Puzo’s writing impacted the mobsters themselves showing the strength of the work. Puzo’s iconic lines such as “I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse” and “sleeps with the fishes” have become common phrases used in actual mobster vernacular, which prior to the Godfather films did not exist. The term “godfather” was also created by Puzo and as stated by Megan Gambino is still used by the FBI and the mob to describe the head of the crime family forty years later (Gambino Web). Audiences were drawn to the early gangster films and were reintroduced to the gangster through the emergence of modern gangster films such as The Godfather, released in 1972. The American gangster appealed to the public because of the “double satisfaction” felt through …show more content…
The gangster genre created a standardized public image for Americans of Italian immigrants: criminals. The Godfather trilogy set up many stereotypes that are held by the public. For example the term “Godfather” automatically brings up mental images of the Corleone family. The Godfather has also associated food, family and violence with the Italian American image (The Godfather:Stereotype Web). During the production of The Godfather the Italian America Civil Rights League protested against the movie for the stereotypes it was creating. They believed that the movie would only serve to reinforce the negative Italian stereotypes. However, Megan Gambino, a member of the Gambino crime family, believes The Godfather’s addition of family values shatters some of the negative stereotyping. Gambino says “it squashed the idea that Italians were uneducated and that Italians all spoke with heavy accents.” (Gambino Web). American culture has accepted, both negative and positive, stereotypes created by the media regarding Italians. Stereotypes created in mob films go past the image of the powerful, criminal; women are typecast as housewives or overly flirtatious, and Italian men are viewed as lazy (Vaccarello Web). Even in modern times, Italians are stuck with the “gangster” stigma. Stereotypes continue to be displayed in the media and more recently in reality TV. Shows such as the Jersey …show more content…
The public has romanticized the “outlaw” and their free sense of living, since the early stories of Robin Hood (Reed Web). With the arrival of films such as Little Caesar and Scarface the gangster film rose in its popularity. These films were very different from those being produced at the time. Gangster films did not stray aways from explicit violence and topics of concern. Gangster crime films were modern in comparison to the other films being released that production codes were reevaluated and restrictions were changed. Conservatives were concerned because the lifestyle being shown to the public was outrageous, filled with scenes of girls, money, booze, and bloodshed. Yet, the audience remained enamored by the stories. The Italian American image may have been distorted for the sake of entertainment, but for Hollywood it was a small price to
Stereotypes A stereotype is a belief that one may hold for a certain group of beings. Stereotypes are typically untrue, but they are so widely held that many people don’t realize until someone points it out. Recently in class, we’ve been reading a novel called The Outsiders, which has several topics related to stereotypes in it. While reading, I found that most greasers thought the Socs to be arrogant and spoiled, though that was later proved to be incorrect. Most Socs also thought greasers were very rough and mean, but that too was proven wrong since the very start of this book.
The opening scene of the film The Godfather starts with a man talking to the godfather he says, “I believe in America, America has made my fortune.” Immigrants of the United States can relate to such statement because America has a reputation of having great opportunities for prosperity. Consequently, immigrants from other countries come to America looking for a better experience than in their own countries. As a result the United States has served as the place for opportunities for various distinctive ethnic groups, immigrants, like the Godfather and his family who are Italian immigrants have settled down in United States but yet they have kept their culture intact. The godfather is the head of his family, and he is a powerful and well-rounded
Summary The book focuses on films such as The Godfather, Mean Streets, Death Wish and Superfly to present different arguments on how they portrayed New York. The author uses themes such as territorial stigmatization in New York. Evaluation and analysis
There is a relationship between the visual and aural aesthetics in Goodfellas and the constant simmering presence of violence as an extension of masculinity. Far more than previous dealings with violence, crime and masculinity, in films like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, Goodfellas is a visually pleasing film. Full of bright colours and smooth camera work; even the violent scenes are not nearly as potent as the shoot-out in the finale of Taxi Driver. In Goodfellas the camera, which prowls smoothly on cranes and dollies is accompanied by an up-tempo soundtrack with lighting that highlights the characters’ brash material possessions.
In the 1970s, the US film industry became a creative high point although it was opened with Hollywood experiencing a financial and artistic depression. Restricted elements such as language, adult content or sexuality, and violence had been loosened up while the elements became more widespread and other countries are using this elements as their general restrictions. In 1970, Blaxploitation film genres, an ethnic subgenre of a film category which exploits current trend, became trending with a successful film by Melvin Van Peebles “Sweet Sweetback;s Baadasssss Song.” Many high profile filmmakers at that time was featured in the film were Gordon Parks, William Crain and William Levy. In 1972, the movie of the year was The Godfather.
