#fredo talks

[muzwoom]

I love fics where theyre related or platonic soulmates in any way shape or form but im especially warming up to hyung og cale and dongsaeng krs cale rn

#tcf #just talking dmm #that one post has officially influenced me #also the thought of og cale calling krs dongsaeng in front of basen and basen being incredibly jealous and fuming is funny #iirc that was a thing in ‘treasure of the (vampire) dukes family’ 👀 #except in that one krs is son of fredo i want him to be a thames hehehehe

[nothingenoughao3]

We interrupt our regularly-scheduled Reanimator reblogs to address a very important Godfather-related point made in this post by @frodo-of-the-nine-fingers.

Visual storytelling used to be A Thing in films. Some directors still do it (lookin' at you, Ari Aster, in equal parts terror and admiration), so I'm not arguing that it's totally lost to time, but... kind of, maybe. Compared to what I'm about to discuss, it feels like it's gone.

See, there's this thing about hair. It once was that hair in movies could matter a lot! There were not clauses in contracts requiring that the actors always look fuckable, and so actors sometimes were made to look gross or messy! This is where we get tropes about, say, Shaving The Beard or a Meaningful Haircut. You grew the beard/hair because you were overwhelmed with tragedy and immobilized by grief, torment, and anhedonia. When you were ready to shuck that off, even temporarily, you'd cut off the hair/beard, typically while staring at yourself in a mirror.

Double points if the mirror was the door to a medicine cabinet, so there could be a shot of the camera/you looking into the cabinet as you set the scissors away, then a dramatic click of the mirror closing to reveal you with your new, stern, cleaned-up features. But I digress.

Hair was, in other words, chosen for reasons other than "This hairstyle will make the character visually recognizable when they are a tiny CGI doll puppeted around during the hyperdense finale".

Now we could also probably make a post about the hair of the Corleone women, but in this post, it's just dudes. Sorry for being gay.

First let's look at Vito.

In the first film, we see Vito as a boy. His hair is loose, slightly parted down the middle. This connotes immaturity, boyishness, and innocence. His hair isn't particularly styled or controlled. That last word will be important for this analysis.

By the time he's an adult, we see that Vito's already adopted the style he'll maintain for the rest of his life.

(i cannot with you robert. how dare you.)

Vito's hair is a simple, but powerful visual metaphor for control. Vito was out of control when he was a small boy, and it cost him his entire family and his safety in his homeland. It nearly cost him his life. No matter how gentle he seems, the truly gentle, childish, boyish Vito is gone forever, and he will never return.

He will keep himself and his family safe, even if he has to fucking kill people to do it.

Vito keeps his hair under the same kind of control he keeps the rest of his life under. The only times we see it out of place are when he's out of control--after he's shot and never really recovers.

Even more so, as seen above, after he loses Sonny.

The Corleone boys' hair also reflects how closely they adhere to the family, but more than that, how closely they are adhering to Vito's personal values. So, for example, Sonny does not have this hairstyle. He's got loose, kind of curly/frizzy hair which is never styled like Vito's.

(god he is devastatingly attractive it is untrue)

Clearly, Sonny's hair reflects his character: he's wild. Untamed. He can be the Don, and he serves very well when he's a wartime Don, but he never really adopts Vito's perspective on life/family management/Donship. We see this in how he doesn't pay much attention during the scenes where Vito's giving favors at Connie's wedding, even though he has at least two daughters and will have to do this ritual himself at least twice. He thinks he'll make his own way--beat up a photographer, bang Lucy--and he won't have to worry about all this crap once Pop turns it all over to him.

Then there's Tom.

(hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhggggggh look at him)

Tom has his hair slicked back from the very first time we see him, and he keeps it that way throughout both films. He is loyal to a fault. Not just to the mafia, but to Vito. When Tom tells Sonny he's as much a son to Vito as him or Mike, nobody argues with him. They all know it's true. And we, the audience, can literally see this loyalty in how Tom presents himself.

Notice, though, that Tom didn't say "I'm as much a son to him as you, Mike, or Fredo"? Yyyyeah.

