Note: there is a little more writing expected from this Blogpost, but we're down the homestretch and there's a lot of meat on the table at this point. We want to make this last week together count. There's a very strong chance we might make this one Post count as two Posts in grading given expectations because of the particular strength that you all have shown together as a class.
It's now time to put the four films we've viewed in the same conversation. Compare and contrast how you believe Traffic presents some of the same themes we've been talking about in critiquing the previous three films. CHOOSE TWO OTHER FILMS (The Godfather, Ride with the Devil, and Dead Presidents are the three to choose from, of course.) Argue how the two films you've chosen AND Traffic deal similarly or differently with the following concepts: 1) the options individuals, especially some major characters, face in their circumstances, 2) the role of the law and the American government, and 3) community.
Please respond thoughtfully and thoroughly.
Here are the imdb links to the films if you need them for help with characters, etc.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068646/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134154/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112819/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181865/
In The Godfather, Ride with the Devil and Traffic, choices play a very large role in the progression of the story. The main character’s decision at separate moments dictates how the story will end. For example, in Ride with the Devil, Jake chooses to become part of a militant uprising group, the bushwhackers. The story may have been much different if Jake had first decided to settle down or join the confederate army. Another decision Jake made was to be open and become friends with Holt. At first Jake was hostile and was racist towards Holt, but the two became friends. Decisions in the Godfather and Traffic played out similarly. What would have happened to the Corleone family if Michael had pursued a career as a politician? What would have happened if Helena hadn’t ordered an assassin to kill Eduardo? Each movie was influenced greatly by the main character’s choices.
ReplyDeleteThe role of Law and American government, however, shows lots of variation between the two films. In Ride with the Devil, the American government was portrayed as aggressive, ruthless, militants who were imposing their beliefs on southerners. The government was “the bad guys” even though they had a good cause. We were given the perspective of the Southerners, letting us get to know them and begin to root for them. Similarly, the law and government were seen as the bad guys in Godfather as well. The movie made the Corleone family look like an innocent family trying to protect itself. Traffic on the other hand portrayed the law and the law enforcement in two different ways. In America, they portrayed the law enforcement to be good and righteous; fighting for the population’s safety. In Mexico, with the exception of Javier and Manolo, law enforcement was portrayed as criminal.
The aspect of Community remained pretty uniform throughout the three movies. I believe that in all of the movies the main character mad decisions based on what was best for their community. For example, Michael acted the way he did because he wanted to protect his community (family and friends). Jake and all of the other Bushwhackers wanted to fight the northerners for their community and their community’s ideals. In Traffic, community was less apparent, in my opinion. The only time community came into play was when Helena wanted to free Carlos, despite his crimes to keep her small inner community alive.
The Godfather, Ride with the Devil and Traffic all start with choice. In The Godfather, Michael Corleone does not have to choose to be a part of the mafia side of his family, In Ride with the Devil, Jake Roedel does not have to choose to join the bushwackers and finally, in Traffic, Helena does not have to choose to join the drug business to protect her husband. All of these movies started with a choice that led each of the characters on their journey and each movie would be drastically different if these choices weren't made. For example, in Traffic, another choice that shaped a character is when Caroline decided to start doing hard drugs. Eventually, this decision led to her dad quitting his powerful job as the U.S Drug Czar. In defense of these characters decisions, with regard to Caroline's decision, they didn't really have much of a choice because the law and government was corrupt and not working for them.
ReplyDeleteEven though the legal system didn't work for the characters it was portrayed differently in all three of the movies. In The Godfather, the role of the police is a big one in the film and there are many scenes that depict how corrupt they were. In Ride with the Devil, the government is also portrayed as the bad guy but in a very different way. In this film, the government is shown through the beliefs of the northerners who burn down southern slave owners houses and kill the men in the house. Third, in Traffic, the role of law and government is shown both in Mexico and in America. The Mexican government is clearly corrupt as the head of the Mexican police is working for one of the biggest drug cartels in the world. However, Traffic is also the only movie we have watched where the American government is corrupt. The only scene where they do anything wrong is the last scene when Montel illegally places a bug in the Ayala's house.
The role of community is very prevalent in all three films and the main characters specifically made decisions to protect their communities. In The Godfather, Vito and Michael both make decisions that they think are best for their family. In Ride with the Devil, Jake decides to fight with the rest of the bushwhackers to protect his community even though it was dangerous. Lastly, in Traffic, Helena decides to become a drug dealer to protect her family, Robert Wakefield quits his job to protect his family and Montel finishes his investigation in honor of his best friend.
In Traffic, The Godfather, and Dead Presidents, the main characters have to make difficult decisions because of the circumstances that they find themselves in. Michael Corleone, Helena Ayala, and Anthony Curtis all end up breaking the law to protect themselves or their families because of their limited options. Helena Ayala, from Traffic, without warning ends up in a situation where she has no money and her husband is in jail. After being threatened by some man saying that she needed to give $3 million to prevent her son from getting kidnapped, she had very little options of where she could get the money. With help from friends or family not being an option, Helena figures that the only way to get the money is by smuggling drugs. In the Godfather, Michael Corleone realizes that the only way to protect his family from the other mafia families is by killing those who could cause harm or are already plotting against them. Michael figures that the only way to ensure safety of his family is by killing people like Carlo or Tessio. Anthony, from Dead Presidents, has limited options when he comes back from the Vietnam War. He returns to a changed town and a life with more responsibilities. Anthony has to care for his girlfriend, daughter, eventually for his new child that is on the way, and deal with the PTSD-like symptoms from memories of serving in the brutal Vietnam War. After being fired from the butcher's shop, Anthony believes that the only way to get the money that he desperately needs is by robbing an armed Federal Reserve car.
