The following prompts concern the Godfather trilogy.
Choose one of the topic to write.
1. Godfather 1 and Godfather 2 focus on the lives of father and son. Describe and discuss the similarities and differences between both men. Are their stories about the Mafia or about succession or both? How does the question of omerta` figure into the portraits of the two men? Discuss their similarities and differences in light of omerta` and how this code of behavior constructs a very masculine genre, in terms of masculine attributes. Moreover, how do the women figure into this code of behavior? What about betrayal and loyalty? How are they represented and how do the two men differ in their response to betrayal, i.e, omerta`?

2. Discuss the question of assimilation of the Corleone enterprise. What are its pitfalls? How do Michael and Vito confront the question of assimilation? Discuss assimilation versus adherence to Sicily and to the past. Certainly, Godfather 3 is all about the desire to assimilate but what do Michael words indicate when he says “they pull me back in.”

3. Redemption is at the heart of Godfather 3. Does Michael receive any redemption for his sins, especially the sin of fratricide?

4. Discuss the filmic aspects of the trilogy. While Coppola’s camera is not as expressive as Scorsese’s , one could argue, nonetheless the camera work, the lightening, and sound all work to inflect the drama and psychology of the main characters. How does the camera fulfill these criteria of expression and help to advance the understanding of the narrative?

5. Pick one of the Godfather films and discuss its narrative in term of family, loss and power