On Friday "American Gangster" premiered, and I had to see it.

I had my reservations about seeing it. I feared that it would just reinforce more stereotypes of an extremely marginalized group, African-Americans. However, I decided that even if it happened to be one of those films brim-filled with generalizations, I could use it as a reference to a future argument, besides Denzel was in it.

The film stars Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe , possibly two of the greatest actors I have seen in my lifetime (which I know is not long), with filmographies as long as most people's biography. It was directed by Ridley Scott, director of "G.I Jane" and "Gladiator," among other films.

More importantly, the movie tells the story of Frank Lucas (Washington), a heroin dealer who hit his prime in the late 1960s and early '70s. He became more powerful than any other drug dealing "organization" by cutting out the middle man and importing his heroin directly from Southeast Asia, using U.S. military planes as transportation. He eventually was comprehended by police detective Ritchie Roberts (Crowe) and arrested.

I thought "American Gangster" was a great movie, full of action, emotion, and shocks. When the movie was over you definitely felt that you knew the protaganist, Lucas. I have to say that I never viewed a heroin dealer the way I ended up viewing Washington's character.

I found myself fighting for him and wishing that he wouldn't get arrested or put in jail, hoping that he wouldn't die and that his family would be OK. I even found myself feeling respect for him more than once. Whether that is a result of Washington's allure and charm I do not know.

When I think about it though, I'm not positive that's a good thing. In some ways it seems as if this movie is glorifying Lucas and the way he lived. He was only in jail for a short amount of time, and I would say that the portrayal of him is flattering.

It's as if the film made it seem OK to be a heroin dealer. I understand the background of Lucas' life and how he witnessed his cousin being shot by a policeman at the age of 6. However, his lifestyle was not targeting the police; instead he was targeting the community that surrounded him, filling it with drugs and death.

The movie briefly addressed the effect of his work on the community by showing graphic clips of people who had overdosed on the highly potent heroin he was selling, and even though these images were definitely disturbing, they were overpowered by the multitude of other scenes throughout the film.

But one very important thing the movie addressed was how African-Americans were underestimated by everyone around them. Lucas surpassed all expectations concerning "success" and how he could manage his business.

This was definitely a point worth raising, but consider all the damage he inflicted on his community, on his people. What was he really doing? The Italian Mafia and all those other criminal organizations that underestimated African-Americans were ruining our people, not their own, but Lucas was.

I love that Lucas surpassed expectations, and I love that he showed shrewd business skills, but he did it as a drug dealer. He did it killing his very own people, filling his own streets with blood, dirty needles, corpses, and orphans. How much success does that really show?