Writing On The Wall: Movie Season: The Godfather
by: The Maverick on: 7/31/2002 11:07 am est 
Movie SeasonTake your seats, make sure you’ve had a wee beforehand, get a nice tub of popcorn and get ready for the curtains to draw back… because movie season has hit your computer screens. Welcome to this very special edition of ‘Writing on the Wall’, which sees the debut of ‘Movie Season’, which can be best described as a series of columns based around the theorem of wrestling and Hollywood. Now, ‘series’ is a bit of a loose term, seeing as I only currently have two columns written surrounding this idea, but if it catches on, and you guys like it, then I’ll happily write sequel after sequel Wrestling as Compared to Film I’ve got four passions in my life; writing, wrestling, film… and women. And so I decided, in one of my infamous moments of clarity, what better way to have fun than to combine three of the four. Thus, Wrestling as Compared to Film was born. The premise of the column (which may well turn into a series, with a different movie each time) is that I chose a film (in this case three) and discuss, contrast and juxtapose that given film against an aspect of wrestling where the most similarities lie. How this turns out, I have no idea. But it sounds vaguely like fun, doesn’t it? - Vince McMahon, after conquering the wrestling world, and buying WCW. What better choice to start with, than two of the most critically acclaimed saga’s of American cinema history. For those of you though that haven’t seen, or worse yet haven’t heard of The Godfather, it would be a vast understatement to say you haven’t lived. The first two of the trilogy are among the most celebrated movies in cinema history, while they remain revolutionary and influential to this day. With that said, I personally believe they are highly overrated by modern cinemagoers that don’t quite understand them. But when you consider the first of the three was released in 1972, even though they have come to be somewhat outdated, there’s no question that the entire series was way ahead of its time, and even (as Tom Hanks proclaims in ‘You’ve Got Mail’, all life’s questions are answered in the Godfather) relevant in today’s society. Fundamentally, the films are about power and the means we’ll go to obtain it, and how that affects everything else in our lives, ranging from love, hate, dreams, life, work, play, friendship, sex, and most importantly; family. “… a man that doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man” In this context, this is an interesting quote, where in the first film Vito explains his aetiology and anthology in preparation from passing his Don status onto his son Michael. I say interesting, because when watching the WWF and all its subcultures you get the impression that beneath all the pseudo storylines and McMahon civil warfare, that Vince juniors dad (Vince senior), installed a very similar and very genuine family man orientation into the McMahon way of living. When you consider much of Vince McMahon Jr.’s childhood was spent with up to five different stepfathers, and McMahon’s only constant (his mother) has been alleged of being guilty of sexual abuse. It does come as a surprise that Vince junior has immersed himself with his daughter, son and wife in the proverbial hot tub of the wrestling world. What can you do when you literally spend no time at home? Or when you’re in a situation where you don’t have a real home, you live in the institution that you built? Well take a page out of Vince McMahon’s book, and bring every worthwhile possession that would otherwise reside in your home, and bring them to be part of your institution. What Vince has done, that many would criticise, is that he has made Stephanie, Shane and Linda to be at times, the overriding focal part of that institution. But by Vito Corleone’s definition, at least he is a real man, and even though he had such a clattered childhood, he managed to obtain his worthwhile family philosophies from somewhere. “There are many things my father taught me… He taught me: keep your friends close, but your enemies closer” Once again the philosophies of Michael’s father are prominent in his own character. Indeed that was a staple of all three films, that Vito’s presence was felt even in the two films where the elderly wiser Corleone didn’t star. I personally have no idea whether Vince junior has carried over Vince seniors ideas on how to run a company, but its unquestionable that the McMahon we see today learnt a thing or two from the WWWF days. As it happens, as Vince seniors days came to a close, and Vince McMahon junior was handed the keys to the company and promptly renamed the WWWF to the WWF, Vincent Kennedy McMahon did (and has ever since) gone onto make a lot of enemies. By the younger McMahon’s own admission, his dad would probably have never sold him the company if he had known what havoc he would have gone onto cause. Initially Vince McMahon hand picked the best regional talents he saw, bringing the best of the best under one national televised federation, killing off many independent’s in the process. For awhile, when Owen Hart and Bret Hart were headlining shows and wrestling classics on WWF television, the one time adversary and competitor Stu Hart was enlisted by McMahon to add an extra spice to the brother versus brother contests. Likewise, Paul Heyman formally of ECW and opponent of Vince’s WWF, is now an invaluable part of the WWF’s creative team. De facto, as you may remember Heyman’s apparent long-term real life foe Jim Ross, publicly begged the ex-ECW owner to join the WWF team. Need I mention the bitter falling out between one-time inseparable friends over the Steroid trails, and the eventual rejoining of one-half of that friendship; Hulk Hogan, to his long term enemies Vince McMahon’s nirvana. Add to that, perhaps most astonishing of all, the debut of Eric Bischoff to the WWF. And moreover, reports of Bret Hart being offered spots in the WWF, its safe to say Vince McMahon junior definitely lives by the theology of “keep your friends close, but your enemies closer”. “If anything in this life is certain, if history has taught us anything, it is that you can kill anyone” A bazaar of all three Godfather’s, is that any character can die at any given time, because the promiscuousness of the plot ensures the viewer doesn’t know what happens next, but also because essentially all of the characters are living on the very edge of existence. I know the quote is more concentrated on the fact that anyone can be murdered, but semantics. There are two similarities here to wrestling, firstly if history has taught us