THE GODFATHER: An Italian American’s Movie Experience

The Godfather is considered one of the most prestigious films of all time. From the casting to cinematography, the film set a standard for filmmaking. But to an Italian American, the film has deeper meanings. Here’s my take as just one of the many Italian American movie lovers.

My Backstory

I was born and raised in Cleveland’s Little Italy, but my schooling took place in a nearby suburb. Most of the kids that I went to school with were from a different European background (I neglect to name which one on purpose). I was quickly deemed “different”: I looked different, some of the food I ate smelled strange to them and my last name sounded funny. Being an Italian American wasn’t something I felt proud of as a child because I was made to believe that I was inferior.

When I was twelve I saw The Godfather for the first time, and my identity as an Italian American shifted. At first, I didn’t like what I was watching. Why bother watching something so stereotypical? But as the movie ended, tears welled up in my eyes. The movie executive from the famous horse head scene used words like “guinea” and “WOP”; words that I often heard being whispered to me at school. Michael, played by Al Pacino, didn’t look like the other people of that time, but he was still the lead. He wasn’t “supposed” to be the leading man, but he was because of his talent.

I naturally followed up by watching The Godfather Part II, and again found myself in tears by seeing the immigration story depicted. There were many family stories that I heard as a kid, along with other stories from people in the neighborhood, and parts of them were being depicted on the big screen. Although the content wasn’t always sunshine and roses, it was a story that I knew and was being shown in some of the best films of all time.

The Family

When you talk to any Italian American about their experience, family is a huge part of their day-to-day life. A lot of us live with our parents into adulthood, we speak to our grandparents daily. Those might be stereotypes, but they tend to be true. Family is everything to us. Look at the history of Sicily, for example. It was an island that was constantly invaded and occupied by outsiders. All that the people relied on was family and the closeness that would hopefully save them from the oppression of another occupying force. We stick with who and what we know and there is a value to that.

The film The Godfather dealt with the mafia, but ultimately it was about the family. Sonny wouldn’t have went after Carlo if he didn’t genuinely love his sister Connie. Vito wouldn’t have told Michael “I never wanted this for you” when Michael rises to power, if he didn’t care and fear for his son’s survival.

Even though Vito is talking about a crime life that he didn’t want for his son, the sentiment is an Italian American story. The ones who made the voyage across the Atlantic did so so that future generations didn’t (hopefully) have to struggle. The men who laid brick and worked countless hours in mines did that work to give their children a better life. And that is not just a familiar story to Italian Americans. The family portrayal in The Godfather was able to appeal to any large, ethnic family.

Yes, the family business in The Godfather was a dirty business, but Vito, and later Michael, did what they had to do to protect the family. I just read that sentence back and realize that it sounds like I’m endorsing the mafia. Please don’t look at my last name and jump to conclusions, ok? I don’t need to start getting special visits from law enforcement!

Casting La Famiglia

One of the most well known casting horror stories involves Al Pacino being cast as Michael. Pacino was a theatre actor from New York and had only done one film, The Panic in Needle Park, prior to auditioning for The Godfather. Francis Ford Coppola had met Pacino and had him in mind when he first read the book. But, Pacino was an unknown and was a short, ethnic looking guy. Keep in mind that this was the 1970s, where the leading men were Robert Redford, Paul Newman or Ryan O’Neill.

This certainly was not the first time that Hollywood would attempt to make something “whitewashed” by trying to cast against type, but thankfully Coppola put his foot down and fought for Pacino. And that’s not to say that a non-Italian couldn’t play the role: Marlon Brando and James Caan were both non-Italian but gave wonderful performances as Vito and Sonny. But, to make a genuine film based on Italian Americans, Italian Americans had to be used. That is why the casting of Al Pacino was vital to the film.

Taking It Back

As you can guess, the author of The Godfather, Mario Puzo, was an Italian American. While writers are able to research and create any type of world, The Godfather would not be what it was if it wasn’t written by an Italian. Same for the director, Francis Ford Coppola. The story had to be brought to life by one of us. The Godfather was definitely not the first time that Italians were depicted in film, but it was one of the first times that Italians were depicted as mutli-dimensional people. Prior to this we were shown as clownish figures who could not articulate words in proper English, who were mere peasant folk.

Having people of Italian ancestry show the depiction of Italians was crucial in humanizing us and our struggles. Italians have always been considered something other than ordinary Americans: we’re European, but not exactly white. We are exotic but can blend in from time to time. Having Michael attend college was a deliberate choice by Puzo, not just to shock the audience by his later actions, but to depict Italians as people who are capable of high education. It was a breaking of a stereotype and probably went unnoticed as such to many viewers.

While the subject matter of the film deals with a dark side of our culture, having it be told and shown by fellow Italians broke this mysterious facade surrounding the mafia and showed it for what it really was. For some reason, Italians are usually portrayed with a shroud of mystery, but Puzo and Coppola exposed our culture in a realistic fashion that had not been seen up to that point.

Conclusion

I don’t believe that there is any group that prefers to dwell on the bad parts of their culture; Italians are no different. While The Godfather appears to only be highlighting those blemishes, it’s actually awakening people to a reality that many Italian Americans know: family is above everything.

If you are an Italian American, do you take pride in The Godfather or see it as a slight?