The Godfather directed by Francis Ford Coppola is greatly patriarchal. A patriarchy is a system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it. The Godfather contains a patriarchal system in which the men control and manipulate power while disregarding women in the family system.
The dominating figure throughout the movie is Don Vito Corleone. Everyone in the family abides by his rules and does whatever he says because of his position. Don is the “Godfather” so he is charge of running the family’s whole mafia operation. This is not the only place where men are the dominating figures. In both public and private life, men are the ones who make decisions and judgements.
The Corleone family also follows a patrilineal family system. This means that if the head of the family dies, for example Don Vito Corleone, the oldest son inherits the property and title from him. We are shown this in the movie when Don Vito Corleone gets sick, Sonny is the one that calls the shots. When Sonny gets killed, Micheal then takes over. This passing down of power will only be held by the men in the family.
The cause for this system of patriarchy comes from the costumes and values of the mafia lifestyle. In the mafia, men are always in competition with each other often putting them in positions where they are promoting masculinity. Men in the mafia perform their masculinity in violent ways, while women are excluded. Men in the mafia are always in competition with each other which leads to an endless amount of violence. Since the mafia is a family run system, from a young age boys whiteness this violence. They witness crimes, beating, murders which teaches them the necessity of toughness to survive in the world in which they live. As they grow up into adults they use this violence as a way to get what they want. For Example, Tom Hagen tries to get Jonny Fontane a lead part in an upcoming movie. The director rejects Tom’s request, so Tom beheads the horse and places it in the directors bed. Many acts of violence like this are reoccurring throughout the movie.
Patriarchy excludes women controlling their mobility, sexuality and reproduction. This system of power creates and maintains boundaries on women’s bodies, sexuality, and reproductive choices. Mostly shown through sexuality and marriage. Because of the patriarchy, the women in this movie experience violence and are dependent on all men. There are many instances in the movie in which wives, sisters or girlfriends of the Corleon’s fall victim to violence. This violence occurs in both the home and in public life.
All the women in the movie are economically dependent on the men, since they don’t have jobs on their own. This conributes to the theme of women in the family taking on gender stereotypes. For example, staying home with the kids, preparing the meals and taking care of the house. Women don’t get a lot of screen time or important parts in the movie, but when they are shown, they are always operating in sole purpose for the men. Their roles are to stay in the house which makes them dependent on the men. This creates a cycle of oppression that is present in this lifestyle. Therefore, in The Godfather women are suppressed to roles influenced by the patriarchy while in the same system, men control power.
Sources
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Radcliffe-Brown, A. R. “The Study of Kinship Systems.” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 71, no. 1/2, 1941, pp. 1–18.
Cavallero, Jonathan J. “Gangsters, Fessos, Tricksters, and Sopranos: The Historical Roots of Italian American Stereotype Anxiety.” Journal of Popular Film & Television, vol 32, no 2, 2004, pp. 50-63.
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Haskell, Molly. “World of ‘The Godfather’: No Place for Women.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 22 Mar. 1997. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.
Longrigg, Clare. No Questions Asked: The Secret Life of Women in the Mob. New York: Hyperion, 2004. Print.
The Godfather 