The cultural phenomenon, that is Adolescence has officially marked the return of the ‘anti-hero’ to the pinnacle of television drama. The ‘anti-hero’ was a concept initially created by none other than William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ - perhaps the greatest written fictional character of all time. This idea was then finally translated into modern television in 1999, by David Chase with his creation of the Sopranos and most notably the character of Tony Soprano, a troubled New Jersey mob boss who revolutionised the history of TV as we know it.
So, what made Tony Soprano so compelling?
Well, first we must admire the work of the late James Gandolfi. A ‘hippy’ who played one of the most dangerous, violent, bullying, murderous, vulgar television characters of all time. To perfection - he won 3 Emmy's on the bounce- argue with your wall.
But what truly made him so endearing, was his therapy sessions with Dr Jennifer Melfi (played by Lorraine Bracco) where we as the audience were able to see the true multi-faceted nature of his character, not just Tony Soprano, the Mob boss. The therapy sessions create frequent moral dilemmas for us to comprehend, which often leave us shouting at the TV or with our heads buried deep in our hands. Through therapy with Dr Melfi, Gandolfini was able to demonstrate his wide-ranging spectrum of passionate emotions. Writer and director, David Chase even labelled Gandolfini’s acting skills, particularly through his eyes alone as “otherworldly.”
What made these therapy sessions so important was that they were able to demonstrate just how subversive Tony Soprano’s character was. In 1999 when the show released its first pilot episode, many thought that this would be merely a continuation of the Mafia culture that had dominated film in the 20th century, into television. What shook critics was the concept of having a character like Tony, who was the typical patriarchal, alpha male of the 20th century, display his ‘weakness’ through his troubles with his mental health as a result of the burden his responsibilities had placed on him. This is what made Tony a groundbreaking character for the history of TV: his ability to shift from violent sociopath to a vulnerable father whose moral compass is bound purely by his responsibility to provide for his family.
This was what won the people's hearts.
How does this link to Adolescence you may be wondering?
Well, in its most successful episode, where Jamie (Owen Cooper) visits a therapist to discuss the reasoning behind his actions, Adolescence was able to develop that same conflicted emotion that hooked international audiences to Tony Soprano, by interrogating both the character and the audiences' moral compass, leaving the audience with nothing but the simple, old age questions. ‘Is he good or bad?’ and ‘Who is to blame?’ However, what separates the two shows was that Adolescence left its conflicted audience an ambiguous cultural message that would spark inter-generational debates that will remain unsettled for the foreseeable future.