"Godfather" Christmas

It’s almost Christmas, and I should write about something for the Holiday Season. Somehow though, I feel like bucking the system, and not doing that this year. Speaking of traditions gone awry, a cable t.v. station is running all three “Godfather” movies on Christmas day. A mafia feast for the holidays. I thought that was an interesting choice of films...and it inspired me this week. Personally, I liked “The Godfather,” and I’ve become a huge fan of “The Sopranos.” This got me to thinking about the mafia/gangster genre, and its popularity in mainstream America. So, this week, instead of covering “A Christmas Carol,” or “The Gift of the Magi,” I’m taking a look at the book, “The Godfather, “ by Mario Puzo.

Mario Puzo was born in 1920 in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan’s West side. He attended Columbia University, and released his most famous novel, “The Godfather” in 1969. It spent 67 weeks on the New York Times best sellers list, and went on to spawn two sequels and 3 movies, all of which Puzo wrote himself. He received two academy awards for best screenplay, and the films themselves received numerous other Oscars, including Best Picture wins for “The Godfather” and “The Godfather II.” Whether you enjoy mob movies or not, you have to admit, that was quite an achievement.

“The Godfather,” introduced us to an entirely new genre of fiction writing. This was not like the comic book heroes of the 1920's, where J. Edgar Hoover’s G-Men hunted down Al Capone and other bad guys. This book was for the adults, and it rung true for a lot of people. For those who had no real knowledge of the mob, this gave them a distant inside view of what a crime family must really be like. This book was an instant success because of its grit, and its honest depiction of life on the streets. It introduced characters in every level of the family, and the people they worked with, killed for, and plotted against. The Don was one who gave his friendship, which nobody dared to refuse, and in return he could call on his “friend” for a favor at any time. If this person didn’t hold up their end of the bargain, things got ugly.

The public has always liked, in some way or another, to see the dark side of things. Whether it is a story about good and evil, or a newspaper article about a terrible crime, there is an inherent curiosity in people to know about what is bad. This same concept helped make “The Godfather,”