Fredo starts off with the same kind of style as Michael, a more grown-up version of Vito's childhood hairstyle.

And a clearer shot of Michael because why not this is a Pacino appreciation blog

(their faces have transported me to heaven, free of all sin)

These are more controlled versions of the same hair Vito had as a child. This communicates that Michael and Fredo are not part of the family. They're adults, they brush their hair and use product on it, but they don't style it like men. Despite being a soldier (in Mike's case) or casually involved in the family business (in Fredo's), they're both treated kind of like kids. They have the potential to grow into men, men like their father, but they haven't yet.

Both Fredo and Michael do adopt their father's style at specific points in the narrative, and it's relevant to note when this happens.

When Michael is in Sicily, after making his bones, he still parts his hair. He's still maintaining his separation from his family. Despite him being utterly and totally dependent on his family for survival, given he's being hunted by half of the country.

(to be a bruise on that man's cheek)

It's Apollonia's death that changes everything for him.

But first, hats. Hats are another thing with Michael: he wears them when he's uncomfortable in a social situation, as though he's 'hiding', then takes them off to show he's more relaxed and comfortable. Frex, him wearing his uniform hat when he arrives at the wedding, then doffing it after he's been there a while. Likewise, he wears a hat in Sicily to literally show the audience that he is in hiding. He ditches it once he starts courting Apollonia, because now he's not in hiding--he ratted himself out and he's trying to integrate.

So when Michael meets Kay outside the school, and he's wearing a hat and keeps it on the entire interaction... we know, without being told, that he is telling porkie pies. He is lying. He is hiding in plain sight. More than that, it tells us he's not really comfortable or happy being there. He's doing this because he feels like he should, and not because he wants to.

(Notice, for instance, that when Michael is lying out of his asshole to Carlo about his chances of surviving the next ten minutes? Michael's wearing a hat for that entire scene.)

The other purpose of the hat is to disguise what's going on with Mikey's hair. He starts out with the newsboy cap in Sicily, so we can't see whether he has been fundamentally changed by making his bones. Then we see... no, he hasn't, he's not really that bothered by shooting two dudes. Okay. Then he goes to see Kay post-return and the hat disguises how deeply Apollonia's loss has affected him, until the next scene, where we see...

... oh.

It's still parted. But it's far closer to Vito's traditional hairstyle than before. Far closer. We are shown without being told how profoundly Michael was affected by all of his losses in Sicily (we can definitely include Sonny's death, and the general PTSD of that carbomb was meant for me, along with Apollonia's demise). He is transforming. Corroding into Vito.

Now the next major scene lets us compare Michael's new hair directly with Fredo. Fredo's hair has also changed. From the fluffy semi-parted look from before, we now see him like this:

His hair is slicked back--severely, sharply. However, when added to the rest of his outfit, it looks like he's a parody of Vito. He's trying to hit the same notes, but he's failing miserably. He's too tone-deaf to get the song right. But Michael?

Still very slightly parted, but that boyishness is almost gone.

While Fredo's transformation seems fake, it's more that he never really makes it. However, from this point on, he is involved in family business, the way Pop would have wanted him to be--at a distance, where his clowning does the least damage--so his new Vitoesque hair remains for the rest of Parts 1 and 2.

Is there, then, a specific scene where Michael's hair is unambiguously, entirely slicked back in a Pure Vito? Not with the little knocked part left in the front, as though some vestige of his own personality remained?

Well, yes. There is.

There's so much going on during the Baptism Scene that this understandably is left by the wayside, but we almost never see Michael with his hair exactly like this ever again.

Part 2 shows him with hair that's sometimes parted (when he's doing public-facing stuff) and sometimes slicked back (when he's doing Mobster Stuff). We do see him with this perfectly-slicked back look when he meets Hyman Roth. You know, when he's trying his hardest to project a sense of Vito-ness, of Donitude.

Overall, though, nothing really tops Michael's look in the Baptism Scene. He has fully embraced Vito's life, Vito's philosophy, and Vito's plan for the total destruction of all their enemies. He may be a little bit more Michael later on, but in this specific moment, Michael is Vito.

