hood' type of villain his motive throughout this film appears to be loyalty and hatred.
The Times state that Brad Pitt plays Jesse James as a 'psychopath' who is accustomed to sudden bursts of 'depression and murderous hatred'.
At one point in the film the narrator states that some believed Jesse's actions came about through hatred of the 'Union' who robbed them of all their material possessions during the Civil War, but them later claims that this was not true as his victims had various political views, once again proving that he was mentally unstable.
This website: http://www.jessejamesoutlaw.com/jesse-james-history.html, states that the James boys refused to 'submit to such injustice' and 'remained faithful to the cause for which they fought'. Another sign that Jesse felt strongly about loyalty after the events of the Civil War.
A review by the Guardian describes this film as 'accurate without being enlightening', which i feel is a very good view.
Clearly Jesse James is a mentally unstable citizen who was deeply affected by the Civil War, his robberies were for personal gain and his attraction to living the life of an outlaw was governed by a deep hatred towards the Union.
This film clearly demonstrates that crime doesn't pay, as he is eventually killed by his biggest fan, with a gun that Jesse bought for him. Ever the loyal leader, Jesse encounters the highest form of betrayal by being killed by a member of his own gang.
To add, every original member of his gang is also killed or arrested as the narrative progresses, a further indication that crime will eventually lead to a bandits downfall.
It is unlikely that any well balanced citizen would commit such crimes, and many chose to lead the life an outlaw due to great mental issues or deep hatred.
Therefore; bandits and outlaws are rare, and in a time of civilisation many realise that issues can be resolved in other ways, not through violence or theft.
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