does the Godfather glorify the mafia?

my brother thinks so, & i'm not quite sure myself.

 

In one word: yes.

It makes the audience emphasize with murderers and makes us root for the bad guys. Kind of like Star Wars.

 

Maybe not "glorify," but the movies certainly romanticize the life of a mobster. But does it matter? The Godfather and The Godfather II are some of the best things ever put on film. The notion that they may or may not glorify the mafia really doesn't matter.

 

i agree, it really doesn't matter, & The Godfather films are among my favorites, i'm just intrested in what some of you have to say about this.

 

Nice icon, DarthTunick.

 

There's a difference between glorifying a way of life and showing one.

 

Puzo himself said that he did no research when he wrote the book.

 

And yet he was scarily accurate. He showed a way of life.

Glorification would only occur if there was no moral center. There is definitely a moral center to The Godfather Saga. Michael Coreleone recognizes it and attempts to atone and change his ways.

 

hmmm, i didn't know that Liz. btw, thanks Radiohead, your icon is nice too.

 

Obligatory link to godfather board: link

 

Well, seeing as most of the characters ended up either miserable or dead, I wasn't exactly jumping to be in the Mafia after I saw the Godfather Trilogy. However, someone else could easily interpret the way the murders were portrayed as glorification. Tough to say.

 

How exactly does it glorify it? Of the characters we are introduced to most end up dead: Vito, Clemenza, Tessio, Luca, Carlo, Sonny, Fredo, Appalonia, etc. Many others are abused constantly: Kay, Connie, etc. Michael is a completely despicable character by the end of the second movie.

Anyone who thinks it glorifys crime certainly has an odd idea of glorification.

It's not even about crime. It's about family and how, once you lose your family, you're nothing.

 

First off, it glorified it. Every guy who's ever seen the movie (that I know of) has found Vito and Michael and company to be just the epitome of cool.

Secondly, there's nothing wrong with glorifying it. The mafia is one of the most glorious things in American history. If we had one today (a REAL mafia, like in the Godfather movies, not a corporate-themed drug-dealing mafia like exists today) they'd be welcomed, at least by me.

If a government is going to be corrupt, I'd much rather have it corrupt in that it had mafia ties than have it corrupt in terms of corporate sponsorship of campaigns.

Thanks.

 

I'm sorry, but I personally don't find whacking your own brother, the one person who has any possible chance of helping your traumatized son, while he's saying a Hail Mary to be all that cool.

I'd disagree with that statement insofar as Michael. Vito's another matter. He's supposed to be more likeable than Michael obviously, since Vito keeps his family under control.

Michael is not cool though. I just don't see that.

 

Of course Michael is cool.

His brother almost got him killed, so he had his brother killed. You think he's heartless? Hardly. He waited until his mother had passed away before having Fredo killed. All Fredo had to do in order to lead an easy, work-free, protected life was to NOT SET UP HIS BROTHER TO BE KILLED.

So, he got what he earned, in that respect. Besides, most people who I've watched Godfather 2 with see Michael's Senate hearing, and subsequent disobediance and defeat of the Senate, to be a moment of heroism. Cuz really......the government was corrupt. And they lied about it. At least Michael and company didn't really fake it, but you had that one Senator in the beginning of Part II who put on a nice face and talked endlessly about his gratitude and respect for the Corleone clan, only to get into a room with Michael a few minutes later and call him every racial slur in the book.

The question of the Godfather trilogy isn't "Are the mobsters good guys?" but rather "Are the mobsters really as bad as the government and the church?"

As it was portrayed in the film, you'd have to say that the mafia was much less corrupt and dishonorable than both the US Government and the Vatican.

 

I see what you're saying. That's an interesting take. I've never seen it that way.

I still don't see Michael as cool, but I see what you're getting at.

 

Al Pacino is cool. Therefore, Michael could be cool.