Tell me one thing - when I watch real interviews, or real documentaries about mafia, they look calm people, more like The Godfather. The Sopranos are very angry and impulsive, where the difference comes from? Or they are angrier so the show could be more entertaining?

If you look back the series from the earliest episodes, anger was a central theme of the entire show. The Sopranos, though set in a mob context, was often a commentary on society in general. And, obviously, there's a lot of anger, dysfunction, violence in our society today. I've never met a mobster but I'd be willing to bet a guy like Richie Aprile is much closer to the real thing than Don Corleone.

The show was really about the struggles of family life and psychiatry.

Recently stumbled across this...


Book Excerpt: Sopranos Psychology

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=125767&page=1#.T4npWFGvKSo

A friend of mine that wasnt even a fan of the show explained that to me. The mob aspect was simply a way to draw in veiwers and keep them watching, other than swit downs, murders, and card game the show nearly delved into organized crime a lot. It was a lot more about personal relationships, like showing how people act in front of each other and then what they really think about the other person when they are not with them anymore. It was also about the constant strain that a marriage and children can be, which most of the time pushes people to seek outside affection. On top of all that it went into feelings of personal obligations to family and extended family, having to do something for someone not because you owe them or like them but because they are your cousin and need your help.

They live in Jersey. lol