The book Beyond the Godfather: Italian American Writers on the Real Italian American Experience, is a collection of essays written by writers of Italian descent. The book is in response to the wide popularity of The Godfather. The popularity of this book and movie has overshadowed the culture of Italians. As a result, these essays were compiled in order to give an overview of the styles of writing of the Italian Americans.

There are three main sections of the book: Memories and Memoirs, Italian American Literature and Identity Politics. Memories and Memoirs are full of anecdotes from Italian American everyday lives. In Louise DeSalvo’s story, “Finding My Way,” he discusses his education experience growing up. From this essay, it is apparent the importance of family as well as education in the life of this Italian American. The Italian American Literature section mainly discussed the different types of styles of writing. This is used to show the diversity in terms of its culture. Lastly, Identity Politics discusses the role that Italian Americans have in the United States. In the essay, “Italian Americans and American Politics,” Michael Barone discusses the influential role of Italians in the U.S. government, and the prominent figures, such as Fiorello LaGuardia, that were present in society.

The purpose of this book was to respond to the stereotypes of Italian Americans that was created by The Godfather. Although Mafia is an aspect of Italian Americans, the book highlights other aspects of their culture. Most notably, it shows the power that Italian Americans have in America. However, this power is through respectable positions in government and not through illegal ways. In addition to this, the importance of family is evident through the essays written, which is mirrored in the movie.

Velikonja, Joseph.  "Italian Immigrants in the United States in the Mid-Sixties." International Migration Review: Vol. 1, No. 3, Special Issue: The Italian Experience in Emigration, p. 25-37.

This article by Dr. Joseph Velkonja discusses the history of Italian Immigration with a focus on the mid-sixties.  The article points out that the immigration and expansion of Italians in America increased exponentially due to the new Immigration act of the mid 1960s.  Prior to this, not many new immigrants were allowed into the country, which kept the amount of Italians in America at a small level.  Between the years of 1952 to 1965, the annual quota allowed for Italian Immigrants was 5,666, however these immigration laws were lifted, and an exponential increase of Italians entered the United States followed.

In addition to immigration, this article discusses Italian American’s expansion across the United States.  Much of the expansion was related to economic reasons.  Although many Italian Americans stayed on the eastern seaboard, others relocated to the Midwest and the West coast in cities such as Chicago, St. Louis and Los Angeles.  It is also shown that there was a greater number of second generation Italian Americans who expanded westward.

Much of these things directly relate to the plot of the movie.  The small number of Italians allowed into the country allowed for these citizens to create families and create a basis of power and influence on these Italian neighborhoods.  In addition, at the end of the movie, the Corleone family decides to move to Las Vegas due to the economic potential that the city and casinos possess.  Finally, Michael Corleone is second generation Italian American, thus this migration mimics the trend that this article’s statistics show.

The plot of the movie is a reflection of society during the post war era.  This correlation leads to a realistic plotline and helps one understand the overall state of society.

Smith Jr., Dwight C.  "Mafia:  The Prototypical Alien Conspiracy." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science: Vol. 423, Crime and Justice in America: 1776-1976, p. 75-88.

 

    The article, “Mafia:  The Prototypical Alien Conspiracy,” written by Dwight C. Smith Jr. discusses the role that the “Mafia” has played in American society, and the ways in which America has tried to deal with this issue.  The term “Mafia” became popularized before the 19^th century, when people began to develop conspiracy theories against Sicilians.  Stemming from the Hennessey murder case in New Orleans, a stigma was developed against the Sicilian population of the town.  Although there was no real proof of mob ties, these Mafia rumors lived on which led to support and implementation of immigration laws. 
    During the post World War II era, the “Mafia” legend was revived.  Beginning with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, rumors persisted about the Mafia and immigrants.  These rumors reached its pinnacle when the President’s Crime Commission agreed with the concept of a Mafia conspiracy.  Smith Jr. writes that the reason behind the creation of this “Mafia” myth is to explain the failure of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics to eliminate the existence of narcotics in America.  By using the “Mafia” as a scapegoat for their failures, the Bureau popularized this idea.  Whether or not it actually existed is debatable, but it led to changes in society.

    From the popularization of the “Mafia,” those in entertainment began to capitalize on it by selling it as a product to the public.  Mario Puzo wrote the book, The Godfather, which focused on the world that America was so worried about. 
    This article gives background into the reasoning behind the making of the movie, The Godfather, as well as providing explanation of the content of the movie.  The movie is a period film, set post World War II, which as the article has shown was the era in which the “Mafia” conspiracy was being revived.  In the movie, the reason that the five families began to fight was due to introduction of narcotics.  At this time, drugs were a big problem in America, thus showing parallels between the period of the movie and societal problems.  Also, Paramount capitalized on the publicity that the “Mafia” genre was receiving by producing Mario Puzo’s book.  This led to The Godfather becoming one of the most successful movies of all time.