ReplyDeleteIn all three films, the government and the law get in the way of Michael, Anthony, and Helena. Michael Corleone is confronted and attacked by an enforcer of the law: Captain McCluskey. Before Michael officially becomes the new Godfather, he is just trying to protect his sick father from the other mafia families when Captain McCluskey confronts him and eventually ends up hitting him in the face. In Dead Presidents, the distressing final scene when Anthony is yelling something along the lines of, "It's not fair, I fought for this country and I get nothing back," shows the lack of the government's presence in Anthony's life. When Anthony needs the government for support, it fails. The government only appears in his life when it's punishing him. Either way, the government and law both hinder him. In Traffic, Helena gets in the position that she is in because of the law. Her husband's arrest is what causes Helena to commit the criminal acts. In this example, however, the law was doing its job when it got in the way of her life.
Finally, community plays a major role in all three films. The communities of the characters in all three movies are some of the factors that push them (Helena, Michael, and Anthony) to break the law. In The Godfather, Michael protects his family from the Italian mob community. They all compete against each other, and Michael kills to protect his family from the other mob families in their community. In Traffic, Helena smuggles drugs and has Eduardo Ruiz killed to bring her husband back. But, after hearing her "rags-to-riches" story, we can kind of conclude that she does all of these things to also be able to stay in her community. Helena wants to be able to lunch at the country club and live in a fabulous house. Lastly, Anthony's community also plays an important factor in getting him to break the law. In the scene when Anthony's brother talks about going off to graduate school, Anthony demonstrates that he doesn't want to be anything like him. It's almost as if Anthony sees his brother as a sell-out, someone leaving their home and the people in it to go off and do bigger and better things. Anthony decides to rob the Federal Reserve car because not only does he need money to stay in the community, but he wants to help the people in it as well. By getting Kirby, Skip, and others involved in the plan, Anthony shows that what he's doing, while very illegal, is an attempt of helping out his community.
In Traffic, The Godfather and Dead Presidents, the main character is faced with a major choice. These choices are major factors in how the rest of each story plays out. In Dead Presidents, Anthony Curtis made several important choices. First, he was given the option of going to college like his overachieving brother or joining the war like his father. Anthony rashly decided to join the war, and it affected his life permanently. When he got back, he found that he had no good job options due to his lack of a college degree. Combined with stress and symptoms of PTSD, this spurred him to stray to desperate measures in an attempt to make money for his family. If Anthony had decided not to go to war, his whole life would have been better, and if he had decided not to rob the truck, he would have at least stayed out of jail. Similarly, in The Godfather, Michael is given a choice between organized crime and ordinary life. When he chooses to join in the family business, Michael becomes the head of the family and leaves behind all hope of an ordinary life. There are several choices in Traffic that alter the whole story, such as Caroline delving into hard drugs and Helena choosing to deal drugs and assassinate the star witness.
ReplyDeleteThere is a running theme of corruptness that runs deep in law in government in all three films. The movies make sure to show that even if the main characters are technically the bad guys, they at least have some reason to fight back against the government, which clearly often acts in its own favor or against the best outcome. In Dead Presidents, we see that the government doesn’t seem to care or help the Vietnam veterans like Anthony. The judge at his trial even insults him for fighting in the war, claiming that it wasn’t even a real war. Anthony is also obviously struggling for money. In Traffic, almost all of the law and government that we see in Mexico is corrupt. Most people work under General Salazar, who is working for the cartels instead of against them. Javier and Manolo are the only law enforcement shown to be working in the interest of the people. Finally, in the Godfather, the police are explicitly shown to be a corrupt force that can be bribed and paid off. A large fraction of the government is even under control by mafia families.
Community played a big part in the films. In Dead Presidents, Anthony is shown to be very intertwined with his community. He talks to everyone on the street and seems to know everyone, like one big family. This aspect of community decreases later, when Anthony returns from Vietnam. Even though he still remains in the same area, it’s getting worse of a place to live in, and not as many people seem to know him any more. This loss of a tight knit community may have been a driving force behind his eventual criminality. In the Godfather, community is pretty much the backdrop for the whole story. Everyone in the Corleone family is deeply loyal to each other, even the people who aren’t related to the family by blood. A major them of the film is staying true to your community, in this case, the mafia family. In Traffic, smaller communities play a bigger part. Family in particular is a big factor in the decisions of Robert Wakefield and Helena. With Javier, his loyalty to the community being a better place is expressed when he makes sure kids have a good life there.
