BADA BING! THE SOPRANOS AND QUIXOTIC REALISM

Abstract

Often considered the television series that brought about the second golden age of television, The Sopranos can be viewed as a quixotic narrative. This is especially true when looking at the sixth and final season of the series, with particular focus on the final sequence of the series finale, titled “Made in America.” Not only is the entire series quixotic through its acknowledgement of the impact of real-life East coast Italian-American mafia families and previous cinematic portrayals of mob life, the most noteworthy being The Godfather trilogy and Goodfellas, but also through its Byronic hero, Anthony “Tony” Soprano. Furthermore, the series finale of The Sopranos invites audience participation through the act of leaving the narrative open – no member of the audience knows exactly what happened to their beloved Byronic hero and are left to their own devices to craft an individual conclusion. Through the acts of calling back to the nonfictional and cinematic renditions of mobster life and culture, including a Byronic hero as the series’ protagonist, and through the act of inviting audience participation to conclude the much beloved series, The Sopranos proves itself to be a modern quixotic mobster crime drama.