He is exerting total and complete control over dozens of lives, ending or changing them for the worse across the board.

Because, when he was still young and kind of boyish, he lost his family and his homeland and, very nearly, his own life.

And he will keep his family, The Family, and himself safe, even if he has to kill everyone outside The Family to do it.

#we interrupt our scheduled reanimator reblogs #the godfather #the godfather part ii #michael corleone #vito corleone #sonny corleone #fredo corleone #tom hagen #visual storytelling #film analysis #i live for analysis #in which i talk about hair about as much as junji ito #nothingenough speaks #screencaps

[melis-writes]

When Michael Corleone said “banana daiquiri” I felt that 🫴🏻🍹

#who else up sipping a banana daiquiri with Fredo in Havana?? #michael corleone #Melly talks #the godfather part II

[lenawin4]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#succession #succession spoilers #kendall roy #siobhan roy #roman roy #the godfather #hmm idk idk #tomshiv #i'm a tomshiv truther...so this is just one way it can all end tragically #kendall somehow using cruises or some shit to cut tom's throat #cuz they can #:// #this is my first text/photo post pls be kind #i also fucking love the godfather so am i constantly thinking about who is who yes #roman is a fredo #connor doesn't even count as a fredo because he's so removed from it all #i have always debated whether shiv or kendall is a michael because they can both be so incompetent at times #but if jeremy strong is talking about a michael corleone fall then... idk guess shiv is a connie #then again either kendall or shiv as sonny makes sense

[sicklylittleguy]

i miss fredo disco like FUCKING death

#WHERE DID THEY GO #fredo disco #i talk to myself

[arcadequeerz]

Speaking of weretoons au, I'd speak bout it more on here but i am: a anxious fool about talking about my aus anywhere other then discord anymore NKGMLFDJNG

#Cade.Txts #nothing against you guys its just. i get rly anxious bout talking about most of my writing anymore- #not sure why its just been a struggle to rly. open up about stuff ive written lately- to anyone who i don't speak to #regularly on discord NHJGFMKDJING #friends on discord have heard me infodump about various stories of mine- including weretoons- #Hell I even rp as Fredo/Fakey from the au in a rp server d:) n its been super fun- havent rped in #years n its been a amazing time doing so w people. #but uuuh. MM i get nervous about talking about stuff. #will try n get better w it but idk. been reough few months in general for me n i dont think thts Helped HJFKD

[dragynkeep]

So say the last discussion between Fredo and Michael had happened prior to the final betrayal and all that pent up frustration had been aired, do you think anything might have changed?

hmm, this is an interesting question!

my gut is telling me no; just because the resentment of fredo went so deep because of michael's treatment & we've seen that michael losing other people in his life like kay after the divorce or tom after sending him to vegas, did little to dissuade michael from a course of action if he decided on it.

michael's strong will was both his strength & his downfall, because he became such a control freak that everything had to be in his control & following what he said so he could ensure the best outcome. this probably stemmed from santino's death, vito being shot & apollonia's accidental murder; instances that he probably felt could've been prevented in his traumatized thought process.

& this naturally clashes with fredo's own sense of masculinity as well as his deep set resentment that he was passed over not only for becoming don, but for any higher up roles in the family. with santino, there wasn't much of a hassle because santino was the eldest child, him becoming the don was to be expected. but when he was passed over for michael, the youngest child in becoming don & then passed over for tom, the adoptive son who wasn't even sicilian in a higher rank; of course that would bite at him. all of this then gave way to the abuse from moe green, the "shame" of being sent to las vegas, the fact he couldn't get sicilian wife & the wife he did have was a loud mouthed, unruly, racist wasp american who michael had to scold him into controlling, etc.

so even if they had been able to talk through all that resentment & avoid the events that led up to fredo's betrayal; i think even then there would only be another betrayal in the works. because fredo would never lose that resentment so long as their dynamic stayed as it was, & michael would never change his mindset until years later after losing his children in the divorce. even then, i don't think michael truly lost that desperate grasp for control in his life until the death of mary truly hammered it home that he would never be able to prevent these things, so long as he bore the sins of his past actions & his family.

but that's a whole other discussion on the religious motif in part 3 for me to have another day lmao.

