J/W 2B or not 2B? BTHOOM;
IDK IIMAD MEGO. Head’s FURTB. WIM.
Life’s MUBAR. TAR*U TRDMC;
LABATYD. TSNF.
DWBH CTA NVNG.
EOL ::poof:: GNSD.
NG FF & PN;
G4I.
Hamlet Act III, Scene i, lines 56-64.
This is a sample of how the Bard might have written this portion of the famous soliloquy if he was twenty-something texting to his friends.
For a translation see http://www.netlingo.com/emailsh.cfm
* Many of the chat acronyms and text message shorthand phrases include crude language. Some are included but I have omitted a letter I find totally unacceptable.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Monday, January 05, 2009
A Justification for The Godfather Part III
I don’t know what planet I’ve been on but I’d never seen Part Three of the Godfather before. The series is a guilty pleasure for me. As an Italian-American I should decry its depiction of Italians; as a movie lover I can watch it over and over. So why have I never seen the final episode until now?
One reason has to be the fact that it’s not very good. Performances are inconsistent; the focus unsteady; the plot unfolds in fits and starts. Its narrative does not enhance Puzo’s original story. Yet Part III is widely viewed. Is the collective taste of the American movie public so banal that people will throw their money at anything with the Godfather cache despite its merits? There must be a reason this film is important.
This question prompted some thought. At the center of all Italian culture is the FAMILY. Even though my family is not Sicilian, family-centricity is the keystone of Italian culture. The Godfather is certainly about family! Because this is an Italian family, the Roman Catholic family of Christ must add its woof to the weave. A sacramental sub-theme permeates all three parts of the series. Was this a conscious choice on Coppola’s part, or a ghost from a Catholic school past? I needed to consider how family, Sicily, and faith feature throughout the entire Godfather series in order to find justification for Part Three.
* * * *
In Part One the nuclear Corleone family frames the story. This necessarily includes Vito Corleone’s immediate family—more specifically his sons. In addition an extended, closely knit, mostly Sicilian, crime family is foundational to the story. These are the capos and soldiers of the godfather’s molecular family. Associated crime families of the greater New York area complete the picture. Difficulties arise when the concept of extended family seeks fulfillment beyond the molecular because the components refuse to bind.
The Corleone family has its roots in Sicily, where family honor and loyalty are paramount. It is Sicilian vendetta for the murder of his family that brings Vito to America. All three segments of the Godfather reflect an indivisible bond with the family’s Sicilian roots, both genetically and criminally. Sicily, the fountainhead, will provide whenever and however required. Sicilian ties bind tightly. The island’s history is far older than the Roman Catholic religion.
Sicily and its people endured. The triumph of their survival, after centuries of invasion and subjugation, is manifest because the only thing a Sicilian could rely on was family. The fierce loyalty and codes of conduct provided the Sicilian family with a narrow margin for survival. Sicilian survival becomes the metaphor for the immigrant’s struggle to survive in the United States.
This first segment of the Godfather begins with the wedding of the Don’s daughter. Marriages make and extend families. Matrimony is a sacrament in the Roman Catholic religion. Connie’s marriage enlarges the Corleone family in concrete and symbolic ways. Part One of the series elaborates on the sacrament of Matrimony and the ties that bind it to Sicily when Michael marries Appollonia who is murdered before he can return to the USA and his pre-ordained fate. Marriage continues to prompt the story when Michael marries again, this time to his American love, Kay. The Corleone family becomes a triune entity—personal, Sicilian, and American.
Matrimony is not the only Catholic sacrament featured in Part One. In a perverse sense, the Godfather co-opts the sacrament of Confirmation. When a Catholic is confirmed, he or she becomes a “soldier of Christ.” The Corleone crime family has its own soldiers. Confirmation creates the church militant to protect the faith. The criminal militants defend their Don and his anti-Christ Capos.
A third sacrament is notable for its absence. It is the Sacrament of Last Rites, also known as Extreme Unction. The church blesses the body of the dying person. External sense organs are anointed as the body is sent on its way to God. “Through this holy unction and His own tender mercy may the Lord pardon thee of whatever sins or faults thou hast committed by sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, walking, carnal delectation.” Vito Corleone and his son, Sonny, die without the spiritual comfort of this sacrament. After his death Vito’s unblessed body is prodded with a stick that his innocent grandson wields. The stick, a symbol of power, mocks the old man. In death Rome—not Sicily—has the last word.
