Movies: The Godfather and Obama

Entertainment Weekly reports that Barack Obama’s favorite movies are The Godfather, Parts 1 and 2 (about Godfather 3 he says “not so much”). The significance of that shouldn’t be lost.

Of course, The Godfather is now a near-consensus pick as the great American movie. So the odds are pretty good that anyone would choose it as a favorite. But there’s more to it than that.

The themes of The Godfather movies are power and leadership, honor and justice, place and family. This, famously, is how the saga begins:

It is the home of Vito Corleone, the Don, on the day of his daughter’s wedding. Bonasera is a guest, and he addresses Don Corleone with what begins as an endorsement of the America dream and family values:

I believe in America. America has made my fortune. And I raised my daughter in the American fashion. I gave her freedom, but — I taught her never to dishonor her family.

It turns out this was not good enough. Bonasera has come to ask the powerful man for help. Bonasera’s daughter has been badly beaten by her boyfriend, but at trial the man received only a suspended sentence. Bonasera asks the Don to help avenge this unpunished crime, to kill the boyfriend.

Don Corleone then explains the nature of justice, the strict rules of honor and respect, and the importance of friendship and family:

Vito Corleone: We’ve known each other many years, but this is the first time you came to me for counsel, for help. I can’t remember the last time that you invited me to your house for a cup of coffee, even though my wife is godmother to your only child. But let’s be frank here: you never wanted my friendship. And you were afraid to be in my debt.

You found paradise in America, had a good trade, made a good living. The police protected you; and there were courts of law. And you didn’t need a friend of me. But now you come to me and you say “Don Corleone give me justice.” But you don’t ask with respect. You don’t offer friendship. You don’t even think to call me Godfather. Instead, you come into my house on the day my daughter is to be married, and you ask me to do murder, for money. That is not justice; your daughter is still alive.

Bonaserra: Then they can suffer, as she suffers. How much shall I pay you?

Vito Corleone: What have I ever done to make you treat me so disrespectfully? Had you come to me in friendship, then this scum that ruined your daughter would be suffering this very day. And that by chance if an honest man such as yourself should make enemies, then they would become my enemies. And then they would fear you.

Bonasera: Be my friend (bows and kisses his hand) Godfather?

Vito Corleone: Good. Some day, and that day may never come, I’ll call upon you to do a service for me. But until that day — accept this justice as a gift on my daughter’s wedding day.

When we watch the films, here are a couple of things we can ask about The Godfather’s most powerful fan in the world:

What characteristics of the two Dons (Vito and Michael) might Obama relate to?

This is the story of smart men who wield power quietly, temperately, even privately. Bombast and braggadocio are not their way (unlike Sonny, the older son, short-tempered, less smart, almost a Wild West character itching for a fight). It is Michael, however, who sees that in a brutal new world, his father’s temperance might be taken for weakness, and so he walks the line between his father’s values and his own disciplined toughness.

Both Vito and Michael reflect leaders whose lives straddle two worlds. Vito crosses the ocean from the Old World to the New. Michael crosses the generations from his father’s America to post-World War II America and beyond. But all along, there are two parallel senses of place. Where they both came from is branded in their name, Corleone, the ancestral homeland. Yet the are both loyal Americans. The struggle to resolve these conflicts is central to The Godfather.

What aspects of the story tell Obama and us something about how other powerful people operate, whether we agree with them or not?

The opening scene of The Godfather tells us about the code of honor and respect in operation, admittedly often not for the good. Yes, of course, honor among thieves and killers still results in theft and murder. But in The Godfather, when honor breaks down among the lawless or the lawful, little remains to hold back chaos and individual agendas, and things fall apart.

Throughout his campaign, and from the Inaugural Address to having the very first Presidential press interview with Al Aribiyah, Obama has placed honor and respect high on his list of values, especially internationally. He recognizes that not all men or countries are honorable, but to assume that those with whom we disagree are by definition dishonorable is a road to nowhere. People of all stripes crave respect, and recognize, whether willing to admit it or not, that it must be earned. Offering honor and respect, and expecting that in return, doesn’t mean weakness or a lack of will. On the contrary, it means that when the time comes to act, we do so in support of maintaining our highest values and order. “Unclench your fist,” Obama said, “and we will shake your hand.”

Political Media: Vito Corleone vs. Sun Tzu

When we look back on what we learned from our high school teachers, it is a mixed bag. Some gave us gifts we’ve carried through all our lives, others took up space and time that might have been better spent.

I had an English teacher, Miss Arena, who, looking back now, must have really loved the language. One day she handed out a copy of an article making fun of all the sports cliches that broadcasters used. I don’t have the article (though I’m sure there are thousands of such items online), but her point stuck with me: if you’re trying to communicate, don’t let this happen to you.

We are now in the midst of the most intensive political/Presidental reporting in the history of the world. And if you watch even a small portion of it, you have seen how quickly a clever idea or turn of phrase can evolve into a cliche and then a joke (see, for example, how fundits like Jon Stewart ridicule this process).

The latest has been the brouhaha surrounding the formation of the Obama cabinet. Historian and commentator Doris Kearns Goodwin wrote a book about the Lincoln cabinet, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, recalling how that President surrounded himself with his former political opponents.

Applying the “team of rivals” concept proved irresistible to the political media, given the Obama-Lincoln connection, and it has now been beaten to death. Even Doris Kearns Goodwin, despite the welcome PR for her bestselling book, is probably tired of it.

So now a related quote has been added to the media mix: Keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Separate from questions of just how much sense this bit of wisdom actually makes, one of the new games is to discover just where this vaguely familiar proverb comes from. There are three major candidates, of various likelihood:

The Bible (possibly Jesus)
Sun Tzu’s The Art of War
The Godfather movies (specifically The Godfather 2)

Google was created for just such moments as this. There is no definitive consensus out there in the information democracy/anarchy. While Sun Tzu seemed to have the edge for a while, The Godfather now appears to be winning (Jesus was oft-mentioned, but was never a serious contender).

My point, though, is not to perpetuate the cliche, but to broaden and deepen the pool. I turned to one of my many trusty reference books, The Dictionary of American Proverbs, to see what other wisdom might be doled out to viewers on the subject. The Dictionary is based on recordings of proverbs that Americans have actually been heard to utter.

(Note to pundits: In your search for variety in relevant sayings, you might want to check out – or have your researchers check out – a good Bible concordance, which indexes every subject covered in the book of books. And if all else fails, well, just attribute anything you hear to Benjamin Franklin, who in his guise as Poor Richard seems to have said virtually every pithy morsel of wisdom worth saying. None of which, however, ever got him to the Presidency.)

Herewith a few gems about enemies, including the American state in which the researchers heard the proverb. See if any of these apply to the Obama cabinet. And if you happen to be from one of the proverbially wise states, please consider that a point of pride:

Better a certain enemy than a doubtful friend. (recorded in Utah)

Beware of enemies reconciled and meat twice boiled. (Michigan, also Benjamin Franklin)

Don’t believe your enemy even when he’s telling the truth. (Illinois)

Love your enemy—but don’t put a gun in his hand. (Illinois, again) (Note: Unless, of course, the gun isn’t loaded. See, for example, the movie Die Hard.)

Never underestimate an enemy. (Florida, Kansas)

Once an enemy, always an enemy. (New York)

Final note: The Dictionary includes 195 proverbs in the category “Friend”, but only 36 under “Enemy”. That’s a fitting and happy balance in real life, but I’ll leave the analysis of what it means to wiser heads than mine.