#the godfather #michael corleone #fredo corleone #vito corleone #santino corleone #tom hagen #apollonia corleone #kay adams #mary corleone #ais.txt #answered #q #i love talking about the godfather sm

[angelamontoo]

Oh BTW I finished the Godfather trilogy again the other day and I forgot how much Fredo is baby. AU where instead of sticking with the Corleone family, he ran away in shame and guilt after his father was shot, met Cairo and Gutman and became the new Wilmer

#the maltese falcon #joel cairo #the Godfather #fredo corleone #kasper Gutman #i like this blog because if i feel like talking about a piece of media thats not really related to peter lorre i can just suggest it it #having a crossover with another piece of media that peter was in #which 90% of the time is the maltese falcon #i also have a tmf/wolfman crossover btw #oh! and brigid is definitely descended from the family from 'meet me in st louis' #idk which one of the kids is her parent but anne is her grandmother

[chaosfae-writes]

#a man being called Fredo shouldn’t be an insult upon masculinity #Fredo is a complex tragic character #phoney politicians using this as an insult and the ones acting as if it’s an slur really need to sit down and actually understand literature #acting like a bunch of limp dick clowns #read the damn books #watch the films again #and ACTUALLY DO SOME FUCKING WORK FOR THIS COUNTRY #thank you for coming to my Ted talk #the godfather #character analysis

[bisexualbvck]

probably gonna fall asleep. fingers crossed they are still playing Uno when I wake up lol

#also that pizza Fredo is eating looks delicious and now I'm sleepy and tired #christina talks #uno infinite

[ilikewatchingtv]

The Godfather (I,II,III)

Francis Ford Coppola

LISTEN- UR PROBABLY THINKING.... "OOOOH BROTHER not even 3 posts in and this bitch has already mentioned the Godfather???!!!" Ik this might make me seem like the kind of person who makes fun of women for not knowing a lot of movies, only watches movies about white men directed by white men and overall has a very skewed takeaway from some films (cough cough I'm talking about you film bros) but I feel like there is obviously a genuine reason its popular! if a movie is good of course it will get attention (and i feel this can be looked down upon in the film community but popular doesnt mean overrated) once again I can't pinpoint really the exact reason i like this movie, but I will say THE SOUNDTRACK IS HFRHEHHSSH. when I first watch The Godfather I, I don't think i really got it, to be fair, I had a hard time hearing them and literally everything rides on your ability to watch the characters interactions lmao, but when I looked back and reflected upon it, I started liking it more and more; upon watching the second Godfather I went berserk and I think my 3rd eye was opened and I was finally understanding of what makes this such a lovable series. when Coppola transformed Mario Puzos novel into film, he focused more upon the dynamic between fathers and sons, and the effect they can leave them with, rather than it judt being a mafia story. watching this with my dad made me realize how many sons and fathers feel seen by this movie which is really cute (and why representation in entertainment is so important) but I don't think it's a movie judt for fathers and sons, obviously the family dynamics are beautifully done and everything is so rich and juicy with symbols, there is so much to look at and unpack and literally anyone can find something they like from this movie.

I rate the godfather a trillion out of something idk once again injustnrlly enjoy this trilogy

#the godfather #you come to me on the day of my daughters wedding and ask me to murder a man for money? #im definitely misquoting that #whatever dont look too hard #yass corleone family #fredo oh silly poor fredo #i could have talked so much more about this but im writing this on my phone and the screen hardly works woe is me

[lilackitten]

Chelsea brought up a good point on discord earlier today, the 15th was rt community day for years. I never did share my selfies from RTX 2022 so I'm taking this 15th to do that. Absolutely a blast, i loved every moment (not to mention it was the first vacation i had taken in 4 years at that point), BK was the one who decided Alfredo had to sign the asscrack of babyhands.