anything, it is that any wrestler can die. But that’s a given, as it’s the only written law involving being a human. The deaths of Rick Rude, Andre ‘the Giant’ and Owen Hart does show that maybe wrestling is more probable to unlikely deaths. The second similarity, and the one I wish to concentrate on, is the one involving the unpredictability of the demise and eventual death of wrestling companies, no matter how unimaginable it may appear in particular moments in history. Now the obvious example would be WCW, which Vince McMahon was the instigator in destroying, but he also played a pretty big part in the downfall of the AWA. For those of you ignorant in wrestling past, the AWA was a promotion in much the same vein of the early WCW, in its wrestling over entertainment beliefs, while it was a throwback to the days where men would grapple for hours without any result (which was a 20s thing, I’m told). Many of the companies methods were even outdated in its prime in the early 1980s, but at one stage, the company had as much potential as the WWF, and even more publicity because of guaranteed support from ESPN. They even had Hulk Hogan… Where did they go wrong? Well, the beliefs of AWA owner Verne Gagne that set the company apart, ended up costing the company dear. Gagne didn’t keep up with the times, nor listen to the fans, and when Vince McMahon Jr. prized Hogan off Verne, as some guy so profoundly states at the heading of every column; the writing was on the wall. The AWA ended up being nothing more than a prosaic lifeless fed in its last days, forcing its owner to file for bankruptcy. At the time, what was AWA’s loss, was WCW’s gain. The company left a niche open in the wrestling world, and credit to everyone involved, they capitalised and then some. But who was there at the very end, responsible for their death? Yup, Vince McMahon. The one time multi-million company thrashing the WWF in the ratings week after week, and the company backed by ESPN and with as much if not more potential than any company has ever had, both felt the wrath of one Vince McMahon and his institution. And both proved the rule, that if history has taught us anything, its that Vince McMahon can destroy anything. And hey, if you were a cynic, you’d say with the example of the XFL, at times he’s got a tendency to destroy himself. - Tagline to The Godfather Part 3 Not only does this underline the embodiment and philosophy ever-present throughout the Godfather Parts I, II and III, but also epitomises the life and career of one Vincent Kennedy McMahon Junior. Not just to earn and obtain, but to literally take and self sustain. Of course, Vincent Kennedy McMahon was given the reigns to the World Wrestling Federation, but ever since then whether it be ‘stealing’ Bret Hart from Calgary, or Hulk Hogan from the AWA, Vince has taken everything he has needed. Vito Corleone, the immigrant who literally started at rock bottom, who through perseverance and hard work, legitimately went onto make a decent honest living is immortalised by Vince McMahon senior in the wrestling world. The darker side of the American dream became established in the later life of Vito Corleone, as he swiftly abandoned his humanity to become the focal part of the ‘Mafia’. When Vito Corleone passed away, and relinquished his powers to his son Michael, his business advanced into an even more illegitimate proceeding, declining in its ethics with every breath. Vince McMahon senior was a self made man, starting at the bottom rung, marooning his puissance to his son about half way up the never ending wrestling ladder. Vince Jr. would argue too, that he made his own way in the business, making more enemies than friends, and more money in the process than he could ever imagine. Twin to Michael Corleone, Vinnie Jr. sacrificed casuistry and decorum in the already cut-throat industry, striving for success at all costs. The Godfather takes place within an enclosed world, a parallel not too dissimilar from reality where the main difference is, we become emotionally attached to characters that are in essence pure evil. Head Don Vito Corleone appears as an admirable man close to death, who even though has made a career out of killing and stealing snatches our pathos. The WWF, Vince’s self-serving universe is equally an enclosed world, where men fight for varying reasons all within the realm of a wrestling ring, where Vince is the master. Sometimes we cheer for the good guys, but more often than not we applaud the guys with attitude, because its more fun that way. Not by accident, we end up where we started; power. Vince McMahon is the Godfather of the wrestling business, there’s no question about that. He runs the North American market and is the major part of the most watched wrestling company abroad in Europe and Australia. But as Michael Corleone discovered, power is a dangerous tool, dangerous not just to others but to yourself. Vince has already paid the price for success. He’s made an array of enemies, ended costing many wrestlers and wrestling promoters their careers and not seen his children grow up as best as any father would like. But credit to McMahon, as the quote at the very top of the article displays, he’s not finished by a long shot. It’s that yearning for success which separates Vince McMahon and Michael Corleone from everyone else. What I haven’t thoroughly discussed, are the actual plot lines of all three Godfather films. I decided not to, for the very reason that if I did, I would quite probably be here all day. If you’ve watched the first two films, with an open mind you can appreciate the story is not too dissimilar to the story of the McMahon’s. If that were so, we’re somewhere in-between Part 2 and 3, where Vince McMahon isn’t quite ready yet to give up his career, and hasn’t quite felt the weight of completely changing wrestling on his conscience. When he does so, and when he does go looking for a successor to head the WWF (both creatively, and businessly), then might be time to write the sequel to this column. And if I do, lets hope I can emulate the Godfather and make it better than the first. Take it Easy - Mav. I’d really appreciate feedback on anything wrestling related (especially this article). I’ll be doing a email related column in the coming week, so your question/comment may appear on the main page, if you so desire Click here to email me |
All material copyright © 2003 its respective owners. | Site scripted by Phoebus Apollo
The opinions expressed herein are not
necessarily those of the Oratory or of RajahWWF.com. All Rights reserved.
This website is not sponsored or endorsed by WWE.
This is not an official site.