There is yet another sacrament with a role to play in Part One. The sacrament of Baptism introduces the innocent infant into the family of faith. The child is reborn into the family of Christ. In this sacrament the godparents renounce the devil for the infant. They stand ready to protect innocence from evil. The godparents vow to become surrogate parents for the child. Puzo’s choice of the term “godfather” evokes the paternal sacramental role as well as the Sicilian connotation. Don Corleone is surrogate father to his crime family. Michael is surrogate father to his sister’s son.
In the baptismal sequence this sacrament becomes sacrilege as Michael sets in motion the maelstrom that will “settle all family business” at the same time that he stands godfather to his nephew. His actions embrace the devil; good is renounced. Sicilian vendetta sanctifies a baptism-in-blood that brings with it eternal death. Innocence is slaughtered. The baby’s father is murdered by his godfather Michael Corleone. Surrogation becomes usurpation. As Part I ends Michael is acknowledged as Godfather to the Corleone crime family.
* * * *
Part Two expands the idea of family, forming a national “brotherhood” of crime. The Corleones have moved west, but their interests extend to the East Coast, Florida, and Cuba. Its tentacles include national politicians, legitimate businessmen, and alien religion. The combination proves lethal. Can loyalty and trust survive strangers?
Michael initiates a “Cuban marriage” with Jewish mobster Hyman Roth. This marriage fails. Problems on the East Coast multiply. Familial ties suffer at a distance. They are diluted when non-Sicilians are included. Michael is reminded that his father did business with and respected Hyman Roth, but “your father never trusted Hyman Roth.”
There seems no way to establish lasting trust that is not based on the Sicilian model. The old ways and codes of loyalty lose their meaning. Americanization allows the ‘individual’ to intrude. Over-extension and self-interest strain loyalty. Corleone brother, Fredo, betrays the Family from within because he is looking for “a little something for myself.” The sin of fratricide rends the familial fabric irrevocably, as does Kay’s abortion. Vendetta turns in on itself.
Part Two’s sacramental feature is the Holy Eucharist, familiarly known as Holy Communion. Michael’s son, Tony, is the First Communicant. The sacrament symbolizes the unification of the church faithful who partake in the body and blood of Christ, the food that brings eternal life. Holy Communion is an important step towards joining the family of Christ once the age of reason has been reached. It can only be undertaken when the individual is capable of distinguishing right from wrong. The boy’s father seems not to value this distinction. Holy Communion is usually preceded by receiving the sacrament of Confession which will be introduced in Part Three.
The sharing of food in an Italian family has special significance. Communal meals are important; they affirm the family. Food renews life; family sustains that life. Italians have a proverb, “Se si mangia, non hai mai morire.” (If you eat, you never die.) In the Communion hymn, “The Supper of the Lord” by Laurence Rosania, there is the phrase, “you that eat this bread shall never die.” In the sacrament the Eucharistic participant is nourished by Christ’s body and blood. The Eucharist promises eternal life for the family of Christ. The Corleone Crime Family feeds on the food of corruption and death. [to be continued]
© SMB/ettsme.blogspot.com
One reason has to be the fact that it’s not very good. Performances are inconsistent; the focus unsteady; the plot unfolds in fits and starts. Its narrative does not enhance Puzo’s original story. Yet Part III is widely viewed. Is the collective taste of the American movie public so banal that people will throw their money at anything with the Godfather cache despite its merits? There must be a reason this film is important.
This question prompted some thought. At the center of all Italian culture is the FAMILY. Even though my family is not Sicilian, family-centricity is the keystone of Italian culture. The Godfather is certainly about family! Because this is an Italian family, the Roman Catholic family of Christ must add its woof to the weave. A sacramental sub-theme permeates all three parts of the series. Was this a conscious choice on Coppola’s part, or a ghost from a Catholic school past? I needed to consider how family, Sicily, and faith feature throughout the entire Godfather series in order to find justification for Part Three.
* * * *
In Part One the nuclear Corleone family frames the story. This necessarily includes Vito Corleone’s immediate family—more specifically his sons. In addition an extended, closely knit, mostly Sicilian, crime family is foundational to the story. These are the capos and soldiers of the godfather’s molecular family. Associated crime families of the greater New York area complete the picture. Difficulties arise when the concept of extended family seeks fulfillment beyond the molecular because the components refuse to bind.
The Corleone family has its roots in Sicily, where family honor and loyalty are paramount. It is Sicilian vendetta for the murder of his family that brings Vito to America. All three segments of the Godfather reflect an indivisible bond with the family’s Sicilian roots, both genetically and criminally. Sicily, the fountainhead, will provide whenever and however required. Sicilian ties bind tightly. The island’s history is far older than the Roman Catholic religion.