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ReplyDelete[Part 1 of 3] Michael Corleone, Anthony Curtis, and Helena Ayala experience equally challenging situations in their respective movies. Each is confronted by a troublesome choice between continuing their lives as they had before or taking action and risking a significant part of their life. When Michael assumes his father's position as godfather of their family in the mafia, he is confronted by a tricky decision of whether or not to kill all the other heads of the families. The other families posed a threat to him and his family. If he succeeds in assassinating the heads of the other families, his family will be kept safe from an attack. He won't have to worry about the other families plotting against him or his family. If he chooses to continue his life as he had before, he won't have to organize and coordinate an attack, nor will he risk facing the consequences of a failed murder attempt (which would likely lead to war between the families). Anthony experiences a similar predicament when he returns from the Vietnam War. Anthony becomes a low class blue collar worker. He can't find a stable job due to his lack of education. His life takes a turn for the worse when he looses his job as a butcher's assistant. The downhill spiral continues when he discovers that his wife had been sleeping with Cutty. Anthony now has the opportunity to take part in a robbery. If he chooses not to get involved in the heist, Anthony will be stuck in his miserable life of poverty, joblessness, and disrespect. However, if Anthony takes part in the robbery, he can flee the country and live a lavish life with his share of the money. This, however, is a risky decision due to the prominent threat of failure. Helena Ayala finds herself in a dire situation when a mysterious man threatens the life of her son if Helena can't pay off her husband's $3 million debt. If Helena chooses to continue her life and ignore the threat, her son will be at serious risk of being kidnapped or murdered. The only way she can save her son was to join the drug trade herself and strike a deal with one of the drug lords.
ReplyDelete[Part 2 of 3] Each movie displays the government in a different negative light. In The Godfather, the government is portrayed as an ineffective establishment of justice controlled by corrupt individuals. The corruption of the government appears when Michael goes to the hospital to protect his father from being attacked by one of the other families. Captain McClusky arrives on the scene and tells Michael he has to leave. Even though Michael hadn't committed any crime, McClusky tries to arrest Michael. This shows that the captain was being controlled by another family, reflecting the theme of a corrupt government. Dead Presidents shows the government as abandoning the people in need. When Anthony returns from his service in Vietnam, he didn't receive any financial help from the government. He struggles to find a job in his low-class neighborhood, and resorts to crime. Kirby made a statement describing how the government wasn't helping the poor by remarking how the government planned to burn money while people were starving in the streets. The government had abandoned the poor and homeless population that plagued the cities, as well as the troubled war veterans who struggled with PTSD. In Traffic, the government is portrayed as helpless in the "war on drugs." Seth makes a remarkably intelligent remark to Robert Wakefield when he describes the benefits of selling drugs. Seth states how the black people in the city responded to the massive demand for drugs among the white people by getting involved in the drug trade. Selling drugs yielded a massive profit for the seller, so they continued to sell drugs. The government was powerless in the situation. Robert Wakefield experiences the government's struggle firsthand when he goes to the Mexican-American border. One of the officials is stripping down a car and pulling out a substantial stash of drugs hidden in the door panel. Another official talks to Robert and speculates that a large percentage of cars carrying drugs made it across the border every day.
ReplyDelete[Part 3 of 3] Each of the three films depicts community as being a vital part of someone's life. In The Godfather, the family is a broad community of people consisting of both direct family members and other people working in the family. This is shown in numerous scenes including the wedding at the beginning of the movie, the murder of Michael's brother, and Michael's decision to kill the other heads of the families in order to protect his family. Dead Presidents shows family as the people around a person rather than their family. In the first scene of the movie, Anthony walks down the street and greets almost everyone he sees. After the war, he sees that the community has declined from a prospering and diverse neighborhood to a lower class community dominated by African Americans. In Traffic, Robert Wakefield's community consists of his family instead the people around it. He shows the importance of his community when he chooses not to deliver his 10 point speech concerning the war on drugs. He walks off the stage mid-speech, claiming that he won't wage a war within his own family. This shows his concern for his daughter, who is seriously struggling with her drug addiction. The three movies all emphasize the importance of community. However, each movie has a different definition of family. For Dead Presidents, community refers to the people around you rather than your family. In Traffic, community is displayed as one's family. The Godfather is the middle ground, deeming anyone you're close to as family, including family members, friends, and the people working for you.
ReplyDeleteI apologize for the length of this post. Blogger has a 4096 character limit, so I had to split it into 3 separate posts. In addition, the quality is perhaps subpar. I just finished typing out my final history essay, so I'm a bit burnt out from typing.
The options of the individuals in Traffic, The Godfather, and Dead Presidents can’t be described in simple terms of good and evil. Because of their situations, the choices most characters in these films make are clouded with the confusing nature of their circumstances, lives, and dilemmas. For example, Traffic portrays the struggles of many characters whose options are confusing. Helena must choose between killing a man to save her family, life, and husband and letting her husband rot in jail, her life ruined, and her son to grow up poor and without a father. Javier faces a choice to either betray his boss, General Salazar, and expose Salazar’s corruption to the US or to remain loyal to his boss and, therefore, his country of Mexico. In The Godfather, Michael must decide whether to kill his brother-in-law, a traitor who worked for another family, or to let him live and risk more information to get out just to preserve his sister’s husband. In Dead Presidents, those involved in the heist must choose between obeying the law and living in their declining lifestyle of poverty or rob the money to be burned and be able to provide for themselves and their families. Most of these choices involve a personal v. judicial struggle in the sense that the individuals must decide between something that’s best for them/their family and break the law and something that will hurt or not help their family but obey the law.
