Revisiting Violence in The Godfather: The Ambiguous Space of the Victimage Model

This article closely revisits and praises the long, contemplative scenes and the fast contrapuntal cutting of the violence displayed in The Godfather to show how the movie\u27s superior editing and filming style help to overturn its own violent message. Thus, the film, however cynically, completes Girard\u27s the victimage model without actually immolating its would-be scapegoat. By inhabiting the deconstructive space” of the scapegoating motif, the film\u27s bloody scenes undercut themselves and help to enact a message against the violence within the ideologies of the American Dream, capitalist competition, or any other factor that may serve to mitigate Michael Corleone\u27s actions