Do I have to do anything about this movie?

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A number of years ago I bought my parents the Godfather series for Christmas. Do I now need to get rid of the Godfather Part I because there is a brief sex scene in it at the beginning?

I looked up what the USCCB says about the Godfather, and it says it is for Adults. However, wouldn’t the sex scene in it be considered pornography as defined by the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 2354?

Thanks for you opinions everyone!
 
renepape said:
A number of years ago I bought my parents the Godfather series for Christmas. Do I now need to get rid of the Godfather Part I because there is a brief sex scene in it at the beginning?

I looked up what the USCCB says about the Godfather, and it says it is for Adults. However, wouldn’t the sex scene in it be considered pornography as defined by the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 2354?

Thanks for you opinions everyone!
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There is nothing you need to do. You do not need to get rid of the video/DVD. No, the scene would not necessarily be pornography. The USCCB rating system is simply a guideline, but it is helpful.

Do you, perhaps, tend towards scrupulosity? If so, I suggest you ask your priest to help you get a regular spiritual director trained to deal with this issue.

You seem to be finding sin in all sorts of places where there is none.
 
I don’t see a problem. If you consider it porn, fast forward? Most every movie now has some sort of sex scene, but it doesn’t mean you need to avoid it. If it makes you feel uncomfortable, i would skip the scene though.
 
renepape said:
A number of years ago I bought my parents the Godfather series for Christmas. Do I now need to get rid of the Godfather Part I because there is a brief sex scene in it at the beginning?

I looked up what the USCCB says about the Godfather, and it says it is for Adults. However, wouldn’t the sex scene in it be considered pornography as defined by the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 2354?

Thanks for you opinions everyone!
Click to expand...
Well the Godfather is one of my favorite movies… I suppose the scene is slightly gratuitous, however I think we need to keep in mind a couple of factors.
  1. It is protraying the wedding night between a husband and his wife.
  2. Prior scenes make it quite clear that the courtship was carried out in a respectful and chaste manner.
  3. In a way, it demonstrates the gift a wife gives to her husband on their wedding night.
In many respects this scene is powerful for the events that come before and after it. In this part of the movie, Michael appears to be still trying to cling to living a decent life (even if he has entered the life of his Father). But later events show that his corruption has pulled that decent life away from him.

To me the Godfather films have always been as much as anything, a meditation on how the path to hell can be paved with good intentions… The good that Michael tries to do is usually corrupted by the effects of his evil.

–
Bill
 
mchale said:
Well the Godfather is one of my favorite movies… I suppose the scene is slightly gratuitous, however I think we need to keep in mind a couple of factors.
  1. It is protraying the wedding night between a husband and his wife.
  2. Prior scenes make it quite clear that the courtship was carried out in a respectful and chaste manner.
  3. In a way, it demonstrates the gift a wife gives to her husband on their wedding night.
In many respects this scene is powerful for the events that come before and after it. In this part of the movie, Michael appears to be still trying to cling to living a decent life (even if he has entered the life of his Father). But later events show that his corruption has pulled that decent life away from him.

To me the Godfather films have always been as much as anything, a meditation on how the path to hell can be paved with good intentions… The good that Michael tries to do is usually corrupted by the effects of his evil.

–
Bill
Click to expand...
Great post!

renepape if you do decide to get rid of it you can always send it to me, great movie! 😃
 
I believe the OP is referring to a scene in Godfather I where Sonny flirts with a bridesmaid in front of his wife at his sister’s wedding reception. The two leave and are in a bedroom with the woman up against a wall when Tommy approaches, hears what is going on and leaves. The scene establishes Sonny as a womanizer even early on in his own marriage. At the wedding, Sonny has two young daughters.

In Godfather III, Michael’s daughter has fallen in love with Sonny’s son. I always thought the man was the son of Sonny and the bridesmaid. They were still first cousins.

Anyway, I wouldn’t delete the scene. The whole thing is about murder, lies,and betrayal. If you took all the sinful parts out, there wouldn’t be anything left to watch. And it is a great film because it is about one segment of life that is like that.
 
aicirt said:
I believe the OP is referring to a scene in Godfather I where Sonny flirts with a bridesmaid in front of his wife at his sister’s wedding reception. The two leave and are in a bedroom with the woman up against a wall when Tommy approaches, hears what is going on and leaves. The scene establishes Sonny as a womanizer even early on in his own marriage. At the wedding, Sonny has two young daughters.
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Now that I reread the first post, I think you are right. Its just there is so little to that scene, I didn’t even occur to me when the original poster talked about a scene that could be considered pornographic.

I think this scene is crucial to showing the corrupting effects of the lifestyle that the family leads. Between the first and the second film, its shown that all of the men in the Corleone family are in some sense corrupted by being in the mafia. Even Vito, (Marlon Brando’s character) is ultimately the best of the bad, but hardly good.
In Godfather III, Michael’s daughter has fallen in love with Sonny’s son. I always thought the man was the son of Sonny and the bridesmaid. They were still first cousins.
Click to expand...
Anyway, I wouldn’t delete the scene. The whole thing is about murder, lies,and betrayal. If you took all the sinful parts out, there wouldn’t be anything left to watch. And it is a great film because it is about one segment of life that is like that.
Click to expand...
Yeah I agree… the sins of the characters are necessary to show that they really do reap what they sow.

