Corruption and the American Dream in Coppola's The Godfather

The American Dream, the promise of freedom, prosperity and happiness through hard work, the romanticized ideology of capitalism sold to the working class, and the unseen force behind many of the actions of characters actions in Coppola’s The Godfather Part I. Even at the very start of the movie, we are introduced to this notion of the desire to do absolutely anything it takes in order to manifest this idea. Small details in the setting, for example the time period (post-WWII) in which the story occurs, as well as characters like Captain McCluskey, help reinforce the symbolic relationship between the story and the corruption of the American Dream.

The nature of the characters in the film almost acts a foil for the concept of the American Dream and how it has been corrupted by the realities of life in America’s working class. In the film, the power held by Don Corleone both mimics and contrasts the ideal of the American Dream; through hard work and the determination to do whatever it took, Don Corleone rose up from the streets of New York to become a rich and powerful mafia boss, but only achieved this by defying the law. This kind of play on the blurring of the lines of what is good and what is evil appears all throughout the film, in not only the plot and characterization, but down to simple and easily-overlooked details like the use sound and light to effectively illuminate or obscure the viewers’ perceptions.