Sicily and its people endured. The triumph of their survival, after centuries of invasion and subjugation, is manifest because the only thing a Sicilian could rely on was family. The fierce loyalty and codes of conduct provided the Sicilian family with a narrow margin for survival. Sicilian survival becomes the metaphor for the immigrant’s struggle to survive in the United States.
This first segment of the Godfather begins with the wedding of the Don’s daughter. Marriages make and extend families. Matrimony is a sacrament in the Roman Catholic religion. Connie’s marriage enlarges the Corleone family in concrete and symbolic ways. Part One of the series elaborates on the sacrament of Matrimony and the ties that bind it to Sicily when Michael marries Appollonia who is murdered before he can return to the USA and his pre-ordained fate. Marriage continues to prompt the story when Michael marries again, this time to his American love, Kay. The Corleone family becomes a triune entity—personal, Sicilian, and American.
Matrimony is not the only Catholic sacrament featured in Part One. In a perverse sense, the Godfather co-opts the sacrament of Confirmation. When a Catholic is confirmed, he or she becomes a “soldier of Christ.” The Corleone crime family has its own soldiers. Confirmation creates the church militant to protect the faith. The criminal militants defend their Don and his anti-Christ Capos.
A third sacrament is notable for its absence. It is the Sacrament of Last Rites, also known as Extreme Unction. The church blesses the body of the dying person. External sense organs are anointed as the body is sent on its way to God. “Through this holy unction and His own tender mercy may the Lord pardon thee of whatever sins or faults thou hast committed by sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, walking, carnal delectation.” Vito Corleone and his son, Sonny, die without the spiritual comfort of this sacrament. After his death Vito’s unblessed body is prodded with a stick that his innocent grandson wields. The stick, a symbol of power, mocks the old man. In death Rome—not Sicily—has the last word.
There is yet another sacrament with a role to play in Part One. The sacrament of Baptism introduces the innocent infant into the family of faith. The child is reborn into the family of Christ. In this sacrament the godparents renounce the devil for the infant. They stand ready to protect innocence from evil. The godparents vow to become surrogate parents for the child. Puzo’s choice of the term “godfather” evokes the paternal sacramental role as well as the Sicilian connotation. Don Corleone is surrogate father to his crime family. Michael is surrogate father to his sister’s son.
In the baptismal sequence this sacrament becomes sacrilege as Michael sets in motion the maelstrom that will “settle all family business” at the same time that he stands godfather to his nephew. His actions embrace the devil; good is renounced. Sicilian vendetta sanctifies a baptism-in-blood that brings with it eternal death. Innocence is slaughtered. The baby’s father is murdered by his godfather Michael Corleone. Surrogation becomes usurpation. As Part I ends Michael is acknowledged as Godfather to the Corleone crime family.
* * * *
Part Two expands the idea of family, forming a national “brotherhood” of crime. The Corleones have moved west, but their interests extend to the East Coast, Florida, and Cuba. Its tentacles include national politicians, legitimate businessmen, and alien religion. The combination proves lethal. Can loyalty and trust survive strangers?
Michael initiates a “Cuban marriage” with Jewish mobster Hyman Roth. This marriage fails. Problems on the East Coast multiply. Familial ties suffer at a distance. They are diluted when non-Sicilians are included. Michael is reminded that his father did business with and respected Hyman Roth, but “your father never trusted Hyman Roth.”
There seems no way to establish lasting trust that is not based on the Sicilian model. The old ways and codes of loyalty lose their meaning. Americanization allows the ‘individual’ to intrude. Over-extension and self-interest strain loyalty. Corleone brother, Fredo, betrays the Family from within because he is looking for “a little something for myself.” The sin of fratricide rends the familial fabric irrevocably, as does Kay’s abortion. Vendetta turns in on itself.
Part Two’s sacramental feature is the Holy Eucharist, familiarly known as Holy Communion. Michael’s son, Tony, is the First Communicant. The sacrament symbolizes the unification of the church faithful who partake in the body and blood of Christ, the food that brings eternal life. Holy Communion is an important step towards joining the family of Christ once the age of reason has been reached. It can only be undertaken when the individual is capable of distinguishing right from wrong. The boy’s father seems not to value this distinction. Holy Communion is usually preceded by receiving the sacrament of Confession which will be introduced in Part Three.
