When we first started the unit we talked about our favorite stories. We realized that everyone’s favorite story was something we could connect to and usually was the story of a hero. If one thinks about it, every person on the planet is a hero. To make it through life one has to be a hero. We enjoy reading stories when there is a hero because it relates directly to us. Everyone wants to see success in life, it is part of the human condition, so when Harry defeats Voldemort we are happy, when a poor boy from the slums becomes rich, we are happy.
‘The Godfather’ is an enjoyable movie because we can relate to Michael. Michael is going through trials, going to the innermost cave, and becoming a hero. However, the audience is in a tough place. Coppola has made Michael a character that one likes and wants to see succeed; however, the audience has negative feelings towards the mafia. It is controversial that a character one likes will succeed by becoming something often seen as evil.
Coppola has done an amazing job of showing the mafia as both good and evil and has left it up to the audience to decide what they think about organized crime. He has put the hero’s journey and human condition together in a way that both confuses the audience and helps us further understand the meaning of both. Part of the human condition is being accepted, is it right if the place you are accepted is a place of organized crime? is Michael good or evil? is organized crime evil? These are all questions the audience has and will hopefully be addressed later in the film.
I agree with this post. The inner "hero" inside of all of us compels us to have interest in literature, film, and works of art, that feature this same "hero's journey". Your statement of "the audience [being] in a tough place" seems to hold true; I also (initially) felt torn between liking and disliking Michael because of his growing affiliation with the mafia.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how you stated that "[Coppola] has put the hero's journey and human condition in a way that both confuses the audience and helps us further understand the meaning of both". I personally don't think Coppola is trying to confuse the audience, but I do think that by incorporating the hero's journey and opinions on the human condition so closely in The Godfather, Coppola has created an extremely entertaining movie with deep philosophical ideas hidden within it.