ReplyDeleteOn the topic of law, these three movies all have a great deal to do with law and government, specifically how it’s failing. Traffic shows how the law and the US and Mexican governments are trying, in vain, to wage a war on drugs, a war that will probably never end. Here, law is shown as something that just can’t deliver no matter how hard it tries. The Godfather is based on the idea that the US government and its laws are not enough to protect the discriminated-against Italians, hence the formation of mafias and family-based organized crime. Dead Presidents similarly shows how the government can’t help people in need, such as those living in Anthony Curtis’ declining black neighborhood who desperately need financial help. All three movies show the hypocrisy and corruption of law. In Traffic, the Mexican government is revealed to be corrupt when it’s discovered that General Salazar is working with one of the cartels. The government in the Godfather is corrupt as well, shown by the cop McCluskey who works for one of the families. Dead Presidents shows that the government has no loyalty or just simply ignores some of its citizens, like Anthony Curtis. Curtis, a war veteran, couldn’t get enough money to take care of his family and was (in his opinion) treated unjustly in court even though he had bravely served his country. In addition, the US is home to so many starving people, yet the government has money to burn in a literal sense; the government burns thousands of dollars while its citizens don’t have enough money to eat.
Community is important in all three movies, but less so in Traffic. The Godfather shows an extremely strong sense of community in the sense that the Corleone family was its own community. All of the family members are close and loyal to each other, and those outside of the community (like the other families but also Kay, too) aren’t as included. Dead Presidents shows many communities such as the Marines, the army, the neighborhood, and individual families. The scene where Anthony Curtis walks down the street, saying hello to everyone, illustrates how their neighborhood is a tight community. It’s trickier to identify communities in Traffic because the movie is so heavily based on the individual stories. However, small “communities” are shown in the families of Helena and Robert and in the partnerships between Javier and Manolo and between Montel and Ray. In all three movies, community is always defined by loyalty and/or loving relationships.
In the three movies we watched before Traffic, the main characters are a part of a group often viewed as the bad guys in our society. In contrast, Traffic displays many different angles on the topic of drugs, many from the ‘good guys’ and a few from the bad. However, Traffic still holds some key themes displayed be the other movies. When you look at the options the main characters have (or think they have), we see many of the criminals act out of desperation. In Ride with the Devil, Dead Presidents, and of course Traffic, we see a side of the criminals that humanizes them. In Ride with the Devil, Jake and his fellow Bushwhackers feel the have no choice but to fight to protect their way of life since the law and government are fighting against them to destroy their culture. In Dead Presidents, Anthony feels he has no choice but to commit a heist, since he returns from his service in Vietnam and is unable to find a good job and support his family. Similarly, Helena feels she has no choice but to enter the drug trade herself when she is left with no money and is unable to sell her possessions as the government prosecutes her husband. This feeling of having no choice but to break the law ties into the role of law and government. The government is actively fighting against the Bushwhackers in Ride with the Devil, which is why they feel they have no choice but to take matters into their own hands. Meanwhile in Dead Presidents, Anthony and his fellow veterans feel abandoned by the US government, the same government they put their lives on the line for. It’s no coincidence that in the final heist four of the six crew members served in Vietnam. As Curtis, Skip, Jose, and Cleon return from the war they find that their wold has changed almost as much as they have. Curtis can’t get a good job and is unable to support his family. Skip comes back permanently damaged neurologically which will effect him for the rest of his life. Their feeling of abandonment is a big part of what spurs them to commit a crime. In Traffic, the government plays a roll that is called futile by Eduardo. The war the government wages against drugs can be costly, as seen when Ray loses his life, and in some cases needs to be fought against family or friends, as mentioned by Robert towards the end of the film. In fact, part of what makes the government’s job so futile is the fact that you may have to fight anybody, be that your family or friends. Family is what drives many of the characters as well. Helena enters the drug trade after her son is threatened to save his life. Anthony needs to support his two children and is unable to with his mediocre job (which he ends up losing) and when he feels he is unable to do that legitimately he turns to crime. Jake wants to protect the only family he really has known in Jack Bull and the southern community, just as Holt and George Clyde want to protect each other. That is not to say that The Godfather does not display these same qualities, it does. In the end what all of these movies do is provide a face to the criminals and show another side to the “bad guys”. Society has an idea about criminals which tends to be very black and white but these movies force us to let it go. Even in crime, things are in shades of grey.
ReplyDeleteIn the films Dead Presidents, The Godfather, and Traffic, the main characters Curtis, Michael, and Helena all are presented with very difficult situations. In each example, there isn’t one clear thing to do–each character could approach their respective situations in multiple ways. However, they all choose the most extreme measures, which yield very different results for each character. Michael and Helena find success in their choices, while Curtis does not. Each of these choices goes against the law and breaks the moral code, but the characters all put their self interests above that. Curtis murders police men to make some money and Helena indirectly murders a police officer. Michael murders men that aren’t as innocent–but it is still murder. While some actions are more justified than others, the characters in all three movies go to the most extreme measures for the sake of themselves and their families.
