The Symbols of Oranges

     Throughout the movie, oranges have been used as a great extent.  Due to the fact that they have been used more than once, means that the colour orange most likely has a meaning or specific purpose for being used.  Coppola seemed to use the colour orange throughout scenes that involved death. The light was usually shown before someone was killed and it was a good indication to let us know that something was going to happen.  Once we caught on to the fact that the colour orange was a symbol of death, it became easier to depict what could happen. There could be something else that the colour orange represents however, the only example which we have come across is death.

      The first time that the colour orange was used was in scene where the Don had been shot.  He was going to the super market and he had purchased oranges.  This became a sign, because every time that death occurred, there was orange colour included.  An example was with the death of Luca Brasi.  He had gone to spy the Tattaglias however they killed him because they knew he had been sent by the Corleone family.  When Luca entered the restaurant, there was an orange colour and when he encountered the Tattaglias, they killed him right away.

     There was an example which really stood out to me, when the colour orange was used.  This was during the scene where the Corleone family had planned for Michael to kill Solozzo.  The unique aspect about this scene is that the backgorund light behind Michael was orange.  It was weird because we were aware that someone was going to be killed that night; we at least knew that this was the plan from previous scenes in the movie.  This scene stood out to me because even though we already knew that someone was going to be killed in thsi part of the movie, the colour orange was still used.  In the past Coppola had only used the colour orange to indicate that death was going to take place however, it's weird because we already knew that Solozzo and McCluskey were going to be killed by Michael.

     Orange is a very interesting symbol used by Coppola to represent death as he portrays this indirectly.  Ideally, death isn't represented by the colour orange; it's represented by something of a more darker colour.  Orange is a very bright colour and seems like it would only portray good events that occur.  Maybe Coppola was trying to indirectly tell us that death was approaching the character in the scene.  He didn't want to give away anything or make anything obvious which could be one of the reasons why he used the colour orange.  By incorporating this symbol, it makes it easier to investigate into reasons why the colour orange was used.

Who is Michael Corelone...now?

     Since Michael killed Sollozo and McCluskey, he has totally changed as a person.  He seems to have gained more power and this is evident because Michael's values, beliefs and ethics are very different from what they used to be.  He was never interested in crime, but now he is and he also seemed like someone who would never do anything to hurt anyone else.  After Michael killed the two men, he left his family and ventured off to the town, Corleone.  There, he met dated and married a girl named Apollonia.  As we know, Michael is still actually in a relationship with Kay.  The last time Michael was with Kay he said, "you may never see me again."  Looking back on that scene, it was never clear whether he broke up with her or not and maybe Coppolla did this indirectly so that the audience could figure it out for themselves. In the beginning of this film, it never seemed like Michael would do anything behind Kay's back. Also, it was clear that the family business was never interesting to Michael; it never appealed to him because he wasn't okay with crime and he didn't like it.  Michael was the most kind-hearted person of the family and suddenly he has become this powerful, and different individual.  I still think he only became interested in crime to protect his father however, he continues to follow this path.

     One scene that really stood out to me when watching the Godfather was when they brought Don Corelone home from the hospital, the first words that came out of his mouth were, "where is Michael?"  When the Tom told his father where Michael was, Don began to cry.  Now, this scene was important to me because maybe the Don valued the fact that Michael was so moral and maybe he liked that Michael was different than everyone else.  However, Michael could have changed to fit in with the family and to be honored by his father.  Perhaps, Michael wanted to be more like Don as the way he acts portrays this idea.  The scene where Michael had gone to visit his father in the hospital could lead to the person he is now.  There was one key thing that Michael said that night; he said, “I’m with you now.”  When Michael said this, the Don began to cry and smile, but it’s hard to tell whether Michael was indicating that he would be there to protect his dad, or if he was going to become apart of the Mafia. 
 
    In conclusion, Michael Corleone has portrayed many characteristics which show how he could be the next Don.  His actions show and give signs that he could be the next Godfather however, he never talks about or indicates that he wants this to happen.  Though Michael did change from the person he was in the beginning of the film, maybe he did this because he knows that he is next line and maybe he knew that it was time for him to represent his family.

How are Doors symbolic throughout the movie? How do they create suspense?

     Throughout the film, there have been many scenes involving doors or doorways.  The fact that Coppola keeps incorporating doors into the film, means that there is an symbolic importance behind it.  There have been scenes in which the audience (people watching the film), are caught looking at a doorway with someone standing inside of it.  Coppola demonstrates the symbols of doors throughout this film because everything seems to be happening in a doorway; whether the action happening in the doorway is good or bad.  The doorway also seems to symbolize a new beginning to a part of life because it could represent how the person in that scene is going to venture off into a new part of their life or how they are going to go somewhere farther.  A very important example of this is how the doors could be used to show Michael entering a new part of his life. The door symbolizes Michael crossing the threshold which a new part to his life.  When you cross a threshold, it means you are attempting at something new in your life and stepping pushing away your fears.This symbolic figure shows how Michael is coming out of his comfort zone to begin something new only to protect his father. A door is an entrance but also an exist and in and inside but also an outside to something.  One could look at it this way by acknowledging the fact that when Michael is outside of the door, he is an outsider but when he is inside the door, he is more involved and apart of the family.  He stepped inside by choice only to protect his father.

