Don Corleone’s character in The Godfather is one of Hollywood’s most memorable villains. He was a fictional mobster transplanted to New York City in 1901 as a child, orphaned by mob violence in his native Sicily that took his family. He went on to create a crime family of great power, wealth, and influence.
The Godfather is a perfect example of art imitating life. Sicily’s governing capacity in the era Don Corleone grew up was weak. Inconsistent law enforcement created a vacuum, allowing powerful, often well-off landowners an opportunity to flourish. As local authorities were unreliable, strongmen were often hired to resolve disputes to the liking of the influential. The rich and strong parlayed this into a patronage system, bringing fear, if not respect, to the people. The mafia, both fictional and factual, imported that same structure to America, the land of opportunity.