ReplyDeleteThe role of the government and law in each movie plays a huge part in the main characters’ decisions. In The Godfather, the mafia system is in part a rebellion against the incompetence of the law in providing justice for Italian-Americans. In Dead Presidents, the role of the government is very different. The problems with the government revolve around how they treated veterans of the Vietnam War and the unfair position they were in after returning from the war. That unfair position leads Curtis to try to rob the armored car. In Traffic, like in The Godfather, the police is very corrupt, which leads some of the characters to their choices. The mafia can’t trust the police to do anything, and the police even help with multiple murders. The head of the Mexican DEA works for the cartel. In all three movies, the benefits of disobeying the law are clear–money. Whether it is through robbery, drugs, or gambling, breaking the law results in money. And despite the fact that the whole point of the police is to stop people from breaking the law, they help the criminals in two of the movies. And in the other, the government gives reason for Curtis to break the law.
The community and surroundings in the movies have something in common–the need for money. That is the American Dream–to be successful, which is measured in money for the most part. The main goal of the mafia is to make money, and that leads to all of the problems that go with it. The main reason people deal drugs is because it is an easy way to make money, as Seth points out in the taxi. Curtis needs money to support his family, so he resorts to robbing an armored car, which as he finds out is not an easy thing to do. Also, in all three movies there is a collective sense of the importance of family. The community places and importance on family, and it drives many of the crime-filled decisions made in the movies. That is clear in The Godfather, and in Traffic Robert and Helena go to lengthy measures for their family. In Dead Presidents, Curtis makes a very stupid decision to provide for his family.
One repeating pattern in all the movies we have seen has been the choice between dealing with challenges and obstacles through violence or through the seemingly "lawful" way. In the Godfather, we see Micheal enter the movie as a decorated war hero and see him shoot Sollozzo and McCluskey. In Ride with the Devil, we see the violent tactics of the guerrilla army of bushwhackers. In Traffic, we see Helena turn to negotiations with the Obregon cartel and hiring assassins. However moral or immoral these decisions, all towards the path of violence, exist, the audience sees that there is a motive behind them. That motive is , arguably, one of desperation or survival. Micheal is protecting his ailing father. The Southernors are acting in retaliation, 'fighting fire with fire.' Helena is facing an uncertain, unprotected future and death threats against her son. The movies themselves are not promoting violence over neutrality or cooperation, but it is made obvious that waiting for a solution in these situations is not only inefficient, but dangerous. It is clear that the characters are facing drastic circumstances, being faced with organizations of corruption and crime- mafias, armies, or cartels.
ReplyDeleteWe see these innocent, 'pure' and good characters succumb to the violence that threatens their lives and lifestyles, and get startlingly efficient results, all to protect their "families." What follows, the inevitable consequences of their actions, and their reactions only drag these characters further into the organized violence. Interestingly, the Godfather definitely provides an intelligent criticism of this sort of violence. Ride with the Devil questions it. But, in Traffic, we are asked if all of our righteous efforts, as a society or government, against a part of this violence is really all just playing into the expansion of the very thing we are trying to eradicate. We see this with Javier, faced with a General trying to destroy one cartel to make room for another, and again when Eduardo confronts Montel about it before his death. There is corruption of the government, the very thing trusted to help and protect the citizens. Letting down of its own people by refusal to help them, as we see in the opening scene of the Godfather, or a blatant ignorance of injustices, like the questionable methods of the Union Army in the territories, lead to groups of people feeling discriminated. This group becomes an organization trying to protect itself, and in turn turns into a sort of governing tool. There are ranks and there are rules if you wish to benefit from the protection or profits offered. And if these organizations grow strong enough in influence and number, we see how it starts to govern the government, like in the corrupt Mexico presented in Traffic. As one advisor tells drug czar Wakefield, the advantage of the cartels is their "unlimited budget," but it also exists as their limitless morals. Protection and satisfaction of citizens is not a worry, and the only other option to loyalty is death. This loyalty stems from a skewed sense of family, one that comes through loss. We see Javier welcomed into the fold of Salaazar's men after his partner Manolo is killed. The murders offer congratulations to him for "becoming one of us." In Ride with the Devil, it is obvious that the cause for these young men to fight for their way of America is to revenge all the homes burned and the fathers and family members killed. However, we see a further evolution of this "family" in The Godfather. As Micheal's troubles seem closer and closer to home, he begins to find rats, spies, and betrayers- Paulie, Carlo, and Tessio- within the family. He kills them all, as they are threats. But as Wakefield says, "How can we wage a war against our own families?" “These violet delights have violent ends," perhaps leaving the ones who chose violence, therefore participation in this corruption, in far worse places then when they began.
The Godfather, Dead Presidents, and Traffic all deal with the concepts of the various options individuals face. In The Godfather, Michael Corleone originally distances himself from his family, even saying to Kay, “That’s my family, Kay. That’s not me.” However, when there is an attempt on his father’s life and he is assaulted by a police officer, Michael is more than happy to be an assassin for the family business. When feeling the personal effect of being disrespected by the police, and the emotional pain of his father being shot, Michael vows revenge on those who wronged him. In Dead Presidents, Anthony must choose whether or not to participate in a heist. When he was in high school, Anthony was enthusiastic about serving his country, but now feels that America has wronged him and feels like he cannot survive without the money that will come from the heist. Anthony believes that stealing from the governments justified because the government has wronged him. In Traffic, there are several characters who make hard choices. Caroline chooses to become a drug addict, and Helena decides to order the death of Eduardo.
