As the
title of the movie suggests, The
Godfather is about the Godfather, specifically the Godfather of the
Corleone family. The unique part about
the movie being about the Godfather is that it is about two Godfathers. Don Vito Corleone is the Godfather at the
beginning of the movie and by the end of the movie, his son Michael has become
the new Godfather. During this story,
the mantle of the Godfather will have passed from one generation to the next and
Coppola does this remarkably through the film.
After
the opening sequence we are able to determine that Don Vito is a highly
respected and feared man and is known as the man who pulls the strings. He is a successful figure who got that way by
being the Godfather and showing initiative and making smart decisions. He has three sons and when assessing each son
you don’t think any would be on the path to becoming the next Godfather. The eldest son Santino is prone to fits of
rage and letting others know what’s on his mind. These traits are not good to have as a
Godfather and Don Vito calls him out on both of them. Fredo is a dimwit who can’t deal with the
darkness of the family’s dealings as evident when he fumbles the gun and he is
not even considered to be the successor to Vito. The youngest son, Michael is a war hero and
shows many traits of his father but is not looking to be involved with the
family business but ends up being involved with it anyway.
After
Don Vito is shot and unable to be the Godfather, we see evidence of Michael
beginning to take on the role as his father.
Michael goes back to his family for his father and ends up never going
back to his old life but being a part of his fathers, a life is father never
meant for him. We see Michael beginning
to show his authoritativeness and making decisions while his father is not able
to. Michael secures his new life upon
deciding to kill the Turk and McCluskey knowing that his old life will never be
possible.
Michael begins to take the role of Godfather after Sonny is
killed and Michael returns from Sicily. In the parallel scenes of the many
killings Michael has ordered with the baptism of Connie’s baby, it is known that
Michael is taking on the role as the new Godfather, one who can make harsh
decisions. He is taking this role
literately to Connie’s baby and figuratively to everyone else. This scene shows that the transition from Don
Vito to Michael has occurred and that Michael has become the new Godfather, and
as the door closes in the final scene Michael is securing himself in his father’s
footsteps.
Coppola
is able to show the love of a family and the duty one has to their family in
his film even if it is in a Mafioso family who don’t obey the law as others
do. The casting of characters in this
film was brilliant and Brando shined as the Godfather and seemed like a man all
could respect and love. By the end of
the film, with Michael becoming the new Godfather, we are able to see that
Michael has earned his respect and that
he will now continue to live on as The
Godfather.
-Dillon S.
I agree in large part with your assessment of the central theme of The Godfather, the struggle is between the old world way of doing business and the new world, played out between the father and son relationships. You were spot on with the issues of the three sons, Sonny is a hot-head, Fredo is useless, and while Michael is most like his father, the Don doesn’t want him to follow in his footsteps.
ReplyDeleteYour description of how Michael gets pulled in to the inner circle of the family business by the attempt on his father’s life is well thought out – the only thing I would add is that is the one thing that would be successful in pulling him in because it is the deep loyalty to his father and family that spurs him to avenge the assault. As Michael assumes more and more of a leadership role we see him transform into the world of shadows his father ruled at the beginning of the film. Coppola was strategic about how subtle Michael’s transformation was, from the revenge scenes to the very end when Michael ascends to power.
Michael may have been his father’s hope for the future (away from the underworld) but he becomes the heir to the family business because of his love for and loyalty to his father. He was truly his father’s son. The only one of the three to be worthy of that title, he brings the family into more “legitimate” business dealings and rules the darker ones with an iron hand. This film is a classic because it romanticizes the family aspect of the mob. We want to see Michael become the Don.
Jessica Davis, Group 2
Comment by Allie Lonneman
ReplyDeleteThe Godfather post by group eight discusses the theme to be the ascension of one man from an outsider to the head of a family mafia. Throughout this ascension, there are inter-family struggles as well as displaying the duty each family member has to one another. As the viewer is introduced to each member of the family, all of the pieces, or duties, begin to fall into place. Dillon mentioned the members of the family in great detail starting with Don Vito, or the godfather. Don Vito is growing older in age, and takes viewers on a journey as to who his replacement could be. Of his three sons, none look to be striking candidates aside from Michael, to which the godfather sees a different life for him. Be it Santino with his anger management problems, Fredo with his lack of leadership abilities, or Michael, whom Don Vito does not want following in his footsteps, the Corleone family is running out of options. Not only does Vito see a different life for Michael, Michael looks to distance himself, and get out of the family business all together. What is an important feature to see, is that regardless of the struggles or lengths that family relationships are put through there is always an underlying loyalty that each member has to one another. Group eight did a great job of mentioning this. As mentioned, although Michael tried to cut the ties, once Vito was shot, Michael returned. Michael took on the role of the new godfather, based on his duty as a Corleone family member. You may not want to follow the footsteps of your family, but it is the only family you have. Michael sees that and chooses to embrace it by the end of the movie.
"The Godfather" is, indeed, the story of a title and role being passed from one individual to the next. Your account of this transition is effectively organized in a chronological, detailed manner. Though I enjoyed reading about the events and understood why you felt the obligation to include so many in your post (It is a long movie, and many detailed are related to others), I wished some of the material about his brothers was replaced by more evidence supporting the claim that Michael physically and emotionally replaced the Godfather in his family.
ReplyDeleteThe defining point at which Michael changed his mind about joining his family, and how did they represent this in the film is very important evidence regarding this claim. It was appropriate to mention that Michael is a war hero. It was also appropriate to mention that he solidified his transition with 2 killings, though I am wondering how, in your opinion, the visual elements in the film seek to represent this transition. For example, when Michael's jaw was broken by the man he would later have killed, his appearance resembles that of his father, and this serves as visual forshadowing. You mention that the door closes at the end of the film. Perhaps this serves as another visual represention of Michael's passing of the torch, so to speak.
"The Godfather" is a long, incredibly embedded with details and nuances. In order to properly analyze the film's intended story-telling procedures, one would have to spend much time with the film. The passing on of a role, as it is, serves as a part of the foundation of its story. Although I sought more evidence for your argument, your depiction provided relavant information about the transformation of Michael into the new Godfather.