[00:00:00.570] - Speaker 1
[00:00:01.320] - Speaker 2
All right. Welcome to another episode of Wiseguy Wisdom. My name is Noah.
[00:00:06.030] - Speaker 3
[00:00:07.410] - Speaker 2
And, uh, today we're going to talk about, um, the economic, um, framework, uh, that's captured within The Sopranos. Now, if you've ever seen The Sopranos, um, you know that money is a huge theme that goes out this show. Um, literally every character, for the most part, in the way, is very like materialistic. Um, we see it's I'd say it's mostly portrayed in the Christopher character. Um, you know, he's like getting all these expensive cars. He's his girlfriend is like, all about this glamorous luxury stuff yourself. Like designer stuff. Yeah.
[00:00:43.800] - Speaker 3
Suitcases from Gucci. Super nice shoes. Um, I feel also that, like a big, like part of that as well is, um, like, Carmelo has the super tiny statue statue thing that's like $3,000 and like that time, I mean, $3,000 was a lot more than it is now. Yeah. You know, so like like I feel like like even like the soprano, like, house is insane. Like, like it's super luxury. Um, like, especially for Jersey and stuff, you know, like.
[00:01:16.440] - Speaker 2
Absolutely. And I feel like the whole, like, you know, big, like, character aspect of Carmela is that she, like, embraces it, right? Like, like the big the big reason like, I think she says in the show, like the big reason that she literally is aware of, like, Tony's mob work and the reason she doesn't tell anyone is because she wants to keep living this life of luxury. Yeah. And like, you know, going to Italy, you know, getting getting France, you know, getting the Porsche, going to these, you know, extravagant dinners, going watches, the country club. Yeah. Like they, they really do like, you know, highlight, you know, the, the like honestly the take that money has over you like once you have access to it and how it really, you know, guides your moral compass. Um, and like because in this case, you know, like she knows like that all the money is like blood money essentially for sure.
[00:02:14.460] - Speaker 2
You know, extortion, extortion. Yeah. But, um, she's just like, uh, I don't want to say oblivious, but she just accepts it because she knows that, you know, like, as a character trade, that the materialism is more important than, like, human lives in a sense. Definitely. You know.
[00:02:34.890] - Speaker 3
Definitely. And I think like another thing. So like in like previous, um, episodes, we, we talked about the, um, uh, queer theory with Vito, and I feel like this, like, ties in really well with him because when they find out he's gay, he basically like like he he goes on the run for a little bit just until everything cools down. Right? Um, and like. Like he, like, meets a guy and stuff and moves in with them, and he's worked and and then. But like, he left everything behind in Jersey, so he's got to start over. So he's doing like, like, like side jobs with like construction and and like I don't I think his boyfriend is like a volunteer fireman and a chef. So like that's a whole like different life. And I think like one of, like the big reasons that he, he went back to Jersey and he left this guy in New Hampshire is that I feel that that that yeah, he's gay.
[00:03:26.520] - Speaker 3
But he also like couldn't stand being away from the life with the expensive, um, like, like suits the, um, the, uh, gambling. Yeah. The drugs, all that stuff. I feel that he couldn't be away from the money and and everything that the, uh, mafia life brings.
[00:03:47.610] - Speaker 2
You know? Yeah. And, like, the interesting about it is like, um, caveat if you agree, but, like, every time, you know, like, one of the guys is like, flaunting per se, like there's, there's, there's stuff they go into like good detail to make, you know, that, like, we have money, you.
[00:04:05.370] - Speaker 3
[00:04:06.330] - Speaker 2
Yes. Like like for example, like when, um, when Tony buys Carmela the poor, she's like, yeah, it's a Porsche. It's fully loaded. Has twin turbo. Yeah. Or like when, um, you know, um, uh, what what do you think are some other examples? Like, I know it's a lot throughout the. Yeah.
[00:04:21.780] - Speaker 3
No, no, for sure. Um, I feel that that, um, like Walter Santis first car. Okay. Christopher Moltisanti, um, he was the Lexus, right? Yeah. So beginning of the show, he's like, I don't know, like late 20s. He's got like, an eight, like a, I don't know, 72, $80,000 Lexus all decked out, you know, and.
[00:04:42.780] - Speaker 2
And Tony Lilly dresses. He's like, oh yeah. He's this 20 something year old kid who got a $47,000 Lexus. So like, they know that, you know, like the greed is upon them.
