Mommy, what's an internet?

[lettered]

1) I think sometimes we all forget the internet is for porn. It's a sad state of affairs. I hope one day our youth will grow up with the truth, instead of these lies about the internets being SRS BIZNESS. On that note:

2) Where is the Spike/Giles? Flist, I friended you for a reason. Don't let me down in my new housemate's time of need.

3) Have you seen the movie, The Godfather? Did you like it? Why? I understand that this movie is cleverly shot and superbly acted, but why is it so well-loved and famous? I mean, I know why I love it, but they do not seem to be reasons of the masses, forgive my gross stereotype. And why doesn't The Godfather have fandom? Why is it all these . . . non-fannish fans who don't write fanfiction and think no one in the stories can be gay? For that matter, why am I so fannish about it? I'd think it was a fluke, but turns out I was this obsessed before (in 2005 I wrote fic for it. I never forgot it, but I was kinda surprised when I thought about it when I started getting excited about reseeing the first movie). Lastly: WHERE IS THE TOM HAGEN LOVE?

Please, even if you've only just seen the first one in passing, lemme know what you think about it.

Comments

[rahirah]

I just read a really nice Spike/Giles by bruttimabuoni. Spike acts like Spike, and Giles acts like Giles, and no one wears diapers! (which has frightened me away from frighteningly large numbers of S/G fics.)

http://bruttimabuoni.livejournal.com/19300.html#cutid1

[tkp.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Will pass it along.

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

Re; The Godfather - this is one of those things where you are just too young. You look at the movie now, and it obviously well made, but it is also one big cliche.

You have to understand - this movie invented those cliches. The whole mafia being this incredibly loyal family where the code comes first. And if you break the code, you pay for it no matter who you are. This was all new back then, plus the absolute lushness of the story and epic downfall and corruption of Michael.

I personally liked The Conversation better, although Deniro/Brando's acting in the second Godfather movie is superb.

[tkp.livejournal.com]

Hopefully I'm going to watch the Conversation again. I realized it was very clever, but I got bored while watching it. I think now I know what I'm getting into I'll like it better.

Hm! What you say re: The Godfather makes a LOT of sense. I love the movie because I read a whole lot into Michael's story, and bring a lot to it that might be hinted at in the movie, but I'm really creating it myself, in the end. It's why I love Harry Potter so much too, but I understand why everyone else likes Harry Potter.

I guess it's all these people obsessed with the Mafia and mobs and stuff, and I just don't really get that. I don't really find them interesting unless there's a character(s) I can really get into and relate to (in my own weird way of relating. Hey, I relate to Angel, so I guess anything goes)--but the same is true with any story so Mafia or vampire or space aliens really makes no difference to me. But I guess different people are . . . different.

Thanks for the insight ;o) I don't like the second Godfather movie nearly as much. I think it's quite well done, but it doesn't give me many new ideas than the first, and doesn't stand alone for me at all, which for me is sign of nice fan matter but not a great work of fiction.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Also, The Godfather is the first movie to make a montage in that specific manner. When The Five Families are taken out and there's all the Catholic Church symbolism over everything? That's the first time that's ever been done and it's STILL fantastic film work.

This movie was also made in the Golden Era of film making, too, the decade of 69-79. Movies moved away from the old style of acting and filmmaking (perfectly shown in Streetcar Named Desire - watch Vivian Leigh vs. Marlon Brando: old and new, right there.) The Godfather was raw and brutal - again, that hadn't been seen before.

This was also the first time tough men were depicted as having a wide range of emotions, and not just the 40's Noirish "Yeah, see?" The acting,t he editing, the direction, the cinematography... It doesn't get much better than in this movie (unless you consider The Godfather 2, which is even better.)

[my_daroga]

The Godfather is the first movie to make a montage in that specific manner.

How do you mean this, exactly? Do you mean with the elements working against one another within the montage? I'm curious.

And I'm not arguing against what you say about the acting style being impressive and influential, but this was sort of the second generation of "Method"-inspired acting, as you point out by referencing Brando 20 years before. Maybe it all solidified then, as I believe filmmaking did in the "film school" generation of the late 60's/early 70's. It definitely was a heady time.

[clawofcat.livejournal.com]

Have you read Safe (http://shapinglight.livejournal.com/823479.html) by shapinglight? It was posted about a month ago. I'm not even a fan of Spike/Giles, but I did enjoy this particular fic. Deb has a really great way with humor, as well as the man love.

[tkp.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Will pass it along. Have not read it . . . I'm not a fan of the pairing either, but maybe I'll give it a go.

[deathmask-revel.livejournal.com]

This one was excellent, I thought. Thanks!

[dakinigrl.livejournal.com]

I love the Godfather... both 1 & 2. The way Michael gets drawn into the family business after he has vowed not to... how family and blood wrap their tendrils around him without his being able to resist. How completely he gives himself over to it all. How he keeps telling himself and his wife that he will make the family business legitimate. How it all eats his soul finally. It is exquisite. A look into the human heart. Epic. Poignant. Power, corruption, violence. Some of the best film making ever. Gotta love it.

I gotta admit though, even after seeing it many many times... I could still live without the horse head.

[tkp.livejournal.com]

That's why I love The Godfather as well. But I've been trying to find people talking about it, and when I do, it's not about the tragedy of Michael. There doesn't even seem to be much sympathy for him at all. Which, I mean, is understandable. He is evil. Ev0l! But I actually feel quite sorry for him.

