The Godfather is a 1972 crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and its theme, composed by Nino Rota, became one of the most recognisable pieces of film music ever written. The slow, Sicilian-inspired melody was closely tied to the Corleone family and to ideas of loyalty, family and hidden power. As clips and parodies spread online, the theme detached from the film itself and became shorthand for any mock-mafia moment, from cooking videos to gaming montages. Its staying power comes from that instant association: listeners do not need the plot to understand the joke.