Challenger

Everyone has a favorite movie, whether it be because it made them laugh, or reminded them of something that once happened in their own life, or because it gave them hope. The Godfather is not just my favorite movie because it has a great plot, great characters, has Al Pacino in it, and is about the Mafia, which is a fascinating subject. The Godfather teaches real life lessons that everyone should live by, inspite of some violence and bad language.

We have the motto “Always an Eagle Family.” A lot of students think this is stupid, but I think it’s great. The Godfather focuses a lot on family. Family is a sacred thing that symbolizes a place of belonging, and acceptance. When you are a part of a family, you should always remember that you are a part of something great. Don Vito stresses the importance of family when he tells his Godson “A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.” No matter how busy you become, you should always spend time with your family and the people you love, because you never know when you’ll need them. You can count on your family for anything. Another thing is that you should never take sides against your family. Carlo learns this lesson for himself in the movie, unfortunately just a little bit too late.

Another lesson from The Godfather is that you can’t take everything personal. Time and time again Tom Hagan tells Sonny “It’s Business! It’s not personal!” Though we may be mere students, this is one lesson we should definitely take to heart. When a teacher gets onto a student for acting up, so many times they take it personally. They get all offended and try to act like they have done nothing wrong. What they really need to do is just apologize and shut up. It would make things a lot easier if people did that. We should also remember this whenever authority figures try to give us constructive criticism. I myself sometimes take things personally when someone tries to tell me something that I need to improve on. But then I am reminded of what Tom Hagan says, and realize that they are just trying to help me. It’s not anything negative towards me personally.

The most important lesson I will leave you with it the importance of a small favor. This is basically how Don Vito gains his friends, power, and respect. The movie opens up on the day of his daughter’s wedding, and we learn that no Sicilian can refuse any request on the day of their daughter’s wedding. People go to him because they know he will help them. When he agrees to help them, he tells them that a day will come when he will call upon them to do him a service. An example of putting this into play happens everyday in the school parking lot. We all have to wait for somebody to let us out. I always try to let atleast one person out, and it never fails that anyother day when I am waiting on someone to let me out, one of the people I let out will come along and repay the favor.
Don Vito does not only grant people favors, he also goes to other people when he needs something done. A very important concept that goes along with this, is that once the first favor is refused, he will never ask that same person for another favor. Of course if you were dealing with someone as powerful as Don Vito who could have you killed in a two seconds, you would not want to refuse a favor, but we can apply this to real life. Whenever I need out of the parking lot, and one of those people that I have done a favor for doesn’t let me out, then I make sure to never let them out again. It’s a very efficient system.

There are so many lessons this movie has taught me. The Godfather is not just a movie, it’s a classic movie. It’s not just a picture of the Mafia, it’s and embodiment of it. It’s almost like an educational video. It can serve as a code of conduct, without doing the violent things that they do. I’m not telling you to go out and slash the tires of any person who does not let you out of the parking lot. Be Reasonable. If you have seen the movie, then you should read the book. You can never stop learning from Don Vito. If you have not seen The Godfather I just feel sorry for you. I can’t tell you how great this movie is. You can’t not like this movie. If you are one of those unfortunate souls who have not seen this movie, go buy it, and learn all that you can. You’ve got nothing to lose.