The Godfather: Corleone Philosophy

Today, we will talk about the philosophy and a little story of The Godfather movie. Frankly, as a movie lover, I love understanding and explaining the philosophy of movies. I hope you like it too.

The fact that a family that started life with a zero loss, does not compromise on family and ethical values despite everything, perhaps indicates that they started life with a zero lead...

The basis of The Godfather movie is that man is a being that can do anything, has all the power in his hands and acts with the instinct of survival. Of course, this issue is reflected on the screen in a very scattered way throughout the movie. For example, this emerges clearly in the baptism scene, which is particularly emphasized in the final scenes of the film. First of all, while a standard baptism is taking place in this scene, we watch the pipe organ sound in the background getting louder as the scene progresses, and as the music gets louder, we watch the character Michael perform a religious ritual with all his sincerity. So, the important point here is that while a baptism is performed in the foreground and religious beliefs come to light again, in the background the Corleone family kills other major mafia families and gathers all the power. In this way, it is implicitly emphasized that no matter how religious our beliefs are, there is nothing we cannot do to survive and take control of power.


Another important point is how important family is. Because we often encounter these issues in the flow of movies. For example, a family photo was going to be taken at the beginning of the movie, but since Michael was not there, he was expected to come. This situation actually shows how important the family is, even if it is spiritual, and that unity must be achieved, even on a small issue, regardless of whether this issue may negatively affect the family. We see this example in a later scene. See: Michael goes to Vegas to buy the casino and hotel and his older brother Fredo meets him there. Later, when the owner of the hotel refuses to sell, Fredo speaks in support of the hotel owner, and then Michael leans into his older brother Fredo's ear and says, "Never be in front of the family again, never!" He speaks his words. In addition, some people sacrifice themselves and sacrifice themselves for their family in order to solve family problems. To give an example of this, we can see that Michael, the third son of Don Corleon, killed a man under the protection of other mafia leaders and relieved his family, and as a result, he left the country and lived a secret life for about a year. Another conclusion we can draw from this scene is that although Michael was never such a person, the beast inside him, so to speak, awakened due to the awakening of his urge to take revenge after what happened to his father. This proves once again that every person has the potential to do anything.


Two other important points in the movie are that it makes one feel superior respect and that friendship comes before many things.

First, I will talk about friendship. In fact, this concept is clearly revealed in almost every scene throughout the movie. This is especially due to the fact that the character Tom was adopted by Don Corleon at a young age and was considered a family member and was included in the family at least as much as his own children. This character is reflected on camera as a son in the eyes of the father and as a true friend and brother figure in the eyes of his own children. The reason why they call Tom "Consigliere - Italian for 'consultant'" is not because he is actually a lawyer, but because of this. Because he is an important advisor character whose opinions are considered noteworthy on domestic issues and who also serves as the spokesperson of the Corleon family. In fact, the reason why Tom was given the title of consigliere towards the last scenes is a precaution taken to prevent the plans being disrupted by opposing forces.


The second thing I will talk about is superior respect. This is also one of the situations noticed throughout the course of the movie. In a dialogue between Don and Bonasera in the scene at the beginning of the movie, Don says, "What could I have done to you for you to treat me with such disrespect?" If you had come to me as a friend, those rascals who ruined your daughter would have already begun to suffer, and if an honest man like you should have made enemies even by chance, they would have become my enemies too. Then they would be afraid of you!” makes sentences. He then adds, "If you were my friend..." and Bonasera says to him, "Will you be my friend, Dad!" he asks and kisses her hand. The main event emphasized in this scene is that people accept a person as superior not because they are afraid of him, but because of their respect for that person. In other words, Don's kissing of Bonasera's hand is an indication of the existence of a superior sense of respect in the Corleon family. Another similar scene takes place at the dinner table. The Corleons' sister reacts to an incident and her husband tells her to shut up. Thereupon, the girl's brother, Sonny, sternly tells the groom that he should not talk to his sister like that again. Afterwards, the Corleon brothers' mother tells Sonny that he should not interfere. So here, Sonny actually says that he can talk about his sister without restrictions and freely, but their mother also says that her sister is now married and has a separate family and wants her husband's attitudes to be respected.


The last point I will touch upon is human loneliness. It is obvious that no matter how long a person lives alone, he will eventually feel lonely. Because human beings are creatures that exist alone but focus on life with those around them. In this context, this is the reason why Michael had a girlfriend at the beginning of the movie, but when he went to Sicily, he forgot about her and married another woman. If we examine this further, the woman he married in Sicily dies in an assassination attempt, and when Michael returns to America, he returns to his ex-girlfriend and tells her that he loves her and wants to have children with her. That woman also accepts this. However, Michael has no idea what he did there. Here too, the fact that a person has someone next to him throughout his life and acts as if he does, even if he does not have feelings for that person, is a situation that arises from the fact that human nature is based on a life lived as a couple and that a person wants to have people he can trust next to him while he is alive.

Finally, thank you for listening to me, do not forget to comment and respect, thank you.