An OTBKB reader and frequent commenter had this to say about the Soprano’s just hours before many Park Slopers settled in for a night of great television. He wrote this letter to the New York Times in response to Dick Cavett’s Op-Ed, “Soprano’s Grief.”

To the Editor:
I guess I must be a lone voice in the wilderness who does not find a connection with the kind of accolades Dick Cavett showers on the HBO show, “The Sopranos.” Having watched it sporadically over the years, each time hoping to find what Mr. Cavett did, I always came away disappointed. Well-written and well-acted the show definitely is, but for me that is part of the problem.

The mobster culture is presented very realistically in the series, much moreso than in any of the “Godfather” movies, for example. As such, these sociopathic men, and their masochistic women, reveal no redeeming qualities, just like their real-life counterparts do not. They are gluttonous, ruthless, bigoted, misogynous, violent, crass and incredibly self-righteous to boot. Mr. Chase and company have indeed quite skillfully depicted an accurate portrayal of the psychopathy of the hard-core criminal personality, but for me, that ultimately made The Sopranos too much like a reality show.

What does it say about our culture that such a show is so wildly popular, even to intellectuals like Mr. Cavett? That in our harried, stressed, guilt-ridden lives, we vicariously admire those without conscience or empathy? Among other things, it explains to me how George “The Smirk” Bush and Dick “The Scowl” Cheney were elected twice to be the heads of our American “family.”

Sincerely,
Peter Loffredo