#TheSopranos #CamillePaglia Camille Paglia speaks about the impact of the HBO series "The Sopranos" on stereotypes of Italian-Americans. Originally aired May 15, 2001. The Sporanos, feminism, feminist, the sopranos
Thank you for recalibrating my understanding of Italian Americans. I live where there aren't enough Italian people to make a mark on the general culture so what I learn about them is what I see on TV and in film.
The mistake here was thinking the premise of The Sopranos was to show the everyday lives of Italian Americans. Such a basic error it borders on stupidity.
It's a great work of art, one of the best TV shows of the 21st century. Unlike it's other great counterpart The Wire (which the speaker seems to wish The Sopranos was in terms of purpose) it's more interested in human dilemma than social structures. As an example of the former it's unsurpassed.
Breaking Bad was the #1 TV show ever made and 10x better than the sopranos. The sopranos was very typical and brute while Breaking Bad was far more intelligent and far reaching in scope and creativity. Breaking Bad ventured into the inner recesses of motive while sopranos was predictable at best.
@@xxx-fv8jt That's your opinion. I'm rewatching Breaking Bad. It's a good show, but it's highly predictable too. Every episode Walt makes a bad decision due to his insecurities. Wow! Ground breaking stuff!
@@BRockIITWi Actually more people favor BB than TS. There was nothing original about the sopranos while BB was consensusly applauded for its creativity and ground breaking originality which captivated audiences for its unpredictable direction. The sopranos may be the godfather of TV but BB was the Scarface of TV. And as we all know, consensus opinion holds that Scarface was the best gangster film of all time.
@@xxx-fv8jt And many hail The Sopranos as the best show ever. It's subjective. As you seem highly narcissistic, I'll just agree and be on my way. It's a television show and not worth arguing about.
@@BRockIITWi Yet far more people hail BB as the best TV show in history. You seem very ethnocentric about your italian culture. It's not worth getting a heart attack over, it's not that serious.
I've always liked Camille Paglia's wriring, especially "Sexual Personae." She's usually very smart. So I'm bewildered by her take on The Sopranos. She doesn't seem to have noticed that Lorraine Bracco's Jennifer Melfi is one of the great Italian-American characters in all of fiction, and certainly better than any thing Mario Puzo ever came up with. The very worst thing I can think to say about The Sopranos is the decision to put that bizarre thing on Stevie Van Zant's head that looks more like the prow of a tugboat than a pompadour. But I forgive them for that. Getting a famous longhair rock-n-roller to be part of the cast was probably a concession that David Chase had to make in order to sell the idea to HBO, and I guess they had to make Stevie a bit of a clown to get him to stand out. But it's still the greatest TV show in history.
I don't think Silvio's character is ever portrayed as a clown, and I think I heard the character was especially written and added to the cast of characters for Steve, as an initiative of the series creator.
2:40 "Vulgar buffoons who don't know how to eat." Well, you find all of this in The Godfather too. Fredo was a vulgar buffoon (remember the superman scene). And Sonny's eating habits were terrible.
Looks like this aired as the 3rd season was wrapping up. I'm curious if she had watched it through. If she is evaluating The Sopranos by episodes like "A Hit is a Hit (S01E10)" then I can understand her indignance. That episode really stinks. Surely, however, by the end of the series, Camille would realize that her critique is irrelevant. Still love Camille, she gets a pass on this one.
She clearly has not watched the sopranos. The series literally debates this topic throughout the show! To be fair Dr Russ Fegoli didn't like Tony either, when he attended Hugh's birthday party.
I see The Sopranos as a comedy show and I see Tony Soprano as a caricature. I don't see it as attacking Italians as a whole and I don't think all Italians are like Tony Soprano generally, but there is a subset of them that are. I watch it and it is making fun of the dumb, criminal Italian mobsters, I see it as taking away the unearned, undeserved mystique of the mobster that movies like The Godfather gave these people.
![ถามตรงๆ กับ อาจตุพร ทำไม ประเทศไทย ใครเป็นนายก ก็โดนด่า พอออกเเล้วคนคิดถึง!!?? l [Nickynachat]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3YFLMXxBGAs/mqdefault.jpg)
I like the Sopranos but I can get where shes coming from
Thank you for recalibrating my understanding of Italian Americans. I live where there aren't enough Italian people to make a mark on the general culture so what I learn about them is what I see on TV and in film.
She admitted in another video that she never even watched one entire episode the whole way through, so she is just being silly.
She thrives on dishing out manic, negative criticism. She's manic all the time and a narcissist. I can't stand her.
Skifoooza! Now go in the kitchen and make me turkey pot pie.
