Who’s a Sopranos fan?

[wicked cool]

It’s all

The film you mean?

yes film. adds a lot especially to the uncle

 

[Morrus]

yes film. adds a lot especially to the uncle

Yeah. It was OK. Not as good as the series IMO but worth a watch.

 

[Mezuka]

As a rule I don't watch shows about mafia or biker gangs. These people distribute drugs, hurt women in many ways, and destroy families.

 

[payn]

As a rule I don't watch shows about mafia or biker gangs. These people distribute drugs, hurt women in many ways, and destroy families.

I get how you feel. Thats like 90% of television now though.

 

[BookTenTiger]

As a rule I don't watch shows about mafia or biker gangs. These people distribute drugs, hurt women in many ways, and destroy families.

I find Sopranos really interesting in this context for two reasons:

1) though Tony Soprano is charismatic, the show does not shy away from how horrible he is. And not just in the mob, he's manipulative, immature, whiny... It really doesn't portray a mob boss as a romantic or idealized character.

2) the show really uses the mob plots to comment on the American Dream, which takes up much more screen time on the show. If you kept track of how many minutes of screen time are spent on mob plots versus, say, AJ's school troubles, the Sopranos marriage, or family dinners, it would probably be a much smaller fraction.

Overall, I'd say this show does not glorify a life of crime. It's shown to be a life of paranoia, unfair competition, and anxiety. As Tony himself notes, you either end up in prison or dead, there are no happy retirements.

 

[Guest 85555]

I find Sopranos really interesting in this context for two reasons:

1) though Tony Soprano is charismatic, the show does not shy away from how horrible he is. And not just in the mob, he's manipulative, immature, whiny... It really doesn't portray a mob boss as a romantic or idealized character.

2) the show really uses the mob plots to comment on the American Dream, which takes up much more screen time on the show. If you kept track of how many minutes of screen time are spent on mob plots versus, say, AJ's school troubles, the Sopranos marriage, or family dinners, it would probably be a much smaller fraction.

Overall, I'd say this show does not glorify a life of crime. It's shown to be a life of paranoia, unfair competition, and anxiety. As Tony himself notes, you either end up in prison or dead, there are no happy retirements.

I grew up watching mafia movies. Some of them do glamorize violence and crime, but I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. It glamorizes as a way of offering catharsis and allowing us to briefly engage the shadow self. I never came away from those films thinking "now I want to be a gangster". But most don't even glamorize it. Even a film like Goodfellas, is a moral story about the character's descent into hell because the life he is leading is imperiling his soul (it is such a strong theme there are moments where hell is almost literal in the movie). And also, these bad things do exist in the world. I think it is fair for art to tackle them in a variety of ways

On your specific points:

1) I agree with this. It occasionally lures you in and makes him likable, but then has him doing something that is either repugnant or the opposite of what you want him to be doing in that moment. A good example to me is (spoilers) when he kills Christopher. That not only goes against most peoples sense of morality (you don't harm your own family), but against Tony's stated principles throughout the show. He is constantly paying lip service to the importance of family.

2) I think the show is a good mix of family drama and crime show. I don't know if it ends up being a small fraction or a medium one, but the crime stuff is very balanced out by how much we get with the other things going on in their lives. And those two worlds intersect in interesting ways.

I agree with your conclusion. This isn't a show that glamorizes crime. It has a strong sense of humor, a very dark sense of humor, and I think that sometimes gets mistaken for it approving of the mobsters behavior.