The Sopranos, The End of History, and Capitalist Realism Cusamano eagerly gathering insider trading tips at his own backyard barbeque. Morgans-they were crooks and killers too, but that was a business, right? The American Way?” Even more than other works in the mafia genre, The Sopranos shows us criminality woven into the fabric of everyday life, as we overhear Tony’s “respectable” neighbour Dr. Melfi: “The Carnegies and the Rockefellers. It’s a rationale that Tony Soprano has internalized, as is clear from the way he defends his line of work to his therapist, Dr. During the economic crises of the 1970s, The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather: Part 2 (1974) depicted the American Dream and criminal enterprise as essentially one and the same. In a sense, mafia films have always provided a critique of capitalism, beginning with the Depression-era classics Little Caesar (1931) and Scarface (1932), when the cruelties and dysfunctions of the system were obvious. In these times of crisis, The Sopranos reminds us of how we got here and what we don’t want to go back to. Thirteen years after the show’s finale, these struggles have only intensified, with the wealth gap growing more extreme and the abuse of our planet more obvious. Besides being brilliant satire and tantalizing melodrama, The Sopranos is a morality tale for the middle class, a sensationalized version of the personal, financial, and ethical dilemmas we face living under capitalism. With our lives upended by the coronavirus, The Sopranos is an especially rewarding show. But that’s not a bad proposition right now, especially if you have an extra 86 hours inside the house.
Unfortunately, the movie is being held back until 2021 due to the pandemic, so we’ll have to watch the original series again to get our fix.
Those of us who have a Pavlovian response to the opening bars of the theme song “Woke Up This Morning” or can’t help but hear Adriana’s “Christopha’!” in their head whenever they meet a new Chris, have been awaiting the prequel film, The Many Saints of Newark, which was scheduled for release later this year and features James Gandolfini’s son, Michael, as a young Tony Soprano.
In its original run from 1999 to 2007, HBO’s The Sopranos phenomenon garnered 21 Emmys, invented the genre of “prestige TV,” and introduced non-Italians to the wonders of baked ziti. (HBO/Getty Images)Īaron Giovannone is a writer and professor in Calgary. From left to right: Steven Van Zandt as Silvio Dante, James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano and Tony Sirico as Paulie Walnuts star in HBO’s hit television series, “The Sopranos” (Year 3).