Cross-posted at Clark Community Network.
Last week, I blogged about The Sopranos’ allusion to the end of American Empire. I contended that the final season (and part of the previous season) of the show was chock-full with symbolism about the Bush administration and on a broader scale, it symbolized our nation’s lame-duck standing on the world stage. After watching the finale, I’m more certain than ever that this was the case.
Now, with the context of the finale, I wanted to provide analysis of the political symbolism in the final episode and post a correction to my previous analysis.
More...
First off, the correction...
A.J. did not symbolize torture. He symbolized the American people.
The Kossack sees different, who commented on my diary last week, was right:
Depressed by the routine and by Tony (Bush) he tries on the torture and the waterboarding and discovers it's not so great, either to give or to receive. He starts to update himself on what is really going on in Iraq.
Since sees different posted that spot-on analysis, A.J.’s character became suddenly patriotic (post-9/11 style) in the final episode, wanting to join the Army and fight terrorists, specifically in Afghanistan, not in Iraq. And when A.J. accidentally incinerated his own SUV, he dismissed the issue, lecturing to his parents that it was okay because "we have to break our dependence on foreign oil." He’d just take the bus. Plus, he wasn't to blame. He had depression. Hmmm...sounds like a few hundred million people I know.
And how did Tony and Carmela convince A.J. not to join the Army – and to get over his high-minded commitment to energy independence? By flashing a bright, shiny object in front of him.
In one fell swoop, A.J. got distracted by movies and bling. Tony got A.J. a job in the entertainment business and bought him a BMW M3. Cut to A.J. a few scenes later, bragging about his 23 MPG and racing his new play-pretty around New Jersey. So much for sacrifice. So much for his patriotic principles.
Now, onto the final episode, Made in America...
Adding to the long list of symbolism from my last post, David Chase packed the finale with allusions to America.
Right out of the gates (at Teterboro Airport), Tony had a meeting with his FBI ally, Agent Harris. Even as Phil’s gang was trying to hunt down and kill Tony, he had other things on his mind. The terrorists. Tony gave the agent more information about "the terrorists" when he probably should’ve been tending to other business. Like saving his own neck.
Later, Tony demanded that A.J. attend Bobby’s funeral despite the fact that the family was supposed to be in an undisclosed location. A.J. asked how going to the funeral would be possible when they were at "Defcon 4." A.J. might’ve had the alert levels backwards, but it’s a clear parallel – when the Soprano family is under attack, it’s as if the entire nation is at risk.
After visiting Janice at her home, Tony got a call from Agent Harris. He gave Tony (Bush) intelligence on where he could find Phil (bin Laden.)
In a rare moment of bonding, Tony (GWB) and Meadow (the Constitution) went out for drinks. She explained that her sudden career change (from medicine to civil rights law) was driven by the need to protect immigrants’ rights. This could be a reference either to the illegal immigration debate or to issues like extraordinary rendition.
Over burgers with his lawyer, Tony learned that one of his guys had flipped and he could be indicted. Take your pick here. This event could be a reference to any number of Bush administration associates who have been arrested. Or it could be a reference to looming impeachment proceedings for Bush himself, which like Tony’s potential indictment, may or may not ever come to pass.
By all indications, Silvio (Rove) was permanently comatose, useless to serve as Tony’s brain for the rest of his days, much like Turd Blossom now that the '06 elections have passed.
Paulie (Cheney) tried to refuse a new position running his own crew, partly because of his health problems. It turned out that he was superstitious about being too high-profile. Like our infamous Veep, he wanted to remain behind the scenes. In the end, he relented.
So what about the much-talked-about final scene? Symbolically, it was the most profound to me. As I theorized in last week’s post, Meadow played a giant role here. Symbolizing the Constitution, her character would either make or break the future of the American Empire. In that regard, her appearance didn’t disappoint.
Largely missing during the entire season (like the Constitution during Bush’s terms,) Meadow was running late for the family dinner at Holsten’s. A cross-section of Americana, the diner contained Boy Scouts, a trucker wearing a USA hat, an average Joe and a couple of young, black guys. Finally, after trying and trying and trying to parallel park her car, Meadow raced across the street and into the diner. The Constitution had arrived – better late than never. And just as she/it walked through the door, we in the audience finished singing the truncated Journey song as the audio and video abruptly ended:
"Don’t Stop..."
The half-full perspective
You could interpret this ending to mean that David Chase is an optimist about the future of America. That we must keep believing in the promise of America and that, eventually, we will return to a nation of laws instead of a nation of men.
The half-empty perspective
In the context of the story, the outlook is more bittersweet. Chase may be predicting that Constitutional law won't be restored until after the threat has passed. In the show, only after Tony's crew killed Phil (bin Laden), did we get a sense of relief and the prospect for happier times ahead - beginning at the diner when Meadow arrived. This could be a sad prediction that the surrender of our Constitutional rights will continue until The Long War is over.
Whenever that might be.