My wife and I have become Soprano freaks. Because we didn't have cable (or HBO) we didn't have the opportunity to watch the show when it was originally aired. So we decided to start watching it through netflix - and both of us are hooked. We are up to season three... the episode we just watched the other night was fascinating.
Tony's therapist is brutally attacked in the parking garage. The attacker is caught - but because of a technicality he has to be be released. A moral dilemma ensues... should she tell Tony about the attack - knowing full well the attacker will end up "sleeping with the fishes"? Or should she trust in the social contract... civilization. I found myself through the entire episode longing to hear her tell Tony... to put into motion what is after all - justice. The episode ends with Tony asking her... "Do you have something to tell me?" "No." She responds - and the credits roll.
What does it say about me that I was disappointed? I couldn't quit thinking about it... just say "yes". Tell him... Part of the episode, I think anyway, struggles with this question: Do we need the Tony Soprano's of this world? Do we feel a sense of security because they are there... those who are willing to do the dirty work? Reminds me of Jack Nicholson's character in the film A Few Good Men: "You want me on that wall... you need me on that wall..."
And yet I profess to follow the crucified Christ... the one who tells those who follow him to "turn the other cheek" and to "take up our cross and follow". So what does it say about me that I find myself drawn to the Tony Soprano character? I'm not really sure...
1 comment:
Perhaps this speaks to C.S. Lewis' idea of the moral law. As humans, we find ourselves with an idea of how things ought to be. And when we see things go as they ought not, we have a desire to see things made right.
But we don't make things right. Christ does. More often then not, when justice is taken into our own fallen hands, we mess things up worse than they were before.
In Frank Miller's masterpiece of a graphic novel, "The Watchmen", the ideas of vigilantism are discussed. The Watchmen declare themselves enforcers of justice over humanity; one of the most famous drawings from the book is a shot of a brick wall with graffiti on it. The graffiti reads "Who watches The Watchmen?"
I've got the comic if you want it, and you know you do...
Post a Comment