Monday, 17 May 2004
The Sopranos: Defining our time - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER - One is naturally astonished by the number of op-ed pieces that have been written all commenting on the phenomenal television drama, The Sopranos. Two pieces that I've come across in as many days last week, strike me as interesting in that they both discuss dissimilar things, but all derive some meaning from the HBO television series.
The first was by the Boston Globe's Renee Graham, who discusses how The Sopranos deals with race relations between blacks and whites, the most vividly and profoundly in all of television. The second piece, which appeared in the Wall Street Journal, was written by Peggy Noonan, who as a political commentator in the electronic and print press was once a speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan. Noonan's piece notices a plot point in last week's program that dealt with one of Tony Soprano's (played by the utterly sublime James Gandolfini) latest neurosis. Obviously, Noonan is a fan of the mafia drama, as she deals with the show's nuance, as well as links the cursory plot point to current affairs, namely the security at American ports thanks to threats from Al-Queda.
I've always regarded The Sopranos a great television series, realising its brilliance in its acting and writing. Admittedly, however I have come late to the program, not getting into the plot and characters until this fifth season started a couple of months ago. There are but three episodes left, and naturally like all aficionados of the series, or talking mouths in the media, I'm dreading the finale, one because a major character looks like they'll get whacked, and two, because it'll be about two years until the next season appears, which evidently will be its final season. Thank goodness, HBO realised the ingenuity of British television's dramas and comedies, by producing them on shorter runs, so as to not saturate the viewer with 22-episode runs year after year. This latitude afforded series creator David Chase pays off when you think of the sheer quality that each episode has week in and week out. That one episode where the remarkable Michael Imperioli's character Christopher and everyone else assumes Tony is having an affair with his Adriana (played by the mesmerising Drea De Mateo), was so excellently written and acted, that it could have been the storyline for a movie.
I only got into this season's episodes after giving in and checking out the premiere episode, after all the hype and word of mouth from everyone from Tom Shales in the Washington Post to news anchors chatting it up on MSNBC, to Imus, to Frank Rich in the New York Times. If everyone from the women on The View to Howard Stern is talking about The Sopranos the next morning, obviously there is something inherent to the program that makes it a significant cultural phenomenon. If you're not hip on The Sopranos - Tony's latest panic attack, or Carmela fooling around with AJ's teacher, or Christopher dealing with his demons: booze, Adriana and his temper - you might as well not worry about the Abu Grabib prison fiasco, Kobe Bryant's accused sexual history, or whether Teresa Heinz's tax returns are worth making public.
The Sopranos is a good show in that it seems to satisfy a lot of people's habits and their wishes when it comes to their entertainments. On a severely superficial level, some will like it for the graphic violence, nudity and gratuitous coarse language. Some will like it for the sympathetic and realistic portrayal of family life - teenage rebellion, spousal separation, extramarital affairs and overbearing parents, areas portrayed dramatically in this current season so remarkably well. Others will like the mafia element, which in essence is secondary. Even though these characters are affiliated with organised crime in New Jersey, the show is realistic in its portrayal of American life. It didn't have to be the Sopranos. It could have been the Wongs, the O'Malleys, or the Robinsons.
Renee Graham's piece in the Boston Globe talks about how The Sopranos deals with race, saying that no television show has been as provocative or as truthful in dealing with race. And not just the Italian-American stereotypes propagated or not, no Graham is talking about the relationship between whites and blacks in America, even though The Sopranos does not boast a regular character that is black. It deals with race relations remarkably well, making it a constant theme through different storylines, ever so subtly that you don't notice it until a smarter columnist makes a note of it in an op-ed piece.
Peggy Noonan talks about terrorism in America, and how Tony Soprano's take on it in one incidental and rather casual scene in last week's episode, distils clearly the challenges that all Americans fear with the threat of nuclear annihilation at the hands of Al-Queda. It was well done, how the show made that point, and how it incorporated contemporary current affairs into the character development through the psychological makeup of one Tony Soprano. Upset that his men couldn't intercept and rob a shipment of Vespa scooters coming into Newark's port, he realises something, as he lays awake channel surfing at 2.00 in the morning. He sees a 60 Minutes piece about port security and the need to ramp up considering that but 2% of containers are checked at Newark, one of the busiest ports in the nation. Soprano naturally worries about the safety of his children when he realises that the increased port security, which prevent his capos from robbing the scooters, is in fact weak comfort against bigger thugs and mercenaries, those that want to destroy America, unlike himself who only wishes to exploit it. The inspired plotting of the storyline is given a dramatic flourish, when Tony's fears are taken out on a big biker dude who's manning his bar, resulting in the biker dude having his face literally ripped off after Tony attacks the poor bystander for dismissing Tony's rather inane fears of weapons of mass destruction.
The show is good because it combines all the elements that make good television programs stand out, and meshes them together for symphonies of outstanding acting and writing in every episode of the series. Although I've come late, I'm already dreading that this show is about to end. After the sixth season, which will probably start airing in early 2006, it'll be over for this show which not only violently portrays a segment of American life, but in essence during its run, The Sopranos portrays effectively all segments of American life and culture, making it arguably the best summary of the way life is in this era. What I Love Lucy embodied for the 1950s, All in the Family for the 1970s, and Dallas for the 1980s, The Sopranos embodies and defines our times.
-30-
Questions and comments may be sent to: editor@thecommentary.ca
An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE .