Valentine GERVES Pop Culture: Life as a play "The Sopranos" and the revival of the figure of the anti-hero. Say no to plagiarism. Get an essay on measure on "Why Violent" Video games should not be banned?Get original essay "The Sopranos" is a television series that began in 1999 (and ended in 2007), and is often considered one of the best, counting held numerous Golden Globe Awards and Emmy Awards The main plot revolves around the activities of a New Jersey mafia family and all its entourage (parents, other mobsters or gangs...), but is mainly centered on the fictional story of Tony Soprano, the mafia boss who faces problems both in his professional life and in his private life. Indeed, the pilot presents him for the first time consulting a therapist because he. suffered a panic attack The show, launched by HBO, was decisive for many television series. followed, with The Wire and Oz: it popularized the genre and made television shows acceptable as "works of art" instead of just entertainment sitcoms. Vanity Fair contributor Peter Biskind said the series was "perhaps the greatest pop culture masterpiece of its time." Director David Chase stated in an interview that the main inspiration for the series was Scorcese's Goodfellas (1990), and that various actors from that film are also present in the series: the most notable being Lorraine Bracco (Dr. Melfi, the psychiatrist), Michael Imperioli (Christopher, Tony's nephew) and Tony Sirico (Paulie, member of the Sopranos crew and later caporegime). The other actors, notably James Gandolfini, who plays Tony Soprano, were not very famous, but director David Chase also included many guest stars in the series, which blurred the lines between fiction and reality and helped to that the series is really linked. to popular culture of yesterday and today. For example, actor Steve Buscemi had a major role in season 5 (billed as Tony's cousin), but a few famous stars also made brief appearances, such as director Jon Favreau, actresses Annette Bening and Lauren Bacall ...Over the course of six seasons, the plot develops in different ways, giving more importance to the supporting characters by telling their stories over the course of one or two episodes, and also mixing up references to culture pop with social criticism, dreams with fictional “reality”, which makes The Sopranos a complex piece. of art, not just another story about the mafia and its crimes. The timing of the series is really important, in that the characters always relate to it in one way or another: the World Trade Center attacks, and the general paranoia against Muslims that resulted from it. , the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004, but also the general music, fashion and youth hype mainly through the characters of Anthony JR and Meadow Soprano, Tony's children. They listen to Britney Spears or nu-metal, go to parties where they use drugs like ketamine or ecstasy, and dress in a way their parents disapprove of: in one episode, the son of a mobster becomes Gothic and all the crime the family tries to fix. The series also contains modern reflections on social topics like homosexuality: in the 5th and 6th seasons, Vito Spatafore, a subordinate of Tony Soprano, becomes one of the main characters as he tries to hide his homosexuality and ends up being discovered and then killed. His assassination is supported by part of the crowd, under the pretext that it is an infamy and that itdishonors the Family, but some of them want to turn a blind eye. This may bring to mind all the questions a religious nuclear family has about a gay family member, except here Family is with a capital F, a family linked by crime and mafia involvement. There is also the question of hypermasculinity and virility supposedly embodied by the mafiosi. If we take the broad definition of "hero", we have "A person who is admired for his courage, exceptional achievements or noble qualities." ", but also "The best or most important thing in a whole or a group" (Oxford English Dictionary). The first definition is what we commonly imagine as a hero, the greatest mythological figures for example. The second can apply to any main character in a work of art, regarding The Sopranos, the hero would be Tony Soprano Nevertheless, the character cannot be considered a hero in the "noble" way given. of his actions throughout the television series the characters would be more anti-hero, if we observe the definition "A central character in a story, film or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes" (Oxford. English Dictionary) But this definition doesn't fit the characters of The Sopranos either, because the show is not limited to criminals who regularly commit their murders, drug dealing, etc. In a sense, even the supposed "good guys". of the series are not heroes in the common sense: the police officers or even the FBI agents. who are supposed to fight crime, families are often portrayed as corrupt or having their own moral problems. One of the only vaguely moral characters may be the psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi, but she sometimes helps Tony in his criminal activities without his knowledge (when she gives him the book Art of War by Sun Tzu in episode 8 of season 3). No one on The Sopranos is completely good or bad, because at some point the show always adds something that makes them hateful or lovable, and leads us to feel empathy for them, sometimes long after their first introduction. An example could be Livia Soprano, Tony's mother with whom he has a very complicated relationship, and who is annoying and sometimes unpleasant to everyone close to him, and who has never really given love to her children. In episode 7 of season 5, viewers learn that Livia was alone when she suffered a miscarriage because her husband was cheating on her at the time, which provokes empathy and pity for the character and can explain part of his bitterness. The main takeaway is that not all characters in The Sopranos are simplistic and cannot be simply summarized as heroes or villains. However, there are also questions about their "anti-hero" attributes: some researchers have written a thesis on the concept entitled "The Antihero in Popular Culture: Life History Theory and Personality Traits of the Dark Triad” (published in 2012). In this research work, the main aspects of the anti-hero figure are listed: “The Dark Triad, composed of subclinical narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism, has become an increasingly popular constellation of traits” (excerpt). At this stage, the mafioso (criminal, gangsters) is easily identifiable by these personality traits. Tony Soprano, the main character and mafia caporegime of New Jersey, is a striking example in that he knows how to lead his "soldiers" with Machiavellian techniques, he works mainly for his interests but sometimes has rage-induced episodes where he shows his mental dysfunction. health, as when he brutally murders one of his.."