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• 1 2018-05-07T18:56:49-07:00 The Godfather Effect 3 gallery 2018-05-07T19:29:16-07:00 The Godfather.​.

       The film The Godfather changed Hollywood because it finally changed the way Italians were depicted on film. It made Italians seem like more fully realized people and not stereotypes. It was a film in Hollywood made by Italians about Italians. Previously, it had not been Italians making the mobster films featuring Italian gangsters. This film also helped Italianize American culture. All of a sudden, everyone was talking about Don Corleone and making jokes about, “I am going to make you an offer you can’t refuse.”.  Even people who were not Italian wish they were because of this film. 
       The story revolves not just about mafia and crime, but also on family and values.  The family was its own community and everything that occurred in the film revolved around the family and its values. There was a sense of respect and honor within the family. Everyone looked out for one another and trusted each other with everything. There was a sense of omerta where you vowed silence regarding any family ordeals and you never spoke against the family. Loyalty has a huge importance and when it is broken you can tell that there is tension within the family.  Part of the reason I believe these films succeeded is because most people, if not everyone, can relate to this importance of family. Everyone who watches the film has a character that reminds him/her of a certain family member. Family is a huge part in society, especially for Italian-Americans.
       Another important theme of the films is society and class. Capitalism interfaces with the family romance gap between the rich and the poor. The Corleones were very Robin Hood esque, helping the poor and less fortunate succeed in times of need. Especially since the rich and powerful constantly took advantage of these people.   It gave many people hope and enjoyment seeing a film that incorporated a “rags-to-riches immigrant story” (Ferraro, 109). Ferraro goes on to state how “Sicilians were, all of a sudden, not part of an embarrassing blue-collar morass, an industrial underbelly losing its significance, but instead the capitalist nation’s underground brain trust, and a potential mirror upon American corporate capitalism’s requisite brutality” (Ferraro, 109). 
       The film had an impact well beyond Italian Americans because others recognized themselves or admired the values portrayed: family, loyalty, honor.  I think it helped people see that in this depiction of Italian-Americans was a reflection of their own immigrant experience, whether they were Irish or Jews from Eastern Europe. They found that common ground.