, his portrayals of rebellious characters lead the public to be more accepting of alternative lifestyles. Young people’s beliefs in the 1950’s were highly influenced by movie actors, who behaved in increasingly daring and unconventional ways compared to past actors. It is clear that Marlon Brando influenced an acceptance
In the film, “The Godfather Part II”, the viewer can see Vito Andolini leave Corleone, Sicily at the age of nine to settle in the United States in 1901. However, these types of journeys were not uncommon. According to Alexandra Molnar, “between 1900 and 1915, 3 million Italians immigrated to America, which was the largest nationality of new immigrants” (Molnar). The journey to America consisted of travel that could take weeks with hundreds to even thousands of people abroad. Vito Andolini made his journey to America in 1901, which would mean that he would have been one of the millions of people coming to the United States.
This paper will serve to analyze these brilliant Gangster genre films, and will do so through a compare and contrast format. In both films even though they are five decades apart are impressively similar and yet have major differences that I will go over in my essay analysis. These films are about an immigrant man’s lust of power, beautiful women, violence, and getting money at any means necessary. Controversial issues in completely different film making eras with power struggles, drugs, violence, dialogue, action sequences, and visual motifs. Scarface “The Shame of the Nation” (1932) directed by Howard Hawk was made during a time where censorship played a role in how this movie was eventually portrayed and edited.
In The Godfather, it is Michael Corleone’s vengeance to the fatal attack on his father, Don Vito, and the murder of his brother, Sonny, that makes the ending plot of the novel an epic version. As both works’ ending plots suggest an extreme desire for vengeance on the part of the hero, The Godfather is indebted to the The Iliad only in view of revenge in its literal meaning, but also in the dangers it might bring, and the honour it might establish. In light of this, Christopher Vogler stated that real heroism is represented in stories where heroes may risk their lives by venturing into dangerous adventures. (The Writer’s Journey, 2007). Since Vogler’s book concentrates on aspects that heroes universally share, In The Godfather, too, the peril
1969, Mario Puzo, an Italian-American writer, published the book The Godfather, which was about the life of a Mafia family in New York. Inspired by the book, the film The Godfather came out in 1972 and was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Puzo and Coppola collaborated on the film and what the duo experienced during filming was unlike that of any other in film history. The Mafia was an “Italian-American faction of organized crime,”, who were known for causing trouble. Puzo decided to write a book about a fictional Mob family in New York City.
Don Corleone once offered a bandleader “an offer he couldn’t refuse” (Puzo). The chilling line sets the tone for the remainder of the movie, The Godfather, an American crime masterpiece released in 1972 based on a book by Mario Puzo. As part of the series and movie, each of the characters matures differently based on their role in this crooked atmosphere.
Javier Guardia Dr. Michael Johnmann Cultures of America May 28th 2015 “The Godfather, I and II”: Patterns of corruption By Anthony Ambrogio There is a case to be stated that the first two Godfathers films form the “Great American Movie” of the twentieth century. The Godfather part one was first released in 1972. On the other hand, The Godfather part two was released in 1974 to great critical acclaim. Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather is among one of the best films ever produced.
Gangster Movies are morality tales: Horatio Alger success stories or 'search of the American dream ' upside down on criminals live in a dream world invested success and wealth. Often poor immigrant families, often prey characters gangster crime in the pursuit of wealth, status and because all other paths "normal" in the top material possessions (clothes and cars) are not available to them. Although they are doomed to failure and inevitable death (usually violent) offenders are sometimes portrayed as victims of circumstances, because the stories are told from their point of view.
Cinematic Analysis of The Godfather Plot Summary The Godfather action plots spans around the twentieth century and takes places in the years after World War II. It centers around two protagonists, Vito Corleone and Michael Corleone. Michael is the youngest son of Vito Corleone, Don of the Mafia criminal family. When Vito was unexpectedly shot and “passes away”, Michael, a seemingly innocent ordinary American and a World War II hero was reluctant to take over his father 's throne and assume control of the Corleone family 's “business”.
r Puzo, After reading the book The Godfather, I was impressed by how you can perform the ups and downs of the plot. Even a very outraged plot can be perfectly fair and reasonable. Every emotion, all the killings, and all the vulgar relationships can be coherent with every character you portrayed. But at the same time, you can also depict the relentless characters in a very authentic way.