ReplyDeleteThe role of law manifests itself in different ways throughout the three films. In The Godfather, the opening shows how the law has failed Italian-Americans, which leads to the mafia filling in the government’s role in exacting justice. In The Godfather, the government is corrupt and the Corleone family is well above the law. In Dead Presidents, the American government affects different characters different ways. Skip receives a monthly check from the government for his disability, and doesn’t have to work. However, Anthony, despite having PTSD, receives no help from the country he risked his life for. Traffic is different from the other films in that the law enforcement actually appears as main characters. Ray and Monty occasionally use unorthodox tactics when finding out information, but they do their job well. In Mexico, the government is very corrupt, but Javier is an honest cop. Robert Wakefield turns out be a loving father and humanizes politicians. Unlike the other films, Traffic makes it hard to root against the law.
In the Godfather the community is the family. Not just the blood family, but characters like Clemenza and Luca Brasi who are loyal to the Corleone family. The family is willing to kill for one another; they are extremely tight-knit. Michael and Vito’s decisions are always in the best interests of the family. In Dead Presidents, Anthony is part of a decisive community before he leaves for the war, but when he returns, he finds that everything is not the same as it once was. He feels alienated. In Traffic, the theme of community is less prevalent. However, Helena and Robert Wakefield both act largely based on trying to protect their family.
In the movies Traffic, The Godfather and Dead Presidents, the main characters strength to choose and make their own decisions is very limited due to situational circumstances and society’s influence on what’s truly important. For example, Helena, in the movie Traffic, has a very privileged life after having had a terrible one at first. This amazing new lifestyle has claimed Helena by so much that she becomes an outlaw. This is no surprise, though, after having had a horrible life to begin with it makes perfect sense that Helena would do anything to keep her privileged life as well as keep her family safe. She does so by participating with illegal drugs, because her son, husband and her own reputation were threatened by a group of powerful people. If she hadn’t become an outlaw or tried to fight the law she would’ve ended up with her old life. In this case, that would be terrible because no one deserves to have their entire life wiped out because their husband was an illegal drug dealer. Michael, in The Godfather, grows up with a mafia family. He was basically screwed since the beginning. Growing up into a family that only holds one true belief and does things only for each other is very hard to not emulate. These practices run in the blood. Michael’s family is his biggest support system. Betraying them would leave him alone, and many people including Michael have no idea how to deal with that. This shows when Michael goes to Italy for himself, but eventually comes back home and decides to join his family. Lastly, Anthony, in Dead Presidents, has to fight his own genes to stand a chance of having his own voice. After participating in the Vietnam War, he suffers severe forms of PTSD and is surrounded by friends like Skip, who has also been majorly affected by the war and drugs. With these images and Skip’s presence to remind Michael exactly what he tried to turn off made it impossible for him to fight his own genes. He gave into being controlled by the different alternations his body faced, and with that, he did not continue his own life to become some perfect image of his own creation, instead he was consumed by tragedy and made his regular life into something less respectful, which was his number own goal. He decided to join a robbery and ended up being sentenced to jail for life.
ReplyDeleteNone of these characters win. The government has lack of awareness and understanding these characters lives. In Traffic, the government barely even realizes how big of a deal drugs are to one’s health. The movie shows this clearly because Caroline and her friend Seth are able to walk down streets that lead to drug dealers themselves. These “hideouts” are not even hidden. Any bystanders or witnesses could see this forbidden area, and most likely does already without realizing it, but still does nothing about it. With drugs and especially in this case, illegal drugs, are the number one problem starters in Traffic. Without Helena’s access to drugs in general, she would not have done the things that she had done, and more importantly, everyone in the movie would not have made the same decisions that they has, therefore, the movie would not have existed. With Michael, however, his family wants no part in drugs. They just do anything to any threat, making them in a way, more powerful than the government. They are their own government, and without realizing the power and the problem they have, the whole cycle will be continuous. Lastly, as far as Anthony goes, the government did not provide any assistance with help when his own genes were controlling him. That is because back then, the government did not know or understand PTSD or other bad things because it wasn’t diagnosed.
All in all, community played the major role in each of the character’s decision-making. If family was not evolutionary and showed to make others attached to family, many of the characters would not base most of their decision-making based on what their family members did or were a part of. Of the examples I showed, though, it is clear that because family is important based on the importance of evolution, none of these characters would have these outcomes if family was not the number one reason behind their decision-making.
ReplyDeleteOur choices define us. They reveal our loyalty and morality. Ultimately, choices are what separates heroes from villains, good from evil. Of course, it is difficult to draw such sweeping conclusions about the characters in Traffic, The Godfather, and Dead Presidents, namely Helena, Michael, and Curtis. Take a step away from the movies' plots and look at the characters objectively: a murderous and materialistic drug lord, a ruthless murderer, and a man willing to kill for some cash. We only sympathize with these characters because we are presented with their entire -- and distinctly human -- story. We see the tough positions they find themselves in and sympathize with their morally questionable though understandable decisions. In Traffic, one could argue that Helena chooses rightfully to take over her husband's drug business because she loves him and their children. She wants the best for herself and for her family, and having come from no money or power, Helena understands the difficulty a less privileged life would present. She chooses to get her hands a little bloody in order to preserve her family's emotional and financial security. Similar to Helena, Michael Corleone in The Godfather must choose between a clean conscience and the wellbeing of his family. His options are to eliminate the threat of the opposing five families or have them kill his own family (presumably). Michael chooses to execute all who threaten the Corleone family, directly or otherwise. We can argue whether this move was justified or not, but regardless, Michael's options are limited and hold no obvious solution. It is more difficult to understand why Curtis and his pals choose to rob a well-defended truck. Their plan is dumb and greedy from the outset. At the same time, we are able to understand (to some extent) where they are coming from: they are Vietnam veterans disheveled by war and largely abandoned by the U.S. government. If their options are to risk their lives and freedom by stealing and killing and to live a damaged though manageable life, the choice is clear. In all of these films, the characters find themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place.