–
Bill
 
I think you’re fine. If the scene makes you feel uncomfortable, ff it.

That said, this thread totally made me want to rent the series again. I just put it in my movie Queue!! LOL
 
mchale said:
Well the Godfather is one of my favorite movies… I suppose the scene is slightly gratuitous, however I think we need to keep in mind a couple of factors.
  1. It is protraying the wedding night between a husband and his wife.
  2. Prior scenes make it quite clear that the courtship was carried out in a respectful and chaste manner.
  3. In a way, it demonstrates the gift a wife gives to her husband on their wedding night.
In many respects this scene is powerful for the events that come before and after it. In this part of the movie, Michael appears to be still trying to cling to living a decent life (even if he has entered the life of his Father). But later events show that his corruption has pulled that decent life away from him.

To me the Godfather films have always been as much as anything, a meditation on how the path to hell can be paved with good intentions… The good that Michael tries to do is usually corrupted by the effects of his evil.

–
Bill
Click to expand...
Well, as later posts said, I was talking about the scene with Sonny.

And yes, I do tend towards scrupulosity–at times it gets very difficult and wearing. Thank you everyone!
 
mchale said:
Well the Godfather is one of my favorite movies… I suppose the scene is slightly gratuitous, however I think we need to keep in mind a couple of factors.
  1. It is protraying the wedding night between a husband and his wife.
  2. Prior scenes make it quite clear that the courtship was carried out in a respectful and chaste manner.
  3. In a way, it demonstrates the gift a wife gives to her husband on their wedding night.
In many respects this scene is powerful for the events that come before and after it. In this part of the movie, Michael appears to be still trying to cling to living a decent life (even if he has entered the life of his Father). But later events show that his corruption has pulled that decent life away from him.

To me the Godfather films have always been as much as anything, a meditation on how the path to hell can be paved with good intentions… The good that Michael tries to do is usually corrupted by the effects of his evil.

–
Bill
Click to expand...
Terrific synopsis ! Made me view that movie in a way new light… you are totally spot on with it.
 
renepape said:
A number of years ago I bought my parents the Godfather series for Christmas. Do I now need to get rid of the Godfather Part I because there is a brief sex scene in it at the beginning?

I looked up what the USCCB says about the Godfather, and it says it is for Adults. However, wouldn’t the sex scene in it be considered pornography as defined by the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 2354?

Thanks for you opinions everyone!
Click to expand...
I have a comment, and a question.

First, I agree with just about every other responder: You don’t have to get rid of the movie or avoid watching if (FF is a great option). Also, after reading the Catechism’s definition of pornography as found in article 2354, I really think the Church talking more about what normal people consider to be pornography (both soft and hard). I don’t think the Church is trying to say simulated sex acts in movies do

“. . . . grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world. It is a grave offense. Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials.”

And I don’t think the church really means that civil authorities should prevet the production of any movie with a simulated sex act. If that were the case, we’d be asking the Louvre to remove half of it’s paintings and sculptures.

And let’s not even start talking about books or music…

It seems that the pornography the Church describes as a “grave offense” is what your average person would recognize as pornography.

And now my question: If these movies were a gift how would you get rid of the movie even if you thought the Church required that? I had the impression you don’t own these movies.

Pax,
OA
 
Something no one’s mentioned, you bought the movie for your parents.
Bought it several years ago. It’s now their movie.

You don’t have the right to do anything to this movie, b/c it isn’t yours.
Unless they give you permission, tampering with this movie would be
stealing/tampering.

Just something to think about.
 
renepape said:
A number of years ago I bought my parents the Godfather series for Christmas. Do I now need to get rid of the Godfather Part I because there is a brief sex scene in it at the beginning?

I looked up what the USCCB says about the Godfather, and it says it is for Adults. However, wouldn’t the sex scene in it be considered pornography as defined by the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 2354?

Thanks for you opinions everyone!
Click to expand...
Is it an impediment to you getting to heaven? Is so, the answer to your question is pretty obvious.

In regards to the USCCB’s ability to properly screen movies, it leaves one wanting. I wouldn’t go to them for *any *movie review.
 
1ke said:
There is nothing you need to do. You do not need to get rid of the video/DVD. No, the scene would not necessarily be pornography. The USCCB rating system is simply a guideline, but it is helpful.

Do you, perhaps, tend towards scrupulosity? If so, I suggest you ask your priest to help you get a regular spiritual director trained to deal with this issue.

You seem to be finding sin in all sorts of places where there is none.
Click to expand...
yes,i think so,There is nothing you need to do. You do not need to get rid of the video/DVD.

http://www.photosnag.com/img/4673/n09x0302vnsn/clear.gif
 
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