james gandolfini, sopranos

SUMMARY

  • The Sopranos leaves behind a legacy of masculinity and violence that comes inherently attached to it.
  • James Gandolfini's fame could not save The Sopranos from getting mass boycotted after the series crossed the line in its depiction of violence against women.
  • The Sopranos has lived through its fair share of scandals and controversies and yet stands as a icon of popular culture to this day.

The Sopranos have lived a lifetime’s legacy of memories and experiences. James Gandolfini has been an integral part of those shared experiences that spared no expense in depicting inherited trauma, violence against women, toxic masculinity, and the price of loyalty and betrayals.

The Sopranos.The Sopranos [Credit: HBO]

Alongside such characters as Michael Imperioli, Drea de Matteo, Edie Falco, Tony Sirico, and more, The Sopranos launched the Golden Age of television. The HBO show proved that film was not the only medium that could deliver comprehensive storytelling, drama, emotion, and plot. Gandolfini’s mob drama was the beginning of prestige television.

James Gandolfini’s fame couldn’t save The Sopranos

HBO]James Gandolfini in The Sopranos [Credit: HBO]

HBO gave us a long-standing legacy with The Sopranos and its effervescent character study of the colorfully violent and disruptive world of the mob men. Through its compilation of alpha macho men and their hardcore masculinity, James Gandolfini & Co. convey a sense of such utter loss of individuality and control over a female body that it almost led to a mass HBO cancelation once.

In Season 3, an episode titled University shows a juxtaposition of a dangerous theme that translated to violence against women and the ruthlessness of having someone’s innocence stolen through the depiction of a brutal and gory murder. The episode ignited such faltering emotions and angry voices in the fans that they began to cancel their HBO subscriptions in a show of protest.

At the end of the day, even James Gandolfini’s fame couldn’t dig The Sopranos out of its self-destructive pit of hell. HBO’s prestige television suddenly felt robbed of its glory and the audience, critics, and media all over the world began to question if The Sopranos had finally gone too far [via Refinery29]

The legacy of The Sopranos and its pop culture effect

The SopranosThe Sopranos [Credit: HBO]

Throughout the six seasons of its existence beginning in January 1999, The Sopranos had its fair share of controversies to stumble over and scandals to bury. Ranging from James Gandolfini’s life-threatening addiction to the show’s excessive gratuitous nudity, HBO confronted a barrage of uncalled-for criticism that comes with the territory of introducing radical, unorthodox TV.

The legacy of The Sopranos in pop culture is unquantifiable in its impact. The show left its impression on the formative growing minds and adults of the era in equal measure. James Gandolfini & Co.’s dominant show of masculinity proved to be revolutionary to the audience of that time as much as it raised questions and debates over the subject and the disadvantages of its existence in society.

Today, The Sopranos stands as a symbol and icon of popular culture and a medium of entertainment. It inspired and influenced most of the modern-day television classics such as Game of Thrones, Succession, The Wire, Breaking Bad, and Mad Men.

The Sopranos is currently streaming on Max.

James GandolfiniThe Sopranos

Diya Majumdar

Written by Diya Majumdar

Articles Published: 2070

Armed with a degree in literature and a love for pop culture, Diya Majumdar has over 1800 published articles on FandomWire. Her passion and profession both include dissecting the world of cinema while being a liberally opinionated person with an overbearing love for music and Monet.