The American Dream or Nightmare in The Movie: The Godfather

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Question 1: The American Dream or Nightmare?
a) The godfather is the story of an immigrant family trying to gain a better life in America. In the early 20th century America was so heavily promoted as the land of opportunity and immigrants jumped at a new and hopefully improved life. Vito runs a very successful business, although not legal, he has established a better life for himself and his family. As seen in the first 20 minutes of the film, Vito can afford to pay for a lavish wedding for his daughter, though at the same time we see the contrast of the dark side of his business. Vito’s hopes were to one day to go legitimist in the way he does business, and though he was never able to, he was able to provide a financially secure life for his family. For these reasons I believe that Vito had attained, to some level, the American dream. However, it can also be said that, upon taking over as don, Michael had undone the success of his father by continuing on the “family business” in an increasingly more unethical and illegitimate manner. Due to the way Michael conducted business, unlike his father, he along with his family were put in constant danger due to his aggressive manner of controlling his business.

b)
The scene opens with just the sound of voices specifically the voice is Italo-American, dim lighting and the camera slowly tracking out, creating tension for the audience. We as the audience are faced with this scene where we can only assume that some sort of illegal activity is taking place. The opening scene thematically lays out the rest of the movie.

“I believe in America. America has made my fortune. And I raised my daughter in the American fashion. I gave her freedom but I taught her never to dishonor her family. She...

... middle of paper ...

...(Michael and Priest 114) The scene cuts and shows Michael’s hit men murdering five different individuals. The way the camera is positioned and uses medium shot and medium close-up are identical both when the men are being murdered as well as when the camera returns to Michael. One part of the scene where this happens is the rival who is lying down and getting a massage. The camera has a close-up and the viewer can almost see the bullet go into the man’s eye. The end of the scene ends with the conclusion the Michael is now the new Godfather of the Corleone family.
This is masterpiece of a scene in my opinion. An interesting observation on this scene is that it is more than just good versus evil. Much like at the start of the movie we see the use of La Bella Figura, where the dirty work is done behind closed doors and ones personal image perceived is always positive.

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