[00:04:53.940] - Speaker 3
And and he honestly switches cars around a lot. He does. He's got a bunds and want a Range Rover. He's got a super nice Buick. As he gets older, he's he's even got, uh, like a maserati that he bought off one of the other mob bosses from New York. Yeah, you know what I mean? And, um, also, like, when he bought, like, his first house, like, they really, like, emphasized, like how nice it was because, like, they even talked about that. The one is super expensive and stuff to keep up with when, uh, you know, like an unrelated, like, incident, like, like, fucks up, like his whole lawn, like he and like he he has to, like, pay to get fixed that they, like, really emphasized like how much maintenance and money in his house cost. Um, so yeah.
[00:05:39.870] - Speaker 2
I would say the big thing that, like, pops into my head is like, you know, at any time, like Tony gives a quote unquote gift to someone he always, like goes into detail about how nice it is. Like, for example, um, you know, when he gave I think it was in the first episode when he gave his mother the, uh, the CD player, he's like, oh, it's top of the line. It's six CD change. You know, which was like, it's like luxury for the time. Definitely. Um, or like, um.
[00:06:03.930] - Speaker 3
When he gave, uh, Carmelo's cousin, uh, like Cousin Brian. So basically he helped them do he gave them the, the idea to do, like a real estate scam with the government, and they got all this money, and then he bought him like this. Like, like he he literally bought him, like a brand new Patek and like, like the show literally had like, like that, like paddock thing. Like, like emphasize when Bryan's like, oh my God. Like, this is a paddock, you know what I mean? Like and like in real life that's probably that's a very expensive watch. I mean.
[00:06:36.450] - Speaker 2
Oh, definitely. Like, you know, in the show, um, they there's.
[00:06:42.450] - Speaker 3
[00:06:43.290] - Speaker 2
[00:06:44.160] - Speaker 3
Like feature like, like, like Uncle Pussy has one. Um, Tony has one, Carmelo has one. Yeah. Um, I think, I think Moltisanti even has a Cartier.
[00:06:54.750] - Speaker 2
And also like another, like, really important thing I want to touch on is that, you know, The Sopranos ultimately, with mob stuff aside, kind of like encapsulates the American dream and how in that in that day and age and kind of still today, that involves making a ton of money and essentially buying all this materialistic stuff, really.
[00:07:14.940] - Speaker 3
Having to do too much. Yeah. Work like like exactly. Like you can go crack a dude's head open and then and then he's paying you like, like an, uh, envelope every week, you know what I mean? With, like, extortion and, um, even to, like, like the sports book part two, where, like and like the loan shark. I mean, like like you're not really showing like like like these, like the typical American dream where, like, you're working like, like an actual, like, legit job, and you got a house and stuff like, like like it's it's beyond the American dream. They have, you know, all these cars, these nice suits.
[00:07:54.360] - Speaker 2
Yeah. Like the last episode of the series is literally titled Made in America, you know, which I feel like is a very good kind of culminating way to show that, yeah, this whole series is based off of, you know, greed and kind of screwing over the other guy to make as much money as you can just to buy these material things that, you know, kind of prove your status in society. Right? Like, yeah, you know, um, like, for example, uh, like Tony, like, honestly, you know, he lives in, uh, West Caldwell, which is a nice area. He drives a giant Cadillac Escalade. Oh, yeah. He brings his family out to expensive, like. Like there's just so much in the show that literally is just very blatant. I feel about showing the effects that money in turn has on materialism. Um, within, you know, this kind of, um, landscape.
[00:08:47.970] - Speaker 3
Yeah. And I feel that and even that I'd like to get schooling aspects like they want to like, like this fictional urban day high school and like, that's like like like like super expensive school and stuff and like, they're also donating like, like five grand a year, you know, that, like, like his kids went there like super like, so super expensive, um, like, like grade school and high school and then, like, on top of that, like, they're paying for Mario to go to Columbia.
[00:09:15.660] - Speaker 2
[00:09:16.320] - Speaker 3
Yeah, yeah, Ivy League for a degree that you can literally probably go to, like, like like like Rutgers or, um, Illinois or.
[00:09:24.540] - Speaker 2
Yeah, Carmelo went to Montclair State, she says in the scho. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:09:28.110] - Speaker 3
Exactly. Like like I feel that Kamala like like kind of wants that um, like that social aspect that, that her that like, their family could do all this exclusive stuff that other families can do. Definitely.
[00:09:42.390] - Speaker 2
Definitely. So awesome. All right, well, we'll see you in the next episode.
