Italians in Argentina, who, Sopranos?

At this point there’s no doubt about the success of the Italian mob inspired TV series. After having some of the highest ratings within worldwide TV, HBO‘s fantastic production also arose heated arguments, all of them regarding the alleged Italian stereotype shown in the show as a not very intelligent, quite grotesque and ruthless killer people.

However harsh and complicated these disputes were in the States about the impact within a specific community of a stereotyped character, this argument did not cross the American boarder towards the rest of the world. Argentina -together with the United States- have the world’s largest Italian community. Unlike the American one, Argentinean-Italians’ origin is the southern part of the European peninsula. Millions of Italians crossed the Atlantic heading towards Buenos Aires seeking a better life in the late 1880s.

I myself am come from an Italian family -my surname won’t let me lie about it-, and do not feel offended by the any character portrayed in the Sopranos. I’m a fan. I wait every Saturday night for the Soprano time. My wife and I lay back and enjoy a great master piece of television. I believe it’s about life, about dealing with one’s self and your family or "family" -which most of us have in these modern days of divorce, remarriage, adoption, etc., not that we’re all mobsters, but indeed, families have broaden in complicated and amazing ways.

It’s an interesting situation -me and my wife being so much into The Sopranos, considering I’m Italian and she’s a shrink.

I see the Sopranos from a complete different point of view if I take in consideration those disputes about stereotypes. Argentina is a country that was built thanks to the hard work and dedication of many generations of immigrants, and in this way Italians play a big role. But as modern times came ahead, and the so called Paris of South America developed into a complex society, there has been another ingredient -besides its immense immigration flow, cattle and tango- that has set aside Argentina from other nations. That is the incredibly high rate of philologists within our society; some dare to say that there is a shrink every 2 Argentineans. I’m not sure about that, but I do agree the rate is outrageous. Everyone I know goes or has gone to the shrink a good deal of time. Watching Tony Soprano deal with his life complex, his love relationship with his wife and the complications -to say at least- he has had and will have around his mother issue, to me express something very much close.

I’m sure non of the producers ever thought of Argentina as an inspiration, but the turns of life and -some psychoanalyst could add all sort of complexes and inner selves, projections, etc. - have bonded this show’s plot and our life down here in the Southernmost part of the world.