1) fruit
When the trumpet sounded, it was
Pablo Neruda, “The United Fruit Company”
all prepared on the earth,
the Jehovah parcelled out the earth
to Coca-Cola, Inc., Anaconda,
Ford Motors, and other entities:
Overflowing fruit baskets line a table. In The Godfather Part II, this is the setting for a meeting of American industrialists. As the camera pans down the table, showing the characters’ faces, the frame consistently includes the fruit baskets.
This scene operates in close-up until a final, wider shot promises the full picture. This shot shows fruit baskets down the center of the table, and men crowding around them.
These props reference the United Fruit Company, an organization famous for exploiting Latin American countries. With the help of Pablo Neruda, the United Fruit Company has come to symbolize the darkest incarnation of imperialism. This symbol is explicitly referenced in the scene as “the General Fruit Company”, and implicitly referenced through the fruit basket props. Through this critique of imperialism, the film highlights the exploitative nature of Michael’s dealings.
2) cake
After lingering on violent streets, The Godfather Part II cuts to a cake. This use of montage frames the cake’s consumers as ignorant, gluttonous elites.
The cake, which pictures Cuba, is presented by Hyman Roth to his business guests.
The camera follows the cake’s division and distribution. Roth’s monologue in this scene is intercut with shots that focus on the slices of cake being brought to various guests. The division of the cake alludes to the division of Cuban resources, with Roth as the “Jehovah [parcelling] out” the respective goods (Neruda). By constructing Roth as a man with godly pretensions, the film colors him a narcissist.