(Credits: HBO)
The Sopranos is definitely a one-of-a-kind and special show. It introduced us to Tony Soprano, who I would love to talk about more in a future post. He slowly became one of the first truly big antiheroes on the small screen. Up until that point in the late 90s and early 2000s, antiheroes existed, but they were never featured or seen as essential to the movement of the overall plot. This changed with "The Sopranos," which also paved the way to many other great antiheroes in the future, such as Walter White and Dexter.
In this context, Paulie Walnuts exists as a supporting member part of the Soprano crew that attempt to run parts of New Jersey. In my view, he can be seen as a good example of criticism towards the portrayal of the "elegant mobster" that has existed ever since "The Godfather" came out in the 70s. Instead, he is aggressive, short tempered, and violent. His behavior and actions quickly demonstrate to us that the world he operates in together with the rest of the Soprano crew might be morally gray, yet he walks on the darker part of it.
Yet, my favorite part about this character is his nature of opportunism. Over the series, Paulie proves time and time again that, although he is loyal, he has this opportunistic mentality of growth, and a survival instinct towards self-preservation. It's almost admirable to examine, although all the negative things Paulie ends up doing really stain that part of his moral character.
Ultimately, I like him because of his survivalist nature and willingness to adapt and overcome. It's honestly a little inspiring, in a way. It was honestly a little disappointing seeing him and the rest of the cast as their younger selves in the prequel movie "The Many Saints of Newark" that came out last year. It didn't really add a lot to him or others as characters, but at least we still have the original series to look to.
In this context, Paulie Walnuts exists as a supporting member part of the Soprano crew that attempt to run parts of New Jersey. In my view, he can be seen as a good example of criticism towards the portrayal of the "elegant mobster" that has existed ever since "The Godfather" came out in the 70s. Instead, he is aggressive, short tempered, and violent. His behavior and actions quickly demonstrate to us that the world he operates in together with the rest of the Soprano crew might be morally gray, yet he walks on the darker part of it.
Yet, my favorite part about this character is his nature of opportunism. Over the series, Paulie proves time and time again that, although he is loyal, he has this opportunistic mentality of growth, and a survival instinct towards self-preservation. It's almost admirable to examine, although all the negative things Paulie ends up doing really stain that part of his moral character.
Ultimately, I like him because of his survivalist nature and willingness to adapt and overcome. It's honestly a little inspiring, in a way. It was honestly a little disappointing seeing him and the rest of the cast as their younger selves in the prequel movie "The Many Saints of Newark" that came out last year. It didn't really add a lot to him or others as characters, but at least we still have the original series to look to.
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