Question 1: The American Dream or the Nightmare?a) The Godfather is the story of an immigrant family trying to make a better life in America. In the early 20th century, America was heavily promoted as a land of opportunity, and immigrants embarked on a new and hopefully improved life. Vito runs a very successful, although not legal, business, he has created a better life for himself and his family. As we see in the first 20 minutes of the film, Vito can afford to pay for a lavish wedding for his daughter, although at the same time we see the contrast of the dark side of his business. Vito's hopes were to one day become legitimist in the way he does business, and although he was never able to do so, he was able to provide a financially secure life for his family. For these reasons I believe that Vito had achieved, in a certain sense, the American dream. However, it can also be said that, by taking over as don, Michael had nullified his father's success by continuing "the family business" in an increasingly immoral and illegitimate way. Due to the way Michael conducted business, unlike his father, he and his family were constantly in danger due to his aggressive way of controlling his business.b) The scene opens with only the sound of voices , in particular the voice is Italian-American, soft lights and the camera slowly tracking, creating tension for the audience. We as viewers are faced with this scene where we can only assume that some sort of illegal activity is taking place. The opening scene sets out the rest of the film thematically. “I believe in America. America made my fortune. And I raised my daughter in American fashion. I gave her freedom but taught her to never dishonor her family. She... in the center of the paper... (Michael and Priest 114) The scene cuts to show Michael's goons killing five different individuals. The way the camera is positioned and uses medium close-up and medium close-up are identical both when the men are murdered and when the camera returns to Michael. One part of the scene where this happens is the rival is lying down and getting a massage. The camera has a close-up and the viewer can almost see the bullet enter the man's eye. The end of the scene concludes with the conclusion that Michael is now the new godfather of the Corleone family. This is, in my opinion, a masterpiece scene. An interesting observation about this scene is that it's not just about good versus evil. Just like at the beginning of the film we see the use of La Bella Figura, where the dirty work is done behind closed doors and the perceived personal image is always positive.