The Godfather/Life is Beautiful response

 The story of The Godfather is really a pretty simple story when you break it down into its elements. If we watch it directly from the point of view of Micheal, it is the story of a person who lived life one way but when faced with a hardship to overcome, he must change everything about the way that he lives his life. From the perspective of Vito Corleone, it is the story of predatory sharks trying to avoid becoming prey. When you break down the story this way it does not need to be told with the image of Italian Americans but I think it does so because it works well as a story of a rising underdog. The film was released in 1972 and I would think by then much of the discrimination towards Italian immigrants that had been present in the 40's had now dwindled down immensely. The film itself takes place in that era of the past as we see an already powerful family try and survive through a changing world. A good moment in the movie that helps bring this story closer to modern America is when Michael tells Connie she is naive for believing senators and politicians don’t have people killed. I think it is a pretty common sentiment that Americans of any era believe that their government is deceiving them and shady. Seeing all the lengths that this family must go to preserve their place as the Apex Predator in the shady sea isn’t all that different from the people in charge of us.

I think the comedic approach that the movie took was the right way to go about. In the film we see a man living his life normally, he is not involved in the war at all, just a regular civilian. We see the tension building in the background with the recurring vandals who attack Guido's uncle and horse. The hidden evil is present in almost every scene in the first half. The reason that I think that this is a good approach is because it really puts the holocaust into perspective. Before it occured, the people brought into concentration camps were just living their lives, normal day to day life and all of a sudden they are pulled from their homes. We get to see the life before and the drastic shift that occurs when they are quickly pulled from their home and seperated from their family. I also believe that by being from the perspective of a child it makes the subject of the holocaust way more palateable. We still seeing horrible things, such as the scene where Guido stumbles upon the mountain of human bodies, a moment that comes off as even more shocking after the romantic moment with the music playing. The extreme contrast of the film is what adds to it's powerful delivery. If it was simply a movie where we see horror after horror I don't think it would have as much relevance in the mainstream because most people cannot get through a film that is only about human atrocity.