#alex talks #this is the alex #rtx22 #rtx austin #i won't forget seeing Eric in the wild and saying 'hey do you want a picture?' and he said 'do i want? yes /I/ want a picture' #couldn't have gone better #i put babyhands in a football case after sticking a mirror to it so you could still see his little face #fredo ripped his seam from signing so hard #unrelated but i have officially caught up with red web today for the first time ever #o7

[melis-writes]

fredo really went from banging two cocktail waitresses at a time to sleeping with the fishes 2,000 at a time 😭😭😭

#the godfather #fredo corleone #Melly talks

[katewalker]

I get people getting comic shock value about that Astarion/Halsin scene on twitter, and yeah it made me giggle as well, but I've been watching Game of Roles for years, this is nothing compared to what this Actual Play made me go through lmao

#and i say that with love #anyway one of the protags had a enchanted house fall in love with them and roaming the world to find them #and i wont start talking about fredo #pau.txt

[medlarrambles]

Literally just got personally attacked by a song in the Wilbur Soot - S5 playlist. "I've got a paper due on Tuesday that I haven't even started" EXCUSE YOU let me procrastinate in peace and my delusions thank you very much

#medlar talks music #Ghost of Mariano's #Disco Inc. #fredo disco

[magewritesstories]

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im.not.yn. @paris.geller is my new favourite study buddy (sorry @rory.gilmore.official)

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→ rory.gilmore.official never took you for the fredo corleone type      → im.not.yn. sorry babes, but you talk too much sometimes

→ paris.geller. thank you, you’re my favourite too     → jessnotfound she said favourite studdy buddy, im her favourite person

Liked by whoislorelai and 97 others

im.not.yn one party with @pretty.girl.madeline and @dumbblondelouise is enough to last me a year

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→ LukeDanes is this why you were wearing sunglasses inside yesterday?      → im.not.yn mayyybbee....

→ whoislorelai aah reminds me of the good old days      → jessnotfound you mean the mesozoic era?      → rory.gilmore.official you might wanna run away again @jessnotfound, my mom’s looking for you      → xo.lane everyone let’s collectively pray for @jessnotfound

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im.not.yn my three favourite things rainy days, jane austen and coffee

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→ jessnotfound but hemingway is so much better     → paris.geller hemingway has nothing on jane     → rory.gilmore.official you did not just say that     → whoislorelai i have no idea who’s correct but i enjoy watching jess get attacked so... jane > hemingway

→ LukeDanes how did you not spill that coffee?      → im.not.yn its a secret i’ll never tell

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im.not.yn taking pictures of jess when he’s not looking is my favourite way to pass time

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→ xo.lane must be nice having a boyfriend....      → im.not.yn hehe it is

→ rory.gilmore.official i ship it     → whoislorelai im your co-captain @LukeDanes can build the ship     → LukeDanes what???

→ dumbblondelouise you two are cute, couldnt be me tho      → pretty.girl.madeline sameee

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im.not.yn midterms at chilton suck

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→ paris.geller they’re not that bad, you just have to plan correctly      → im.not.yn they suck when you have zero motivation (like moi)

→ whoislorelai they also suck for parents, rory hasnt slept all week and she wont let me sleep either, you have to sleep its what keeps you pretty      → rory.gilmore.official who cares if im pretty if i fail my finals???      → xo.lane do you really wanna know the answer to that question @rory.gilmore.official?

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im.not.yn its my fav time of the year again

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→ LukeDanes everything’s snowed in though???      → jessnotfound perfect excuse to not socialize

→ xo.lane i hate it i have to dress like joey in that one episode of friends      → im.not.yn oooohhh i remember that one

→ paris.geller i hope you arent taking the holidays as an excuse to slack off      → im.not.yn who me? slack off? never.

#gilmore girls #gilmore girls x reader #rory gilmore #lorelai gilmore #luke danes #jess mariano #madeline and louise #paris geller #gilmore girls modern au #instagram in gilmore girls #jess mariano x reader #jess mariano fanfic #jess mariano headcanons