Send Me Dead Flowers

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Send Me Dead Flowers

by SeasideMan ^Pro @ 17/09/09 – 10:22:12

It has always been my contention that the film "The Godfather" Glamorizes violence and to some extent even glorifies the Mafioso style "morality" of putting The Family first regardless of how much slaughter is required to do so. A film called Gomorrah was premiered at Cannes last year which shows them in a harsher light as slave smugglers, terrorists and dealers in toxic waste. The film shows no job as being too dirty or disgusting for them as long as there is a healthy profit in it. Whether this portrayal is correct or not is not something I have direct knowledge of, but I do know that the writer of both the film and the original book, Roberto Saviano, has received death threats and is under permanent police protection.

Yesterday, this was in the news:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8257912.stm

"A shipwreck apparently containing toxic waste is being investigated by authorities in Italy amid claims that it was deliberately sunk by the mafia ... The informant said it contained nuclear material"

This is the trailer for the film:

This is Dead Flowers by The Rolling Stones. It's not connected to the film, I just thought it seemed fitting:

Cheers, Tom.
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- godfather
- saviano
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- gomorrah

30 Comments to Send Me Dead Flowers

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- LittleBop
- 17/09/09 @ 10:29:30
the picture is really pretty. very artistic just the kind of thing i love.
i really like black and white photography, theres something about it...

unfortunately i am going to have to admit to never seeing the godfather..
- - SeasideMan ^Pro
  - 17/09/09 @ 10:31:06
  Thanks Emma. It took me a few goes to get that photograph right, but I'm quite pleased with it.
  - - LittleBop
    - 17/09/09 @ 11:07:45
    you should be
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- catsInVienna
- 17/09/09 @ 10:34:55
Lovely pictures. I have not watched Gomorrah, but I think it is a good film. I traveled to Sicily some years ago and it must be a bane to live there. Inhabitants are frighten by the Mafia.
- - SeasideMan ^Pro
  - 17/09/09 @ 10:38:12
  Sicily always looks lovely in films. I'd like to see it some time.
  - - catsInVienna
    - 17/09/09 @ 10:46:00
    Taormina and Palermo are nice places, Palermo is very busy. But the Sicilian are quiet different to other Italian.
    
    There is a film Le grand bleu, filmed in Sicily
    
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095250/
    - - SeasideMan ^Pro
      - 17/09/09 @ 11:02:40
      I haven't seen that film, but I know of it. I like Jean Reno as an actor, and Luc Besson is a fine director. Their other famous film together is Leon, which is just brillisnt.
      
      There are SO many great films out there that I haven't seen and probably never will.
      
      Tom.
      - catsInVienna
        
        17/09/09 @ 11:17:19
        
        I watched that film one week ago. I like Leon more. It is like books, it is never be possible to read every good book.
        
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- Miss-Anthropy
- 17/09/09 @ 10:36:11
i also love the flower photograph, as i am sort of a gloomcookie.

so many films glamorize violence. i suppose i am numb to it, though i am not a fan of gratuitous violence or real life crime. i admit to adoring The Godfather. i know, shame on me.
- - SeasideMan ^Pro
  - 17/09/09 @ 10:37:37
  I think The Godfather is a good film too, but I've never liked it's portrayal of all those thugs as "honourable".
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- sparkles101
- http://sparkles101.blog.co.uk
- 17/09/09 @ 11:02:05
I can't see the video ( work blocks it and i'm pretending to look busy ) the picture is amazing tho I love sepia or black&white photo's anyways! fabulous XXX
- - SeasideMan ^Pro
  - 17/09/09 @ 11:07:17
  Hehe - I used to pretend to be busy at work sometimes too :-)
  
  I intend to do a fair bit more B&W in the next few months.
  - - sparkles101
    - http://sparkles101.blog.co.uk
    - 17/09/09 @ 18:47:05
    fabulous!!
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- Rosiebud
- 17/09/09 @ 12:57:30
I like The Godfather, I like Scarface, I even like The Sopranos I like the idea of 'made men' (where you become a made man when you do a hit and your in the mafia for life), huge Italian families, the Don......but I know they are fictional real gangsters scare me to bits, as you say what ever there is a profit in they will do it.
Drugs, prostitution, arms, ... anything... I don't like real gangsters.