The sharing of food in an Italian family has special significance. Communal meals are important; they affirm the family. Food renews life; family sustains that life. Italians have a proverb, “Se si mangia, non hai mai morire.” (If you eat, you never die.) In the Communion hymn, “The Supper of the Lord” by Laurence Rosania, there is the phrase, “you that eat this bread shall never die.” In the sacrament the Eucharistic participant is nourished by Christ’s body and blood. The Eucharist promises eternal life for the family of Christ. The Corleone Crime Family feeds on the food of corruption and death. [to be continued]
© SMB/ettsme.blogspot.com
A Justification for the Godfather Part III, continued...
How does the Godfather Part Three complete the Sicilian family and sacramental sub-themes? In Part Three Michael seeks to extend his family’s power globally. He intends to capitalize on corruption within the Roman Catholic Church. Michael plans to buy or muscle his way in through a charity named in honor of his father. He has become a Commander in order of Saint Sebastian, who is the patron saint of soldiers (q.v. Part One, Confirmation), athletes, and, ironically reprising Michael’s first murder, municipal policemen. Corleone’s goal is to purchase the Vatican’s shares of the powerful international corporation, Immobiliare. But Rome is not Sicily, New York, or Cuba. Such a mixture may prove too rich.
Michael’s honors and success contrast with his failure in the things that matter. His nuclear family has been sundered through fratricide, abortion, divorce, estrangement. The molecular family’s bonds are friable. Alliances are framed by those who do not know or care to know the old Sicilian ways. Michael has lost his grip and the Corleone Family’s heir apparent emerges from a bastardly link.
Sonny’s illegitimate son, Vincent, reprises his grandfather’s lust for revenge. He uses the ancient Sicilian method of issuing a challenge when he bites off the ear of Joey Zaza whom he feels lacks respect for the Family. Vincent kills without conscience both in New York and in Sicily. The king is dead, long live the king.
No matter how wealthy and powerful Michael Corleone has become, Part III reveals a Godfather greatly diminished. His daughter, Mary, is the front for a charitable initiative that has international tentacles way beyond her ken. Michael permits his sister, Connie, to interfere in family business. In this era no Italian family worth its salt would allow women to be equal with the men in things that matter!
Why can Michael no longer maintain Family cohesion? Michael, Kay, and Mary return to Sicily for son Anthony’s operatic debut. Michael attempts to use the visit to justify his actions. He seeks renewal at the ancient fountainhead. Family loyalty distinguishes the Sicilian persona, but Sicily cannot offer succor as it once could. The Corleone Family business no longer receives instantiation from Sicily. American ways altered the centers of power, but all the power on earth can’t change fate.
The trip to Sicily ends in tragedy when Michael’s daughter Mary is killed by a bullet intended for her father. In Roman Catholic belief the Son of God became the sacrificial offering for the sins of the family of man. Mary is the lamb who must die for the sins of her family. Christ’s blood was shed to bring forgiveness. The hot blood of revenge consumes contrition.
The remaining sacraments make their appearance in Part Three. Michael receives the sacrament of Confession from Cardinal Lamberto who is destined to become Pope. In a cathartic scene Michael confesses to the murder of his brother Fredo. However, the Cardinal rightly estimates that the sacramental admonition “go and sin no more” will not be realized in Michael’s case. Absolvo te?
In keeping with the sacramental sub-theme, the last of the seven sacraments is woven within the Godfather saga in Part Three. It is not a sacrament the laity receives. It is limited to the priesthood. We learn that Tom Hagen’s son is now a priest, having received the sacrament of Holy Orders. The family uses its influence to get the young man to Rome, which could prove to be almost as good as having a judge or two in your pocket.
The anointing of Michael’s Confessor as pope is the highest expression of this sacrament. The patronage of Cardinal Lamberto, now Pope John Paul I and head of the Vatican, could bring success to Michael’s plan to buy up the shares of Immobiliare. This final sacrament becomes sacrilege when the pope is assassinated, taking with him all hope of fulfilling Michael’s global ambitions.
Finally, as in the first part, we have a death without benefit of the Last Rites when Michael, like his father, dies unanointed. It is an appropriate end to a life lived in contraindication to everything the Catholic faith should stand to mean. Michael, and most of his crime family, will probably be damned. A dog, symbolizing Cerberus who guards the gates of Hell, closes the movie as it sniffs at Michael’s dead body.
When considered according to its outcomes, ironies, and sacramental sub-theme, the Godfather has resolved into a Morality Play. Part Three essentially completes the lesson.
Power is an inconstant mistress. “For what shall it profit a man if he gain the world, and suffer the loss of his soul?” [Mark 8:36] Michael screams this truth when his daughter takes the bullet meant for him. Who can absolve him of this?
