Psychology is everywhere. Over the last few weeks, I watched The Sopranos for the first time, and along with its overall quality, I was particularly struck by how big of a role therapy played in the whole thing. Then, just the other day, I rewatched the first two The Godfather movies, which are constantly referenced in The Sopranos.
Watching these two in this order made me think about how The Sopranos took The Godfather and updated it with a focus on therapy (as well as a focus on female perspectives, which were largely absent from The Godfather). The female perspective aspect is pretty simple: The Godfather I and II are pretty much uninterested in the inner lives of its female characters, while The Sopranos actually gives a voice to a number of women in the show. One of these women is Dr. Melfi, Tony’s therapist, so let us talk about the therapy aspect in the show.
The Sopranos and therapy
If you’re familiar with The Godfather, you know that Michael Corleone probably could have used ongoing therapy. The Sopranos acknowledges this, and Tony is in therapy almost the entire series. In other words, where Michael Corleone can just keep spiraling deeper and deeper as his story unfolds, Tony Soprano is forced to regularly engage with both his feelings and his actions. This is the main subversion of The Sopranos, as it presents mob members in situations that very few stories have ever shown them in.
By setting up Tony Soprano as a fearsome icon of traditional masculinity and then subverting that by constantly showing him in therapy, The Sopranos shows that therapy is not for any one type of person, but for all people. At one point, it gets out that Tony Soprano is in therapy, and it initially reflects negatively on him, but then other mobsters start talking about how they’re in therapy. This is an interesting direction taken by The Sopranos compared to the things that came before it.
In fact, therapy and the women in The Sopranos are intertwined as well, as Tony attends some of his therapy sessions with his wife, Carmela. Because of his time in therapy (both with and without her), his relationship with Carmela is pretty solid by the end of the show, especially compared to how it is at the lowest points. This also feels like a direct response to The Godfather, considering M0hael’s terrible relationship with his second wife, Kay.
Wrapping up
The Sopranos is an all-around excellent show for many reasons. However, one of the most impressive things is its depiction of therapy, which is particularly notable considering both the subject matter and the time (the first episode came out in 1999). The more that shows like this normalize therapy and other psychology concepts, the better off society will be in terms of mental health awareness.
