Like millions of other Sopranos fans, I yearned for a dramatic ending that would settle things once and for all. Either Tony would die, would rat out his friends, or triumph like Michael Corleone at the end of The Godfather movie. None of these things happened. Sure, he arranged the death of rival mob boss Phil Leotardo, but then he found out that one of his own men was talking to the feds. Life just went on.
A lot of us felt disappointment. Politics disappoints us in the same way. Activists often hope that electing a certain candidate or passing a certain bill will be the climax that resolves political problems. Music up and out. Roll the credits. It’s a nice image, but it almost never happens.
In 1994, a culture of corruption on Capitol Hill led people to elect a Republican Congress. But within a dozen years, the former reformers had their own ethics problems. The issue helped elect a Democratic Congress in 2006. Less than a year later, the new majority is already backsliding.
Back in 1986, Congress passed an immigration reform bill. It gave a break to illegal aliens already in the country. At the same time, it aimed to discourage more from coming in. But it wasn’t the climactic ending that people were hoping for. It just didn’t work. That’s why we’re arguing about immigration reform today.
Movies and TV shows appeal to us because they usually provide a sense of closure. Jack Bauer beats terrorists. Mister Smith goes to Washington and overcomes corrupt politicians. The closing blackout on the Sopranos surprised us because it wasn’t like a regular show. It was more like reality.
As Steven Van Zandt (Silvio Dante) told The New York Daily News: “Life doesn’t have tidy little endings.”
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