     Doorways create suspense because we can see everything that’s happening in front of the camera, but nothing beyond or behind it;  it also seems that doors indicate something bad is going to happen.  Whenever a doorway is shown with someone inside with the camera angle zooming onto the character, it creates a lot of suspense as it seems almost as if someone is coming into the room.  When the camera is fixated like this, we aren’t able to see what is coming towards the character during that scene which is why it becomes suspenseful.  An example of doors creating suspense in the film was shown in the scene where Brasi was getting ready for his encounter with the Tattalgia family. The way he was being filmed seemed like something suspenseful was going to happen; like something was going to occur at that moment.  

Class Act

      The movie has suddenly become very intriguing because we have watched the Godfather get shot and Michael become apart of the Mafia.  This was interesting because it never seemed like Michael would ever become apart of the family business.  It seems like he is only working as apart of the Mafia to protect his father.

      In class, we discussed how Michael is crossing the First Threshold of the Hero’s Journey.  Michael Corleone has changed a lot since his father was almost killed, at least enough for him to become involved with crime.  As we know, he never had anything to do with the family business and now he is becoming involved and interested in crime, only to protect his father. He is stepping out of his comfort zone and starting to become apart of the Mafia.  In my opinion, the camera has been fixated on Michael a lot, almost indicating that he is either going to be the next Godfather or something exciting is going to happen to him.  We discussed how everything Michael says or does, always ends up being right whereas everything Sonny does is always wrong.  It is ironic how Sonny thinks he is going to be the next Godfather but the movie keeps hinting that Michael is next in line, even though he himself hasn’t thought about it. 

     Another aspect that we discussed in class was how much power the Godfather upholds.  Don was shot five times but he still survived.  This was really empowering because it is very unlikely for someone to survive something so harsh such as this.  In class, we related Don Corleone to Jesus because Jesus was hit five times and was supposed to die, but he did not.  It was very empowering to watch and reflect on that scene in particular because it Don Corleone is shown to be just as powerful as the Christian God.  Though, this could have been a Christ figure because it did occurr during Christmas time. 

Characterization of Michael Corleone

     Michael Corleone comes from a rich, wealthy and very important family however, none of this seems to matter to him. He is not interested in being apart of the Mafia, like his family members which is why in the movie, he appears very different and distant from his relatives.

     His girlfriend, Kay Adams is interested and fascinated about how much his family is involved with crime, but she becomes aware that Michael isn't like that.  He says to Kay, "that's my family Kay, not me."  He does everything he can, to make himself not look like a Sicilian.  For example, Michael wears an army suit, brings his girlfriend, (who isn't Sicilian), to the wedding.He seems to follow American ethics whereas his family follows the Sicilian ethics.

     By not becoming involved in the Mafia, I think Michael is being smart however it is pulling him farther away from his family unit.   He seems like the type of person who doesn't let people make decisions for him as well as he doesn't let the views of his family change his own opinions, ethics and beliefs.

     In my opinion, it seems like it is trying to be portrayed indirectly that Michael shouldn't be apart of the  Corleone family, based on the characteristics of the family. He is very interested and cares a lot about the American Law, which is something his family doesn't care for.

     Aside from this, Michael is a very well rounded person. He is very kind and a great gentlemen. He is polite, calm and smart.  He is thoughtful, sensible and kind-hearted.  In my opinion, I think Michael is the nicest person (in the film), and he portrays himself as a very well brought up individual throughout the film.  Although, just because Michael isn't like his family, doesn't mean he doesn't love them. The affection which he showed towards his father when Don was in the hospital was very deep; he showed that he loved his father very much.  Michael loves his family a lot although, he just chooses to be different then they are.

Literary Features Hunt- Contrast & Symbol

      When watching the Godfather, I became fascinated with the use of contrast.  I think that contrast really illuminates the central idea throughout the movie.  This literary feature really exemplifies how the Godfather is truly higher and more powerful than everyone else.  The lighting really represented the literary feature, contrast because it compared two how the Godfather is completely different from everyone else.  An example of contrast was in the beginning of the movie when the Godfather was sitting in his chair at the desk.  The lighting technique was so profoundly used in this scene as the power of the Godfather was clearly evident.  By this I mean that the lighting technique was used to create a halo around the Godfather.  The halo around the Godfather was the only radiance in that room as everything else was black.  In my opinion, light symbolizes purification and black symbolizes darkness.  It almost seems as if everything in the room except for the Godfather, is damaging deathly.  If you look at it this way, it's hard to understand why the Godfather would be considered good, as he is the head leader of the Mafia and why everything else is considered damaging or deathly.

     Symbolism illuminates the central idea because the Godfather is a very important person and he is symbolic to people.  Symbolism was another literary feature used as well as it connects with the literary feature, contrast.  Contrast and Symbolism connect with one another because they both show how the Godfather is more powerful than everyone else.  

Class Act

     In class, we enter into deep discussions and develop strong ideas about the Godfather. We stop throughout the movie so that we can highlight and capture the key and most important scene. However, even though this makes the movie slightly confusing to understand, it still allows us to understand more in depth as to what is going on; probably something we wouldn't understand if we were to watch the video the whole way through. This technique also helps to identify characters and the action which is taking place.

     There was an example in the movie, when the film director adjusted the lighting so that it created a halo around the Godfather. Everything else in that one scene was completely black except for the lighting around the Godfather. The lighting made the Godfather look more powerful then he already is. Also, an idea which came to mind when watching this scene was how the white represents purity and something good, whereas black represents darkness and something bad. The lighting technique made the Godfather look like he is the most powerful person in the world, which most people consider him to be.