I will start this post with the statement that I have never seen any episode of The Sopranos, nor do I plan to ever do so.
This past Sunday I went and saw Spider-Man 3. Not a great movie, but not a horrible one, either--but that's not what I want to talk about. Spoiler alert for those that haven't seen the movie.
At one point in the movie, after Peter Parker has gone "dark", he goes to confront Harry Osborne. To make it short, Pete beats the daylights outta Harry, who admitedly, isn't the nicest guy in the world and sort of brings it on himself. And after Harry has had the tar beat out of him, he tries one last-ditch attack on Pete, who turns the attack around to have a bomb blow up in Harry's face. Kinda harsh, but then it gets worse because of the attitude that Pete has as he walks off mocking Harry's pain and disfigurement. That's bad. That's really bad, and not vaguely heroic. And the worst thing that happened during the entire movie happened at that point: several people in the crowd cheered.
They were happy to see an "evil" Peter Parker attack and disfigure a man that was called Pete's best friend not half-an-hour earlier.
The other day, while listening to the radio, two of the radio personalities were discussing The Sopranos. I don't recall the exact events that led up to the statement, but one of the people in the show was referred to as not being a "nice person". The other individual stated that none of the characters on the show were nice people. They were all criminals, killers and not exactly upstanding examples of society. The first person said, "well, that's not true of Tony. He's just a regular guy." His partner sounded shocked. He again pointed out that Tony Soprano was a criminal who had killed many people. He was a killer, and not a nice person at all. But the Tony supportist was unwavering, stating that Tony was just a guy like any other, and he was just doing his job. They are the perfect example of what I want to talk about.
Only half of the people in the world get it.
There is a significant portion of the populace who see The Sopranos as "cool". It turns someone horrible--a killer in this instance--into someone that you cheer for. Someone that you think is admirable. Just a regular guy, doing his job.
I'm not saying that The Sopranos is a poorly executed show. Again, I've never seen it. But I have seen the evidence that it, and things like it--things like the movie Scarface, the Grand Theft Auto videogame series, and The Shield--have done with society. It's made the evil guy the good guy. Someone and something to cheer about.
Perhaps we've brought it on ourselves. We've let our need for sensation run rampant to the point where we need a bigger and bigger high to get the same thrill, to the point where only the bad guy is really cool enough to watch. Maybe that's it. But I really don't think that's it entirely. I've played lots of videogames. I've watched lots of movies and TV shows. I've got tons of rock-and-roll that I listen to. And yet, I don't see the light in the dark.
In truth, I just think that we've let things get out of control from a personal perspective. We all control what we do and how we let outside influences affect us. The people who are making these things are just reflecting what they see in society, not the other way around.
Maybe I'm wrong, and maybe people aren't that way. Maybe I'm mis-reading it completely. But I don't feel that way.
I'm in the half that didn't cheer Peter Parker going bad.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Amen.
Your comments are insiteful. Our culture has become as C.S. Lewis put it - "bent". In fact it now seems more so than ever before. A basic sense of right and wrong seems to have gone AWOL.
I think you miss the point on The Sopranos, at least to a degree. These characters aren't presented as admirable or in positive ways; even Tony Soprano, the star of the series, is presented in a harsh, unappealing manner. Most of the characters in this series pay a heavy price for their actions, and their loved ones often suffer most of all. In spite of the brutality and vulgarity of the series, it is akin to Macbeth in that regard; the corruption of the central figures is infectious and noxious to all around them.
Haven't seen Spider-Man 3, so I can't comment on that one, though...
Oh, and I meant to add...
No matter how ignominious the actions, no matter how perverted the morality, that are some who will applaud it. Often they are the ones least in control of any aspect of their own lives; but in other cases, they're just people who lack ethical values.
Of couse, popular fiction has often presented characters doing things that we would not admire were they done in the real world. James Bond is heroic, but many of his actions would be disturbing and criminal if we read of someone doing these same things in today's society.
Post a Comment