You are correct Cristina. People should never forget that the characters portrayed in a movie like The Godfather should never be looked upon as the good criminal and the bad criminal.

We had an exact discussion about this several months ago. Writers and Directors of movies have a way of making the viewer "root" for certain bad guys. Writers and directors can mislead viewers in their protrayals of criminal characters.

Case in point. Vito Corleone. We are shown that he has morals when it comes to his marriage vows, his fidelity, he is an honorable husband and a good father. We hear him tell Bonasera that he will NOT commit murder because Bonasera's daughter is still alive. Vito is a man of justice! Then we see Vito turn down the "dirty business" of the drug trade. What FFC and Puzo is brilliant. What they have done is to paint a character like Vito as a bad guy with morals. And it makes the viewer sub-consciencely justify rooting for the bad guy that has "morals." We say to ourselves, "this guy Vito isn't as bad as Barzini the drug dealer, or Tattaglia the womanizing pimp. This guy Vito has morals." He won't deal in drugs. he won't cheat on his wife. He cares for his children. He frowns upon the things that the average person also considers wrong. So it's ok to root for him over the others in the movie. We are shown a personal side of The Corleones. A family that we are made to care for.

But in truth Vito, Barzini and Tattaglia are all no good. Bottom line is that they are all the same type of criminals and murderers. But FFC and Puzo are such intelligent writers that they have a way of showing the good side, the intimate side of a criminal and his empire, and make you like that character. They allow you to get personal with the character. It's brilliant writing.

Everytime you or I watch The Godfather and it gets to the part where Sonny gets killed, we are somewhat saddened by his murder. Because we are shown what a caring brother he is to his sister. What a good son he is to his mother and father. That inside that temper he really has a heart of gold. Sonny is protrayed to the viewr as a lovable character. But the truth is that he is a killer, a criminal and a murderer. That he deserved the death that he got.

And some people ,as you said in your post, lose sight of the fact that all of these characters are bad people.

As for your point about implications that there are good ways to run a crime family and bad ways, well that is true. Those implications are written and made by the writers for the reasons that I have pointed out above.

I think that when we watch a movie like this we must realize what we are really watching, and who these people really are. But at the same time we must allow ourselves to indulge in the type of world that these characters live in and understand that, within the prameters of organized crime of course, there IS a right way and a wrong way of doing things.


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