Pan Roasted Murder

I recently watched the Francis Ford Coppola film, The Godfather in its short return to theaters. I had forgotten just how genius the film is with it’s beautiful filmography and unique, intensity. As I’m reading How to Read Literature Like a Professor, I can’t stop making connections with the films and television I’ve stumbled upon throughout the summer. I wouldn’t have thought that summer homework would make my summer more enjoyable but Foster has opened my eyes in a few ways. The art of the story is demystified and I’ve been diving headfirst into the newly cleared waters of storytelling. Of my new discoveries, the one that I found the most interesting was Foster’s discussion of the meal and what it means. In this case it is murder at the dinner table.

In the second chapter, Foster takes a look at the meaning behind acts of communion (dining together, and in another case, smoking marijuana). Meals in particular are a common way that people come together. We eat with family, friends, co-workers, sometimes enemies that are building trust. Foster says that meals are “an act of sharing and peace.” He mentions characters “getting on the good side of enemies” through a meal, along with what happens when a meal goes wrong. These are both seen in the classic, The Godfather.

So it is a widely accepted fact that meals mean peace, and often trust. Since a good meal signifies community and peace, a bad meal must mean the opposite. Bad meals are a sign of danger. A dinner guest is your equal and plotting on a dinner guest is bad juju. In the film, Michael Corleone decides to kill his enemies over dinner, leading to a turn into the world of organized crime.

The Godfather is a film following an Italian American mafia family.Vito Corleone is the boss of the family business and father of Michael, his younger son with a legitimate education and a past as a war hero. He is in a relationship with a girl who isn’t Italian and makes it clear to her that he isn’t a part of his father’s criminal activity. When attempts are taken on his father’s life by a rival family in the narcotic trade, Michael gets involved. He claims that he wants to make amends with Captain McCluskey, a crooked police captain and Sollozzo, a rival gang leader in the drug trade, responsible for the attempted assassination of Vito Corleone. They meet over dinner in a quiet restaurant where a pistol has been planted in the bathroom for Michael to kill his guests. The meal reflects the tension and coming events. The three men are very quiet and reserved with a wine cork popping loudly. Michael and Sollozzo begin speaking in Italian and Michael asks if he may use the restroom. He is frisked and continues to take the gun planted behind the toilet. He ignores all trust built by meeting in communion, takes the gun and sits back down nervously. Wine is flowing and the group begins eating. Sollozzo starts to speak and the first shot is fired. This may be a stretch but the loud gunshot and blood splatter seemed suggestive of food or wine, or a kitchen. The blood splatters violently and is almost surreal in the quiet meal setting. He builds more confidence and kills McCluskey.

I thought this was a perfect example of the trust involved in communion and what happens when that trust is broken. Dishonesty doesn't belong at dinner and blood doesn’t belong on the tablecloth. This scene represents Michael’s moral turn from decency for these reasons. The meal is powerful.

Happy reading and poolside antics.