Fashioning the Body - The Sopranos
WOMEN + POWER + MONEY = ONE DESIRABLE FAT SLOB.
The representation of masculinity in The Sopranos.
The Sopranos is centred around a New Jersey Mafia family, the Di Meo family, with Tony Soprano as the leader. The series is follows story lines of mob wars, family, wealth, murder, crime with Tony Soprano at the centre of it all.
The ideal of body image in the show is unique when compared to body image in most other American prime time dramas. The show provides an interesting interpretation of the power culture of the American Mafia. One very important element of this interpretation is the representation and symbolism of body image.
Avi Santo’s article “This Thing of Ours: Investigating the Sopranos” analysis the symbolism of body image in the show. Santo concludes, power is very much represented through consumption – and the ultimate symbol of consumerism in the show’s culture is shown through weight.
Santo writes, “Increasingly, the size and shape of the body have come to operate as a market of personal, internal order (or disorder) - as a symbol for the emotional, moral, or spiritual state of the individual” (p75, 2002).
Rarely in the show are overweight males linked with failure, in fact, it is very much the opposite. This is somewhat opposite to the mainstream idea of success in American Western culture.
The representation of power and masculinity in the show can be divided into four categories: Women, Power, Money and Indulgence.
All of these combined equal power and masculinity.
Therefore, Tony Soprano is at the height of masculinity – women, money and power. His appearance identifies this features, it lights him up in flashing neon as the dominant one, the leader, the boss. He is the ultimate consumer and does not believe in moderation of anything.
The first significant element in the equation of Tony’s power is his attitude towards women. Tony, as in all aspects of his life, shows no concern for limitations. As put by character Gloria Trillo just prior to making love, “You really are in love with yourself… You deprive yourself of nothing”. Tony is constantly unfaithful to his wife. His list of women include his wife Carmela, his mistress Irina, his ‘midlife crisis mobile’ girl, Gloria Trillo, strippers at Bada-Bing!, Connie, the born-again secretary at Barone Sanitation and fantasies with his therapist Dr Melfi (Santo, p76, 2002).
The second element is power. He has power in its most primitive form and power in his every day dealings. He is leader of the mafia; he is the most powerful man in his world. In his own words, "I'm the motherfucking fucking one who calls the shots”. He is the leader of both his personal and professional families. Tony calls all the shots. He organizes murder, assault, trades and various other less-than-moral dealings. He has the power over lives. What better way to represent this by looking powerful?
The last two elements of the equation can be merged as one, money and indulgence. As already mentioned, Tony shows no concern for limitations. He is always eating, smoking and sleeping with various women. Anything he does is done excessively. Tony is very wealthy, his children go to expensive schools, he drives an expensive car and he lives in a lavish house. Hardly any of his personal indulgences are done with style, just excessiveness. To put it simply, Tony is a total slob.
All of these elements combined representations of his role and position. His weight and activities are symbols of his masculinity and his power. Do not question his authority, just get him another cheeseburger.
Bibliography:
Santo, Avi (ed.) (2002), “Fat fuck! Why don’t you take a look in the mirror?” Weight, body image, and masculinity in The Sopranos” in Lavery, D (ed.) This Thing of Ours: Investigating the Sopranos, New York: Colombia University Press, pp 72 – 94.
The representation of masculinity in The Sopranos.
The Sopranos is centred around a New Jersey Mafia family, the Di Meo family, with Tony Soprano as the leader. The series is follows story lines of mob wars, family, wealth, murder, crime with Tony Soprano at the centre of it all.
The ideal of body image in the show is unique when compared to body image in most other American prime time dramas. The show provides an interesting interpretation of the power culture of the American Mafia. One very important element of this interpretation is the representation and symbolism of body image.
Avi Santo’s article “This Thing of Ours: Investigating the Sopranos” analysis the symbolism of body image in the show. Santo concludes, power is very much represented through consumption – and the ultimate symbol of consumerism in the show’s culture is shown through weight.
Santo writes, “Increasingly, the size and shape of the body have come to operate as a market of personal, internal order (or disorder) - as a symbol for the emotional, moral, or spiritual state of the individual” (p75, 2002).
Rarely in the show are overweight males linked with failure, in fact, it is very much the opposite. This is somewhat opposite to the mainstream idea of success in American Western culture.
The representation of power and masculinity in the show can be divided into four categories: Women, Power, Money and Indulgence.
All of these combined equal power and masculinity.
Therefore, Tony Soprano is at the height of masculinity – women, money and power. His appearance identifies this features, it lights him up in flashing neon as the dominant one, the leader, the boss. He is the ultimate consumer and does not believe in moderation of anything.
The first significant element in the equation of Tony’s power is his attitude towards women. Tony, as in all aspects of his life, shows no concern for limitations. As put by character Gloria Trillo just prior to making love, “You really are in love with yourself… You deprive yourself of nothing”. Tony is constantly unfaithful to his wife. His list of women include his wife Carmela, his mistress Irina, his ‘midlife crisis mobile’ girl, Gloria Trillo, strippers at Bada-Bing!, Connie, the born-again secretary at Barone Sanitation and fantasies with his therapist Dr Melfi (Santo, p76, 2002).
The second element is power. He has power in its most primitive form and power in his every day dealings. He is leader of the mafia; he is the most powerful man in his world. In his own words, "I'm the motherfucking fucking one who calls the shots”. He is the leader of both his personal and professional families. Tony calls all the shots. He organizes murder, assault, trades and various other less-than-moral dealings. He has the power over lives. What better way to represent this by looking powerful?
The last two elements of the equation can be merged as one, money and indulgence. As already mentioned, Tony shows no concern for limitations. He is always eating, smoking and sleeping with various women. Anything he does is done excessively. Tony is very wealthy, his children go to expensive schools, he drives an expensive car and he lives in a lavish house. Hardly any of his personal indulgences are done with style, just excessiveness. To put it simply, Tony is a total slob.
All of these elements combined representations of his role and position. His weight and activities are symbols of his masculinity and his power. Do not question his authority, just get him another cheeseburger.
Bibliography:
Santo, Avi (ed.) (2002), “Fat fuck! Why don’t you take a look in the mirror?” Weight, body image, and masculinity in The Sopranos” in Lavery, D (ed.) This Thing of Ours: Investigating the Sopranos, New York: Colombia University Press, pp 72 – 94.
posted by squashblossom01 at 11:37 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home