By: Braelen Lewis
The Sopranos is a HBO original series which aired on January 10, 1999 and is a show centered around Tony Soprano who is the new head of an Italian mob gang. Now although this might sound just like any other classic mob show it is very different because instead of just an action packed mob series it goes deeper into mental illness awareness. This is done by giving the main character severe depression and erratic panic attacks while also giving the fans the action and plot they want. Personally, one episode that stuck with me and had a great impact was “TheTest Dream” where Tony has a severe battle with his mental illness and mixes reality with a surreal dream. Another thing I love about this show is how they were not scared t depict the realism of how cruel life can be like how it shows in the earlier seasons how Tony interacts with his son and then later on in the later seasons it reveals the consequences of his words when his son attempts to end his life. The show even depicts how in the early 2000s it was thought an act of weakness to speak out about personal struggles to even just a friend much less of a therapist which Tony has and it shows the struggles he has with trying to maintain his secret from the world. This is crazy to me because in today’s day and age it is much much different from these beliefs with thousands of people who see therapists openly not having to hide it all. To me the Sopranos is one of the perfect shows because the plot is extremely well written and the characters are very likeable while also implementing these indiscreet messages of real world problems with the world ultimately facilitating the watches with these problems. In all the Sopranos is one of if not the greatest original made by HBO close behind the Game of Thrones but certainly it was for its time one of the greatest pieces of television in the world for its openness to extremely controversial topics ultimately spreading awareness to these problems.
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