Michael Nunan

Mari Pajala
COMM 5110
March 4, 2017
Research Plan

Working Title: The Mafia Man.

Theory Methodology: In the HBO series the Sopranos is about the life of modern day mafia
boss Tony Sopranos who is head of one of the five major families of La Cosa Nostra. He and his
family reside in northern New Jersey about one hour west of NYC. Because Tony Sopranos
lived comfortably on the other side of the law he would come home every night and be
confronted with the same family issues that many normal Americans face. This is just one
example of how series creator David Chase developed a sense of relevance to viewers while
incorporating the excitement of a mafia lifestyle. Throughout the rest of this paper, I will state
several reasons as to why this was such a critically acclaimed show and validate my statements
with academic and scholarly sources. I will develop three main points and elaborate on each of
them.
1. Tony still returns home to face the common house hold problems that many
American families struggle with. Son with low academic scores and a
disrespectful daughter.
2. For everyone who is not faithful to their significant other it gives them an illusion
to watch themselves without consequence as Tony cheats on his wife Carmella
many times throughout the duration of this series.
3. Although the main audience of this show does not control a large mafia family
they still relate to the everyday issues that Tony deals with and that is why this
show was so popular in the early to mid-2000’s.

Potential Source List:

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/04/sopranos200704
http://www.indiewire.com/2016/05/david-chase-says-he-couldnt-make-the-sopranos-today-and-
that-he-was-jealous-of-mad-men-288921/
https://academic.oup.com/camqtly/article-abstract/39/1/23/314220/The-SopranosAn-American-
Existentialism?redirectedFrom=fulltext
http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5807&context=etd