ReplyDeleteThe American Constitution is a work of genius, but American government is not without its faults. Many faults, at that. The films Traffic, Dead Presidents, and Ride with the Devil address some of these shortcomings. All three plots show the government -- in the form of law, law enforcement, or war -- as impersonal and negligent of its citizens’ wellbeing. In Traffic, drug czar Robert Wakefield recognizes the absurdity of the War on Drugs. He says it is “waging war on our families.” He is, of course, reflecting upon his daughter’s addiction problem. The government is more focused on busting the big-name, glamorous cartels. Javier, like Wakefield, is more focused on the personal impact of drugs than the government which he serves. He just wants to see kids enjoying the game of baseball — “everybody loves baseball.” Traffic shows a government whose policies are impersonal to the immediate lives of its citizens. Dead Presidents also shows impersonal actions by the U.S. government in how American actions in Vietnam affected the lives of veterans like Curtis and Skip. Curtis, Skip, and thousands other like them returned from a highly opposed war without adequate help in adjusting to civilian life. Though their actions were not justified, Curtis and friends' decision to rob a truck was certainly a result of their involvement in Vietnam, and by extension, the fault of the American government. Finally, Ride with the Devil shows a side of the Civil War untold by many textbooks and blockbuster films. Of course the institution of slavery was abominable and of course it’s for the best that the Union won. Yet it is worth acknowledging that the U.S. government condoned uprooting the long-established traditions and lives of southern individual and families. When they invaded the Confederacy, Union forces were not concerned with the livelihood of their southern counterparts. I don’t want to get too far away from the films, but this impersonal action by the government is certainly a pattern that continues today. It's inevitable to some extent, sure, but I would argue American citizens are subject to some of the same problems faced by the Wakefields, Vietnam vets, and Bushwhackers in the current government’s impersonal attitude towards women’s health, marriage equality, and gun control. (Sorry for politicizing)
DeleteCommunity ties are powerful, and the films Traffic, The Godfather, and Ride with the Devil demonstrate this phenomenon from several angles. In Traffic, Caroline is heavily influenced by her privileged community. Her classmates encourage her to experiment with dangerous drugs. The film also shows Helena’s desire to belong in her uppity community and Javier’s desire to preserve a safe, baseball-filled community for its children. In The Godfather, community (i.e., family) is the most important thing to Don Vito and the rest of the Corleones. They are staunchly protective and loyal. For example, Sonny storms off to beat Carlo when he hits his sister, but he is intercepted and killed. Family comes first, making family the mafia’s weakness. Furthermore, the Italian-Americans in The Godfather may have had to form their own community within the United States because they are not fully welcomed as American. In Ride with the Devil, the confederate Bushwhackers are fighting for their community: their traditions, friends, land, food, family, and ways of life. They are willing to die for their community. It is all they have ever known and the Union threatens it. In all three films, we are presented with the human need for belonging. Community validates our actions and makes us feel like a part of a whole. Ultimately, we are tribal creatures. This ever-present pack-like mentality motivates us and influences our decisions both for the best and for the worst.
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ReplyDeleteIn Traffic, The Godfather, and Dead Presidents, choice is a particular driving force in each movie. The main characters make choices that alter the whole course of the plot. In Traffic, Helena (Who I still think is a spoiled brat.) changes her whole life with her decision to have Eduardo Ruiz killed. What would happen if she hadn't done that? What would happen to her child? What would happen to her husband? Helena also makes the choice to become the main distributor of the Obregon Cartel's cocaine in the US. From then on, she starts to live a dangerous albeit comfortable life. Javier also makes the choice to give up Salazar's secrets to the DEA, and because of that the kids in his neighborhood are provided with ample resources to play baseball at night. Bob Wakefield also steps down from his position of drug czar, due to his unwillingness to wage a war against his own daughter, who had become a prostitute for drugs. In the Godfather, Michael makes the bold choice to become involved in the family business. What would happen if Michael chose a different career path instead? He also makes the decision to integrate drugs into the family's trade, a decision made against his father's will. With that choice, he begins to live in a world where innocence is non-existent, where people fight to survive, and a world where they cannot depend on the government. Lastly, Anthony makes important decisions as well in Dead Presidents. He chooses to fight in the Vietnam War, a decision made against the will of his parents, though they were quickly on board, for a reason I don't yet know. What would happen if he chose to pursue a greater education like his brother? He also chooses to conduct the heist, an unwise decision that ultimately led to his incarceration. So choices are indeed an important part of these movies.
