Reflection: 'The Godfather' turns 50, showcases Italian immigrant experience in unlikely ways

Fifty years after “The Godfather: Part I” was released, it remains a classic, revered by movie critics and casual viewers alike. For some, it’s the cinematography that makes the movie a must-watch. For others, it’s the spectacular performances from actors, such as Al Pacino, that made their names on the success of the film series.

For me, watching “The Godfather” evokes a different experience, one where I see my own family on the screen. The film highlights the immigrant experience in America and draws on values I was raised with. 

“The Godfather” is credited with highlighting Italian culture in cinema but not necessarily in a good way. Some critics condemn the movie because while it does focus on Italian families, it reinforces the stereotype that Italians are all connected to the mob and perpetuates negative portrayals.

A 2015 film study conducted by the Italic Institute of America found that out of the 1,512 Italian-focused films released from 1914 and 2014 that were analyzed, 34.9 percent of them portrayed Italians as mobsters and 33.6 percent portrayed them as bad people.

Of the mobster-focused films (528 films), 81.4 percent were released after “The Godfather” in 1972 and 86.9 percent focused on fake mobsters who were based in fiction and drew on “generic, evil stereotypes with no basis in reality,” according to the study’s researchers. 

While I agree that the film draws on negative and dramatized stereotypes of Italians, I also can’t help but find some truth in what’s on-screen when I see my own family in the characters.

“The Godfather” focuses on the Corleone family, who makes their living in the “olive oil business.” The head of the family, Vito Corleone, immigrated to the U.S. from Italy, determined to survive and build a better life for himself. Marlon Brando plays Vito Corleone, simultaneously a ruthless mobster and charismatic head of the family.

In many ways, Corleone embodies the characteristics of my late paternal grandfather, who immigrated to the U.S. and opened a barbershop in New York City to support his family. My grandfather and Vito were both staunch heads of the family who would go to great lengths to support and ensure the future of their lineage.

For Corleone, that meant dealing with some unsavory characters, straddling the line of morality and working against and above the law. For my grandfather, that meant moving his wife and two young kids across the Atlantic Ocean to a place where he didn’t speak the language and lacked a support system. Both took tremendous amounts of nerve and were based on the drive to survive.

Family is a central theme in “The Godfather” — and it’s been a main theme in my Italian upbringing. My grandfather’s decisions ultimately revolved around creating a better life for his family, and Corleone’s decisions are in the pursuit of protecting his family and ensuring their survival.

In “The Godfather,” there are two types of family: blood and constructed. Corleone created an extended family for himself out of the associates he made and the people he did business with.

Not only is his constructed family held in similar regard to his blood family but they’re also often intertwined. His sons are involved in the family business and mingle with the constructed family as relatives and close confidants. The added family members are also invited to important family events and part of celebratory affairs. 

While I can’t say that everyone we meet receives an invite to a family wedding, the idea of everyone being part of the family finds a foothold in my own life. Everyone is welcome at the dinner table and treated as part of the clan, even if we’re newly acquainted.

It’s not an oddity that old or new friends will join family dinners or that my aunt and uncle will adopt people into the family, doling out food by the container full and offering invitations for the next event.  

Ultimately, “The Godfather” is a dramatized tale that reinforces damaging stereotypes about Italians. But it also shines a light on the immigrant experience and portrays complicated characters in which people, such as myself, can see their own family. Fifty years after its release, it continues to pique people’s interest by leaning into the Italian mobster stereotype to create a movie series that stands the test of time.