Political Animals and The Godfather

By Colm Gillis

This is a book that explains politics in terms of the classic Godfather movie series. Do you want to know how the five families and Corleones meeting is similar to the big-power politics of the last 400 years? Or how Pete Clemenza is a scholar of Machiavelli? Ever heard of political arcana, which have their analogues in The Godfather? Many more metaphors are explored in a book where the underworld and government meet.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Colm Gillis
• Release date: Sep 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370379637

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An essay titled Democracy: Theory and Practice.

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Colm Gillis (this is he writing Caesar-like in the third person!) is an Irish-born author.

He, ok me!, has written four books already. Three of my books are non-fiction and one

is a collection of poems. I hope you’ll visit my website to find out more about my

thoughts and new projects.

The metaphor is probably the most fertile power possessed by man ― José Ortega y Gasset

PREFACE: PERSONAL THOUGHTS ON THE GODFATHER

Favourite epic movies of all time? I’d have to say Gone with the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia, and then The Godfather. But which one of these three would I would bring to a desert island?: well, it’d have to be the last one. That I am sure of!

Granted, the first two are ground-breaking for their time, especially Lawrence, and they feature characters who – despite their vices and failings – ply their trade in the legitimate world. Gone with the Wind and Lawrence of Arabia showcase heroic and noble individuals; businessmen, soldiers, politicians, faithful slaves, managers, and tribal chieftains. By contrast, those who feature in The Godfather are almost exclusively criminals. Even some of those who try to ‘go on the straight path,’ like Bonasera, are pulled into crime. Because most of us would feel more comfortable dealing with a British warrior or American belle than with a cutthroat career felon, The Godfather represents a walk on the dark side. Furthermore, there are so many great scenes, so many great performances, and a high quality of artisanship on display in the Southern and desert classics. Why would I jettison them? 

Before I offer an explanation, let me say that in spite of my nagging guilt, The Godfather is a three-hour journey I have undertaken on many occasions. I have enjoyed the Mafia showpiece to much greater degrees than the other two epics, and watched it far more frequently. I can honestly say that about once a year I like to sit down and relax in front of The Godfather, with a hot drink, a bit of food, and my undivided attention. And I am certainly not the only one!

Several things about the movie stand out. That cinematography!: how it brings out the stylish clothes of the post-WWII era. Those fedoras, the cars, the beautifully coloured taxis, the dresses, the sheer aura and sense of dignity that crystallise in the clothes and goods of the time. Even the plane that takes Tom Hagen to Los Angeles to see Jack Woltz looks better than our modern budget travellers.

A series of scenes that are particularly memorable are those where Michael goes to Sicily and courts the ‘thunderbolt.’ What a lovely courtship! What sweet and tender music! The memorable wedding scene, the brutal ending, Michael’s tense encounter with Sollozzo. Of course, there is the performance of Marlon Brando. And those delightful American-Italian accents which we’ve all attempted to copy at times. Yes, since I was an early teen, I have watched The Godfather. No, I have sat or lain down, riveted to The Godfather.

But I don’t want to sound like an amateur film critic or a movie obsessive. There is something more to The Godfather, I feel, than what has been stated up to this point that accounts for its impression on me and its overall global impact. What is the X-factor? Why would I pop it in the baggage to my desert island hideout ahead of other great movies?

I speculate that the appeal of The Godfather is this: we perceive the characters as free individuals, men who decide on their own terms the life they want to lead, men who aren’t content to fill in the numbers, men who make their own rules, who are honest about their own selfish ends, but who also are willing to submit to a code of honour, however hypocritical such a code may seem in the scheme of things. And there are also the close family relations, the sense of ‘us and them,’ where the saying ‘blood is thicker than water’ no longer appears as a cliché.

Although many of those qualities just listed are often not to be recommended nor to be taken to extremes in our day-to-day dealings, there are yet times in our lives where we refuse to play a role we seem to have been assigned; when