Dear all:
God forbid we should keep politics out of television criticism. Wait until you hear my Marxian critique of Gilmore Girls. What I was suggesting, inelegantly, was that not everything is about Iraq. Sometimes, a show about the New Jersey mob is a show about the New Jersey mob. Yes, of course, The Sopranos goes deeper, and darker, than any other drama on television (and darker, I’d argue, for argument’s sake, than even The Godfather), but I don’t see it as a ripped-from-the-headlines metaphoric commentary on whatever is bothering liberal American elites at the moment. And yes, of course, gangland dramas are always about something else as well—usually about the hypocrisy of mainstream American capitalism. The Sopranos is, I think, about the hypocrisy of everything, which is why the Soprano family drama is, if anything, more interesting and original than the Soprano Family drama.
Because—and Jerry, I believe, would agree with me—mobsters are boring. They are among the most boring people I’ve ever met. They have nothing to say about anything interesting; they’re shallow; ill-informed; under-educated; brutal; racist; and only inadvertently humorous. Also, they kill people and sell drugs, both of which are not funny at all. This is why I am still, five seasons later, in awe of the writing on The Sopranos. (I’m in awe of the acting as well, of course, but that barely needs stating.) Any writer who could devise compelling inner lives for such soulless and stupid people is a genius. And these writers are geniuses.
I’m going to bow out of the speculation, here, though I think Dana is on to something: Next season has to be about the son. I’d be surprised if it’s not. Tony Soprano has to pay for his sins, and he has to pay in real currency. Also, Finn and Vito will adopt a baby, and the Russian will kill the bear. But that’s it—no more speculating.
This has been great fun, almost as fun as actually watching the show. See you in Gang Land, Jerry.
Jeff