But I realized the movie doesn't get inside Michael's head much. You see Michael do thing after thing and stuff keeps happening, building up, but you don't get real hints as to how he's feeling. You only get the reality of ok, he started one way, and then he gradually became . . . this other thing. You have to fill in the reasons why. And I love it because the reasons seem to me a lot deeper than greed or ambition. It seems all wrapped up in family and trust and love and the dying paradigm of another generation and another culture.

But then I stop and think . . . are people really thinking about paradigm shifts when they watch this? You really have to bring a lot of thoughtfulness if you're going to enjoy the movie from that angle, and lots of movie-goers . . . don't. So I wondered!

Anyway, I'm glad you love the films.

Now write me Tom/Michael.

[dakinigrl.livejournal.com]

huh... I guess I have always taken for granted that everyone sees the films as the arch of Michael's evolution, all the intricacies of his character. I mean... by the end of the third film Coppola is pretty much hitting you on the head with the moral of the story. The tragedy of it all. Michael's hopeless situation, how unable to find redemption he is. Hmph. There I go over estimating people again. ; )

HA HA HA HA. Hey... Michael/Tom could be hot. I mean, they aren't actually brothers so it's not really incest. But it's kind of like incest. Hot! hmmmm.....

[tkp.livejournal.com]

Well...I mean, possibly the places I'm looking, people are so entrenched in the Godfather, they've taken it for granted this is the obvious meaning and aren't even talking about it any more.

I guess what surprises me is what I'm seeing people attribute to Michael's motivations. So many seem to see it as a story of someone completely corrupted by ambition and greed and his own selfishness to the point where he's destroying himself. Well, maybe. But imo that's an old story and a boring one.

What You Need: Here's Michael/Tom. It's hot. She's written two, but they're the only ones of that pairing I've found. It makes me so sad.

[dakinigrl.livejournal.com]

good stuff that. very nicely done. I think I'd take a different angle on it... but well done. Thanks chiqua!

[tkp.livejournal.com]

What angle would you take?

Just curious. And have no one to talk to about this! :o(

[dakinigrl.livejournal.com]

Well... I have been giving it some thought ; ) and I see Tom as being the sub to both Sonny and to Michael. My understanding of m/m relationships in both ancient Roman and Sicilian cultures is that there is alot of master/slave/sub/dom stuff intermingled, with sex being a part of it or not. I see Mafia families as easily carrying this tradition forward. So Tom, being a kid who was taken into the family off the street... who's to say he wasn't turning tricks out there... or at least surviving on his knees at some points... I can see Sonny as having brought him in beneath him... and Michael asserting his dominance as well at some point.

I would set the scenes mostly during the time periods that the first two films cover... with a few flashbacks to their origins.

I intended to get this written... but have had a lot else on my plate at the moment. I'm definitely going to keep it on my list... but I probably won't get to it for more than a week. Maybe before Valentines Day.

[tkp.livejournal.com]

1. You are so awesome!
2. I hope you do the fic. That would rock my socks.
3. Part of what fascinates me about it is the control issues. I don't see there being a firmly outlined master/slave type relationship between Tom and either Sonny or Michael, though I suppose that's certainly possible! But Tom is incredibly subservient in a way that interests me. I always saw it as him wanting so desperately to be accepted, and being so so grateful to them all, while still being hyper-aware (partly because they keep him so) that he's not actually part of their family. And both Sonny and Michael are just as incredibly domineering. I think they both loved Tom, but walked all over him, and used him, and he let them and wanted them to, to some extent.
4. !!! I totally imagine Tom turning tricks on the street. In fact that is what I'm writing about. Of course it's possible he didn't, but I think it's just as possible he did, considering the subservience and gratitude angles. It seems entirely plausible for the character to me.
5. If you're interested, hollycomb does some awesome Sonny/Tom. Again, not a clear D/s relationship, but Sonny is obviously in control, and Tom will obviously do anything. There's a focus on how needy Tom is. I found them really hot, and some quite insightful, even if I secretly wish she wrote Tom/Michael . . .
Elsewhere In America is a sort of prequel about Tom and Sonny's relationship.
To The Mattresses takes place when Michael is in Sicily The Godfather, and is about Tom and Sonny holed up during the war.
Thick As Thieves is a short, AU during Connie's wedding.
Raised By Wolves is a "what if the Don took Sollozzo's deal", and has the brothers getting together later in life.
6. Thanks so much for talking about this with me :o)

[dakinigrl.livejournal.com]

your fic sounds awesome. I can hardly wait to read it!!

Yeah, I agree that the Sonny/Tom and Michael/Tom wouldn't be a formal Master/Slave relationship. I see it as being psychological primarily. I love your articulation of how that plays out with his gratitude and how they never let him forget he's not really part of the family. It's so true.

I'll definitely have to click around to those fics. I love the premises they pose.

I was watching Godfather on DVD (I have the whole collection) and my daughter found the disc in there. She asked me why I was watching that suddenly... and it was so funny because I actually felt myself blush. HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!! No way I'm telling her that I'm writing porn about it. I don't need to add to the inappropriate content she's already been subjected to. No one needs to hear their mom talk about Godfather porno. HA HA HA HA HA HA.

XOXOXO

[pjgale.livejournal.com]

I love The Godfather film for Al Pacino. I love the book for Luca Brasi.

(: PJ

[tkp.livejournal.com]

Young Pacino is HOT. I don't even know what to do, he's so hot.

[wackinessensues.livejournal.com]

Sorry luv, Angel/Giles I've got...Spike/Giles, not so much.

[tkp.livejournal.com]

HEE. I've got Angel/Giles too! One little thing, but yeah. So much love.

<3