The Godfather is revealed as a false god. The movie’s apparent glorification of Sicilian American “Mafiosi” isn’t so apparent, nor does it glorify. Death festoons the Sicilian countryside. Corleone sacrilege brings eternal damnation.
The concept of family in the Godfather is a mockery of true Italian values. While the Sicilian idea of family honor has flowed as a bloody-stream throughout the three films, the destruction of the family and its dishonor has been the final result. Family honor is not the point; honoring the family is.
Part Three demonstrates these truths when the crime family implodes and vendetta comes full circle. The gates of hell await.
© SMB/ettsme.blogspot.com
Michael’s honors and success contrast with his failure in the things that matter. His nuclear family has been sundered through fratricide, abortion, divorce, estrangement. The molecular family’s bonds are friable. Alliances are framed by those who do not know or care to know the old Sicilian ways. Michael has lost his grip and the Corleone Family’s heir apparent emerges from a bastardly link.
Sonny’s illegitimate son, Vincent, reprises his grandfather’s lust for revenge. He uses the ancient Sicilian method of issuing a challenge when he bites off the ear of Joey Zaza whom he feels lacks respect for the Family. Vincent kills without conscience both in New York and in Sicily. The king is dead, long live the king.
No matter how wealthy and powerful Michael Corleone has become, Part III reveals a Godfather greatly diminished. His daughter, Mary, is the front for a charitable initiative that has international tentacles way beyond her ken. Michael permits his sister, Connie, to interfere in family business. In this era no Italian family worth its salt would allow women to be equal with the men in things that matter!
Why can Michael no longer maintain Family cohesion? Michael, Kay, and Mary return to Sicily for son Anthony’s operatic debut. Michael attempts to use the visit to justify his actions. He seeks renewal at the ancient fountainhead. Family loyalty distinguishes the Sicilian persona, but Sicily cannot offer succor as it once could. The Corleone Family business no longer receives instantiation from Sicily. American ways altered the centers of power, but all the power on earth can’t change fate.
The trip to Sicily ends in tragedy when Michael’s daughter Mary is killed by a bullet intended for her father. In Roman Catholic belief the Son of God became the sacrificial offering for the sins of the family of man. Mary is the lamb who must die for the sins of her family. Christ’s blood was shed to bring forgiveness. The hot blood of revenge consumes contrition.
The remaining sacraments make their appearance in Part Three. Michael receives the sacrament of Confession from Cardinal Lamberto who is destined to become Pope. In a cathartic scene Michael confesses to the murder of his brother Fredo. However, the Cardinal rightly estimates that the sacramental admonition “go and sin no more” will not be realized in Michael’s case. Absolvo te?
In keeping with the sacramental sub-theme, the last of the seven sacraments is woven within the Godfather saga in Part Three. It is not a sacrament the laity receives. It is limited to the priesthood. We learn that Tom Hagen’s son is now a priest, having received the sacrament of Holy Orders. The family uses its influence to get the young man to Rome, which could prove to be almost as good as having a judge or two in your pocket.
The anointing of Michael’s Confessor as pope is the highest expression of this sacrament. The patronage of Cardinal Lamberto, now Pope John Paul I and head of the Vatican, could bring success to Michael’s plan to buy up the shares of Immobiliare. This final sacrament becomes sacrilege when the pope is assassinated, taking with him all hope of fulfilling Michael’s global ambitions.
Finally, as in the first part, we have a death without benefit of the Last Rites when Michael, like his father, dies unanointed. It is an appropriate end to a life lived in contraindication to everything the Catholic faith should stand to mean. Michael, and most of his crime family, will probably be damned. A dog, symbolizing Cerberus who guards the gates of Hell, closes the movie as it sniffs at Michael’s dead body.
When considered according to its outcomes, ironies, and sacramental sub-theme, the Godfather has resolved into a Morality Play. Part Three essentially completes the lesson.
Power is an inconstant mistress. “For what shall it profit a man if he gain the world, and suffer the loss of his soul?” [Mark 8:36] Michael screams this truth when his daughter takes the bullet meant for him. Who can absolve him of this?
The Godfather is revealed as a false god. The movie’s apparent glorification of Sicilian American “Mafiosi” isn’t so apparent, nor does it glorify. Death festoons the Sicilian countryside. Corleone sacrilege brings eternal damnation.
The concept of family in the Godfather is a mockery of true Italian values. While the Sicilian idea of family honor has flowed as a bloody-stream throughout the three films, the destruction of the family and its dishonor has been the final result. Family honor is not the point; honoring the family is.
Part Three demonstrates these truths when the crime family implodes and vendetta comes full circle. The gates of hell await.
© SMB/ettsme.blogspot.com
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