The mistake here was thinking the premise of The Sopranos was to show the everyday lives of Italian Americans. Such a basic error it borders on stupidity.
Welcome to Paglia, lol.
The dialogue in the show is so witty, so that’s all that matters to me
It's a great work of art, one of the best TV shows of the 21st century. Unlike it's other great counterpart The Wire (which the speaker seems to wish The Sopranos was in terms of purpose) it's more interested in human dilemma than social structures. As an example of the former it's unsurpassed.
Breaking Bad was the #1 TV show ever made and 10x better than the sopranos. The sopranos was very typical and brute while Breaking Bad was far more intelligent and far reaching in scope and creativity. Breaking Bad ventured into the inner recesses of motive while sopranos was predictable at best.
@@xxx-fv8jt That's your opinion. I'm rewatching Breaking Bad. It's a good show, but it's highly predictable too. Every episode Walt makes a bad decision due to his insecurities. Wow! Ground breaking stuff!
@@BRockIITWi Actually more people favor BB than TS. There was nothing original about the sopranos while BB was consensusly applauded for its creativity and ground breaking originality which captivated audiences for its unpredictable direction. The sopranos may be the godfather of TV but BB was the Scarface of TV. And as we all know, consensus opinion holds that Scarface was the best gangster film of all time.
@@xxx-fv8jt And many hail The Sopranos as the best show ever. It's subjective. As you seem highly narcissistic, I'll just agree and be on my way. It's a television show and not worth arguing about.
@@BRockIITWi Yet far more people hail BB as the best TV show in history. You seem very ethnocentric about your italian culture. It's not worth getting a heart attack over, it's not that serious.
I've always liked Camille Paglia's wriring, especially "Sexual Personae." She's usually very smart. So I'm bewildered by her take on The Sopranos. She doesn't seem to have noticed that Lorraine Bracco's Jennifer Melfi is one of the great Italian-American characters in all of fiction, and certainly better than any thing Mario Puzo ever came up with. The very worst thing I can think to say about The Sopranos is the decision to put that bizarre thing on Stevie Van Zant's head that looks more like the prow of a tugboat than a pompadour. But I forgive them for that. Getting a famous longhair rock-n-roller to be part of the cast was probably a concession that David Chase had to make in order to sell the idea to HBO, and I guess they had to make Stevie a bit of a clown to get him to stand out. But it's still the greatest TV show in history.
Better than Micheal, Fredo and Vito Corleone?
Get the fuck outa here
I don't think Silvio's character is ever portrayed as a clown, and I think I heard the character was especially written and added to the cast of characters for Steve, as an initiative of the series creator.
"the prow of a tugboat" LOL
@@etsequentia6765 That's correct, hilariously off base speculation by the OP on Van Zandt, lol
The Sapronos is about New Jersey and that’s exactly accurate from my experience 😂
2:40 "Vulgar buffoons who don't know how to eat."
Well, you find all of this in The Godfather too. Fredo was a vulgar buffoon (remember the superman scene). And Sonny's eating habits were terrible.
Looks like this aired as the 3rd season was wrapping up. I'm curious if she had watched it through. If she is evaluating The Sopranos by episodes like "A Hit is a Hit (S01E10)" then I can understand her indignance. That episode really stinks. Surely, however, by the end of the series, Camille would realize that her critique is irrelevant. Still love Camille, she gets a pass on this one.
She admitted in another video that she never even watched 1 entire episode the whole way through, so she is just being silly.
Could you point me to that video? Thanks@@naysayer1238
As the series wore on, she came to be dead on. David Chase's motives were quite clear.
And that was just the introduction...sheesh.
Gabagoool
Wow the most unwoke woman went full “muh not my people”
As soon as he said she was from salon magazine I knew she was gonna say something crazy
Long time ago
wow she couldnt be more wrong here.
How so? I think spot on.
She clearly has not watched the sopranos. The series literally debates this topic throughout the show! To be fair Dr Russ Fegoli didn't like Tony either, when he attended Hugh's birthday party.
Common love it’s a show about gangsters. It never pretended to represent Italian American normality.
She looks like Elon
FEDERICA NIETZSCHE OVER HERE!
I would have preferred The Sopranos being from the perspective of the women because they were a bit more interesting to me from a psychological level.
rocky marciano will laugh about soparano
woman get back in the kitchen and do your job
I see The Sopranos as a comedy show and I see Tony Soprano as a caricature. I don't see it as attacking Italians as a whole and I don't think all Italians are like Tony Soprano generally, but there is a subset of them that are. I watch it and it is making fun of the dumb, criminal Italian mobsters, I see it as taking away the unearned, undeserved mystique of the mobster that movies like The Godfather gave these people.