In The Godfather
there are a couple of signature quotes, things that are repeated throughout the
movie that get the different themes and points across. We often hear members of
the Corleone family saying, “It’s business, not personal,” which is one of the
biggest sayings in the movie. This quote is repeated numerous times during the
movie and makes up a big part of the plot line in The Godfather. From the very beginning we hear this line and it
sets the stage foreshadowing events that are to come. It is like a motto for
the Corleone family and for the rest of organized crime during this time, but
is it really true?
The fact that their business is a “family
business” shows that it is personal and not just about work. When it comes to
family and someone hurting the people that you love it is hard to keep things separate
and in a different sphere of life. When family is involved in business it will
turn personal, it is hard to keep emotions out of your judgment and we see this
a couple times during the movie.
The very first scene opens up
showing the Corleone family’s two different worlds, and as much as they say
that it is just about business and not personal, their two worlds collide and
interact in many different ways. In this first scene at Don Corleone’s daughter
Connie’s wedding his business partners are part of the celebration and are at
the wedding. This shows that their business relations are more than just business,
they are personal and both lives do interact. They are doing business during
the wedding with the different guests. Their whole life revolves around the
business.
If someone messes with the Corleone’s in their
personal lives they will fix it by using their business and resources they have
from their business endeavors. We see this when Sonny hurts Connie’s husband
Carlo and when Michael kills Carlo near the end of the movie. Sonny roughs up
Carlo after he finds bruises on Connie and even though this is a personal
matter he uses his business ways to hurt him and to get his point across. Business
affects their personal lives much more when Michael kills Carlo. Even though he
kills him because Carlo told things that he shouldn’t have told about a business
related matter it hurts Michael’s family and personal life. Connie, Michael’s
sister, is devastated when she learns that her own brother killed her husband.
When they react in the business world they don’t think about how it will impact
their personal lives. Just because they say it is not personal doesn’t mean it’s
really not. This act was personal because they were killing someone who had
married into their family, someone who his sister loved deeply.
Their business is separate from
their personal lives, or so they say. Multiple times in the movie we see things
that are happening in their personal lives end up in the hands of their lives
as businessmen such as events at Connie’s wedding and with Carlos’s death. Is
it really, “business, not personal,” or do emotions and business interfere?
-Lauren Trame
I completely agree with you that the quote "It's business, not personal" is a huge landmark motto for this movie. We hear it being said numerous times throughout the film but I agree with you that it seems to be the furthest thing from the truth. The Corleones entire life does revolve around their business, but even more then that, their family. Anytime we see someone in the family hurt or not getting their way about something the connections that have been made through the business are used to change that. Another great example of this apart from the ones you've given is Johnny Fontane. When he was rising to fame and couldn't get out of his contract with his bandleader at the time, Don Corleone and Luca Brasi made him "an offer he couldn't refuse" which basically meant to let him out of the contract or die. We see Fontane being helped out again when he wants the part in a big movie. The Godfather made sure this matter was taken care of. So I completely agree with you, it seems that with this family, business is always personal.
ReplyDelete-C
Lauren, to take your example about Carlo slightly further, I think it's important to point out what Michael says to him before he leaves the house, that his punishment is that he's out of the family business. This is a good example of what happens when the personal relationships begin to encroach upon the business relationships. The whole movie is a struggle to tame the two and to try and keep them separate. Or else you end up with full scale war.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the instance in the movie, the crux of the story, where Michael decides that he'll be the one to kill Salazzo and Capt. McClusky? He justifies it by saying that "it's just business, not personal". It seems to me that it's kind of an ironic statement in that case because we know it's not just about the business aspect of it. It seems likely that Michael is fueled by anger at the level of corruption, after being punched out by the captain, and also the danger that his father was in. So it's more than evident that it is personal, but it also impacts the business. I think you're right on to point out the entanglement of personal and business relationships.
This is a very interesting point to bring up, and I agree that although the Corleone family stresses that nothing is personal, it is obvious that some decisions are not strictly business. To go along with those examples, another one is when Johnny Fontaine approaches his Godfather on his daughter’s wedding day. Johnny is so sad he did not get the part of a movie, so he goes to the Godfather to help him get this role. Don Corleone sends Tom to Hollywood that night to approach the director, and when the director refuses, they give him an offer he can’t refuse. Do you think that Vito would have went to such great heights if it were just business? This incident is more than business, it is personal because Vito wants what is best for his godson.
ReplyDeleteAnother example is when Michael kills Sollozzo and McCluskey for revenge for his father. Before the plan goes on, all know what kind of effects this will have on the business, but they do not care. All they want is justice for the father, completely personal. When Michael kills them, he knows the war that will begin because of it between the five families, but to them it is worth it because of their personal feelings about their father. In this movie, “It’s not personal, it’s business,” is a slippery slope that most do not truly know how to keep separate. Even Vito stresses this to his sons because he knows what can happen if you do. This movie poses the question of it is truly possible to do so.