In art and the media, we have elevated criminals to status of hero to be envied and worshiped.
These characters should be reviled and yet they are praised and emulated.
I know, I know, 'it's just a tv program. Lighten' up. Have some fun. Enjoy it for what it is'.
I'm sorry but I can't.
I don't take any joy in watching heartless, soulless, moral-less reprobates glorified as role models.
You ask, 'what's wrong with society today?'
Take a look at The Sopranos and all the 'spin-offs'.
John Gotti and the fictional counterparts aren't heroes.
They're the lowest of the low who should be reviled.
I don’t know anyone who emulates Tony Soprano or Paulie Walnuts, lol!
Also, because crime drama is VERY dramatic in terms of conflict and fast action, which motivates all theater, it has a long history in film. Think of all the crime dramas of the late 20s and 30s with Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney. The French and the British also make good crime movies. I believe in Scarface (the Paul Muni version), they used real machine guns!
What has changed is the level of violence although anyone who has seen Public Enemy knows how violent Hollywood has always been.
Gangsters as folk heroes is not new
WELL SAID
I think the series does expose them very skillfully to be reviled and mocked by the audience. Their moral bankruptcy and banality is on full display. It has traditionally been a very secretive organization that enforced secrecy with fear, threats, extortion, and pure evil. To see it laid bare was very cathartic. Only a fool would look at these men and women as role models.
What I have found praiseworthy is the honesty of bursting the balloon of mystique around prior generations of mob bosses and bullies, their absurdity revealed, the great cinematic artistry and exceptional scriptwriting of the series, and the extraordinary juxtaposition of this 19th-century secret society with the tawdry pop culture of the late 20th century—such as a mob boss having anxiety attacks and going to a psychiatrist instead of seeking a priest he could manipulate and making a confession and a big donation, like his forebearers in the organization.
Purely as drama and tragicomedy, it was extremely well done. I am a person who has read most of Shakespeare, and I found The Sopranos very compelling, and very entertaining.
“In art and the media, we have elevated criminals to status of hero to be envied and worshiped.”
Robin Hood.