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ReplyDeleteIn all of these movies, there is a great deal of corruptness in the law and government. These films are unusual though, crafted almost with the intention of making the bad guys seem good, or at least making them seem justified with their actions. In Traffic, Salazar actually WORKS FOR THE JUAREZ CARTEL. After Javier tells the DEA about Salazar, he proceeds to tell them about how the Mexican police and army is corrupt. In The Godfather, in the beginning there is the whole issue of the police not being able to help the guy who's daughter had been abused (I have yet to watch the first half. Gah!). Michael also tells Kay about the influence that the Corleones and other mafias have over the political aspect of America, and he tells her about how they have senators and other people of power in their hand. In Dead Presidents, the returning veterans have a hard time obtaining their benefits granted to them through participation in the Vietnam War. The judge even calls Anthony a disgrace for those who wore a military uniform. Though that is not really corruption (That second part at least), it just shows the government's reluctance to help the people.
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ReplyDeleteFamily and community play an enormous part in the three movies. In Traffic, family plays a huge part in Robert Wakefield's and Helena's decisions throughout the movie. Helena resorts to murder because her son and her way of life is threatened. Robert Wakefield is influenced by his addicted daughter to the point that he can't hold the position of drug czar any longer. For Javier, he cares a lot about his community, as shown when he asks the DEA for electricity in his neighborhood so kids can play baseball in the night and turn away from a life of crime. In Dead Presidents, Anthony is very close to the inhabitants in the community. He basically knows everybody on the street and says hi to them, and he clearly knows all the folk at Kirby's pool lounge. They are like one big family, almost like the one big family in The Godfather. In The Godfather, community and family is literally the whole premise of the movie. Family is basically everything in the case of the Corleones. Everybody is loyal to each other, blood-related or not. Most of the decisions made in the movie, either by Vito, Santino, or Michael are all influenced by some sort of family related thing, Vito especially.
(1) The options presented to characters in The Godfather, Dead Presidents, and Traffic share many similarities in regards to their circumstances. In The Godfather, Michael does not want to be involved in the family business. When he attends the wedding at the beginning of the film, he is still in his military uniform. Unlike many members of his family, Michael has gone to college and seems to prefer to engage in a more “American” life style (assumed due to his involvement with Kay). As attempts are made on Vito’s life, Michael is presented with a few options. He can either delve into the family business in order to preserve its power, or he can stay out of it and pursue a different career (i.e. a politician). The choice to become involved in criminal behavior is a reoccurring theme within these movies. In Dead Presidents, Anthony is down on his luck. He has a kid that he must provide for, someone is having intimate relations with his baby mama, and his life is far from stable after coming home from the war. This leads Anthony to a tip that there will be a truck full of money that is scheduled to be burned. This information presents Anthony with a choice. He can either rob the truck in hopes of turning his life around and making things easier for him, or he can continue the search for a job while potentially being told that he’s not a real “man”. In Traffic, Helena must save the lifestyle that she has come to love and cherish. Her husband has been arrested, she has discovered that he is a drug dealer, and a rival cartel has taken her son. Helena has no money (Feds won’t let her sell the house), so she is forced to act. Helena can either do nothing, which will result in the prosecution of her husband and the death of her son, or she can turn to the drug trade, which could provide her with not only the money to save her son, but also the power to get her husband out of jail. All of these characters lack any real choice as they are usually forced to act without much time to think about the outcome. What connects the films together is that all the characters are given the choice of turning to crime and all of them choose it.
ReplyDelete(2) The role of law and the American government plays a very interesting role in all of the films. In The Godfather, the law is corrupt. The law also discriminates against Italian Americans prompting the creation and operation of the mafia. In Dead Presidents, Anthony feels that the government has failed him. When he is in court, he tries to explain that he feels that he served his country, but the judge doesn’t care and does not respect Anthony because he didn’t fight in a “real” war. In Traffic the law and American government are actively fighting the war on drugs. This war on drugs causes conflicts for the Wakefield family and the Ayala family. In all of the films, the law and, or American government is presented in a negative light. Whether the government is corrupt, mistreating veterans, or actively tearing families apart, the stories are directly tied into the presence and actions of the law.
ReplyDelete(3) Community also plays a very large role in all of the films. In The Godfather, community plays a central part in what Michael becomes. If community was not stressed as much as it is, Michael may not have turned to the family business. Family is very important in Italian culture. The Corleone family acts as a community that molds Michael into the character that we see. In Dead Presidents, the community that we see at the beginning of the film is much different than the community we see at the end of the film. During the opening scenes, we can see that Anthony and the gang live in a middle class neighborhood. The races are living in harmony and all is well. Anthony is also not driven to any irrational activity. Upon his return from the war, the neighborhood is in decline. The White people are moving out and the overall state of the community has deteriorated. The lack of jobs and opportunities directly influences Anthony’s decision to engage in the robbery as his community is no longer as stable as it previously was. Traffic handles community very differently than the other films, but it also causes a change in many of the characters. There is the law enforcement/government community that consists Javier, Ray, Montel, and Robert. On the other hand we have those who take a stance on the opposite side of the conflict. These individuals consist of Caroline, Carlos, and Helena. The lines between all these individuals is not necessarily cut and dry, but I do feel that there are different groups, or associations, if not communities in which these characters reside.
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