There were various politicians and advocacy groups who were pre-offended by The Godfather and what they assumed would be a stereotypical view of violent Italian men. One well-documented letter sent to Paramount read, in part:
A book like The Godfather leaves one with the sickening feeling that a great deal of effort and labor to eliminate a false image concerning Americans of Italian descent and also an ethnic connotation to organized crime has been wasted … There are so many careers and biographies that could be made into constructive and intelligent movies, such as the life of Enrico Fermi, the great scientist.”