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This article written by Earl Johnson Jr. is used to express the influence of organized crime on American society. Johnson discusses and analyzes the reasons behind the difficulty in suppressing organized crime through traditional methods.
Throughout the essay he discusses the influence that organized crime has ranging from entertainment such as TV, books and newspaper articles, to the economy. He states that the action of organized crime takes money away from society and law abiding citizens, thus being a detriment to society. Organized crime also participates in other illicit actions such as violent crimes and getting rid of free competition. All of these tactics are used in order to give the organizations power. Johnson believes the reason for this immunity from the law is due to the fact that these crime organizations buy politicians and enforcement agents, corrupting the system and ruining its integrity. In addition to this, Johnson points out there is a distinct structure within these organizations to make insure that the leaders are safe from any prosecution.
Johnson refers to two other main attributes which protect organized crime from any problems is the corruption throughout the American legal system as well as the façade that these organizations establish.
From these reasons it is easy to see why these organizations continue to exist. Despite the knowledge of the government, they continue to be above the law and have nothing standing in there way.
These themes were all present throughout the film, as the Corleone family held many politicians “in their pocket.” Government officials were never present in the film, as they held no authority over these families. The only form of regulation was through the interactions between the five families.
This article, written by Phoebe Poon, looks back at the overall success of The Godfather trilogy. The purpose of this article is to analyze the films as a whole as well as the way in which The Godfather established itself from other gangster films of the era.
Poon argues that although the movie is often characterized as a gangster film, it holds very key differences which set it apart from others. In the initial part of the article, she analyzes the trilogy and breaks each individual film into four sections. This pattern is repeated in all three movies and provides continuity throughout the trilogy, which in itself helps to differentiate it from other gangster films.
Poon goes on to address the issue of “family” that is found throughout the trilogy. This aspect of family helps to distinguish The Godfather from other crime films, as in most of these films; the protagonist is surrounded by hired mercenaries. However, the men working with Don Vito are trusted family members, creating a deeper and more meaningful bond between them. She goes on to state that, “the term gangster to the don would insult his style of leadership, which is vastly superior” to other gangsters.
Other important characteristics of the film helped differentiate this trilogy from other films. Poon mentions the attention to the culture of the Italians as important. Coppola does not portray the Corleones with stereotypical characteristics of Italians. Rather, he adds a degree of authenticity by accurately portraying Sicilian culture.
The differences that this essay highlights help to explain the reasons why The Godfather is critically acclaimed. The detail and depth that this film shows helps to separate it from other gangster genre films, and puts it in its own class.