XXX
- - SeasideMan ^Pro
  - 17/09/09 @ 13:04:22
  I was a big fan of The Sopranos. I loved it. We managed to get hold of the 1st 5 series of it (after managing to miss it before that) and watched them at the rate of about 3 episodes a night until we'd seen the lot. Excellent television, and it shows the gangster life in all it's seedy unpleasantness. Television doesn't get much better than that.
  
  I suppose lots of us find bad people fascinating...as long as they are along way away or fictional.
  
  Tom.
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- brokendownangel ^Pro
- 17/09/09 @ 13:09:34
looks like a very interesting film regardless of whether it portrays the truth or not. Gangsters have their place and they will act when the police will/can not. Much like the IRA they won't put up with wife beaters or child abusers, not right to have vigilantes maybe, but if they are around I feel they may as well be of use.
- - SeasideMan ^Pro
  - 17/09/09 @ 14:21:15
  Gangsters do have their place, and it's in prison.
  - - brokendownangel ^Pro
    - 17/09/09 @ 14:32:12
    That is a very black and white view and one you are entitled to of course, but you would feel differently if one had sorted out someone that had abused your child! An emotive response I know x
    - - SeasideMan ^Pro
      - 17/09/09 @ 14:36:12
      I'd still rather let The Law handle it.
      - brokendownangel ^Pro
        
        17/09/09 @ 15:20:16
        
        Not so sure I would as the law and justice are two entirely different things and just because the former is done doesn't mean the latter will be
        
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        SeasideMan ^Pro
        
        17/09/09 @ 15:42:38
        
        Letting criminals be judges and executioners isn't something I will ever support.
        
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        brokendownangel ^Pro
        
        18/09/09 @ 08:06:59
        
        Think we might have to agree to disagree on this one Tom, I think there is a huge gap where the law fails people desperately, that said, it is only in an ideal world that even gangsters/vigilantes can be of use, without them running amok. Power corrupts after all, that is obvious from a police point too - there are very corrupt officials that will do anything to get a conviction - thus making them criminals too.
        
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- Bushka ^Pro
- Bushka
- 17/09/09 @ 16:28:09
From wat I have read about Gomorrah....it sounds like a very powerful commentary on the World of Today! Themes and Motifs are pretty apparent in our world - sophisticatedly attired!
- - SeasideMan ^Pro
  - 17/09/09 @ 16:35:09
  It's a film that we discussed in my Film Studies class last year, but unfortunately I never got to see it. I will do so at my first opportunity.
  - - Bushka ^Pro
    - Bushka
    - 17/09/09 @ 17:38:48
    From what I have learnt about you - through your posts and comments - I think you will not fail to pick up parallels when you see the film...
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- jollyweez
- 17/09/09 @ 20:49:47
I always thought the Mafia types in "The Godfather" would be splendid to govern America, instead of our usual Presidents!
They would clean things up, and keep the 'riff-raff' off the streets. Or "off with their heads!!" so to speak.
I vote for Mafia to run America. JW xx
- - SeasideMan ^Pro
  - 17/09/09 @ 20:53:13
  Hmm, I can see what you're saying, but I wouldn't fancy being in the opposition party!
  - - jollyweez
    - 17/09/09 @ 21:20:19
    Hehe!! You are very clever, seasideman!
    That's a good one! JW xx
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- timsuzi ^Pro
- 18/09/09 @ 21:07:58
For me Tom, what was so powerful about 'The Godfather' is the way that it seduces you into actually siding with them and then in the end confronts you with the sickening nature of the violence that Michael Corleone unleashes.
Esssentially we have taken the same path that Michael has taken as he inexorably is led to abandon his original virtuous stance out of loyalty to his family.
- - SeasideMan ^Pro
  - 18/09/09 @ 21:12:00
  I know what you mean and that's definitely the intention. For me though, Goodfellas works better.
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