The Scarlet Woman and its Connection with "The Godfather."

"... And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. (4) The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immortality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: "Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and earth's abominations." And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." (Revelation 17:3-6 ESV)

There are many ideas and concepts of human intellect and human life that the "Scarlet Woman" can represent. A few of my ideas include:
The "Scarlet Woman" is a symbolic representation of human lust, corruption and greed. She symbolizes all the "impurities" of mankind, that generally go against the Ten Amendments all Christians and Catholics must follow. Of course, women, having virtually no power at all, were known to easily trap the strongest and bravest of men in their "cages," and keep control over them. People used to believe that women got in the way of the deeds and tasks of men, and were a mere distraction from the "correct path." These two concepts put together can form a single concept of misguided humans. This passage from the Bible perhaps represents the destructive consequences of violence, lust, greed, and corruption; it strongly encourages humans -specifically men, being written in the point-of-view of a man in his Spirit form- to stay away from objects, ideas, and people that could stray them from their ultimate motives and goals in life.

I think this concept ties in well with "The Godfather." For one, Michael's girlfriend (and second wife) Kay Adams, and his first wife Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone, are first introduced in the film in outfits of red, purple, or orange. Their outfits alone are the key metaphors to the idea of a "Scarlet Woman." I think that Kay Adams and later on, Apollonia, are perfect examples of "Scarlet Women" as they get in the way, and ultimately become Michael's weaknesses. As the passage indirectly states that the "Scarlet Woman" weakens even the strongest men (And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.) Throughout the film, the audience is able to see that Michael is torn between his duties as a son, and his responsibilities of a good boyfriend and husband. This is definitely something that I will look into throughout the rest of the film, as it helps the audience understand what Michael is really going through, and how he deals with the dilemmas of wife vs. family.

The Mysterious Motif: Doors

        When hearing, reading, or seeing the word "doors," the first thought of a passageway from one place to another comes in mind. However, doors do not only let us travel from one place to another, but further, symbolize different ideas that make up much of human life.
        The double entendre in the words "front door" and "back door" is really played around with in the film "The Godfather." It is already clear to the audience that the business of the Godfather and his mafia is associated heavily with secrets, crime, and murder. However, when one relates this to real life, they would be able to see a connection between what mafias do out in the open, and in secret. Obviously, mafias do not kill off other people, and sell drugs in public. Whatever members of mafias do are in secret. All their plotting, all their deals, all their trade are done in private. This is known as "back door dealing." So, the deals of criminals are already being connected to doors through this idiom. This helps the audience understand a concept like so, and place it into real-life situations. There is always some back door trading going on somewhere at some time.  Whether it is the trading of adolescent gossip, money, information passed through government officials from opposing parties, or murder plots, somewhere, there is always a flow of secrets going on, in which only two parties know about.
        I find this very interesting because, indeed, much of the happenings going on in the world are kept from the general public. Secret groups and cults continue to form, secret information of countries are continuing to circulate, and back door deals of weapons, information, and natural resources are continuing to be made without the knowledge of the public. This proves that what human beings in general see in front of their eyes may not necessarily be what they think, as anything and everything could be for show.
     

Literary Features Hunt in "The Godfather"

        "The Godfather" is a film that has been directed with the use of many different literary, or in a film's case, "filmic" devices. This is a film that audiences of every age, background, and gender can watch various times throughout their lives, and pick up different symbols and ideas from every time they watch it.
        The directing style of Francis Ford Coppola is very different from the styles of movie directors today. For one, Francis Ford Coppola is able to characterize the characters of the story in a very realistic manner; I personally find that I am able to relate to each character in the film. This helps me feel compassionate with many of the characters as well.

        One character that I found exceptionally characterized was the Godfather himself, Vito Corleone. Don Corleone has been done up and set differently from the rest of the characters. A few ways he has been differentiated include through speech, appearance, and body language. His character has been created on screen to portray a very powerful presence. There are many points that back up this statement. For one, the mere action stroking a kitten in the very first scene seems to bring about a fear within the audience. As one looks around at the scene where Bonascera demands justice for his daughter, they'd be able to see that the Don is in the center of the tensed room. Everyone and everything revolves around him. The word of the Don is never questioned, and he's never looked in the eye by anyone in the room. All these facts add to the impression of exactly how much power the Don possesses.
        The body language Don Corleone uses is key evidence of the amount of power the Don has. He walks around very calmly and collectively. He always has a very deep, insightful look in his eyes, and the rest of his facial features are not only sharp, but seem to be pulled into an expression which seems relaxed. However, to even further the understanding of the amount of power the Don has, one should lastly think about the words that come out of his lips.
        The Don talks in a very diplomatic manner. He is never straight to the point with what he says. In one way or another, he manipulates the people that come to him for help, and gets what he wants from them (in Bonascera's case, friendship, and an on-call favour in return.) However, starting off, the audience notices Don Corleone's hoarse, quiet voice. That barely audible voice literally cuts the audience, as viewers take in just how impressive and intimidating a man must be if his quiet voice is enough to scare off even the bravest of men.

         The film "The Godfather" portrays many different characterizations for many different characters throughout the very first scenes of the film. Viewers really get to see characters, judge them, and understand them from only ten to fifteen minutes of footage. However, the characterization of Don Corleone specifically intrigues me, and there is a lot more I wish to see, to further analyze his character.