Recurring theme -- selfishness and hypocrisy
Posted: Mon Apr 03, 2006 8:33 am
I was really struck this episode by the strength and repetition of selfishness in this episode.
Johnny Sac: "I'm in here rotting, and all Tony can think about is HIMSELF?"
--in response to Tony demanding he remain an employee of Barone, primarily for W-2 and insurance coverage reasons as he is in the hospital.
Tony: "This girl came in today, burns over 80% of her body"
Paulie: "You should hear about the week I had!"
Rapper: "He was supposed to produce my first album, but with him laid up in the hospital there will be no release for me this year."
--Rapper that Bobby Baccala was talking to, about the other rapper who was shot 7 times.
Tony (to insurance woman): "You want me out of here? I just had surgery, I'm in pain, and I can barely walk. And you want me out of the hospital just so you can save money?"
CONTRAST WITH:
Tony (to paramedic): "There was money missing after your little "wallet biopsy". You owe me 2 G's."
Paramedic: "2000? I don't have that kind of money!"
Tony: "You've got a week."
Jason Barone: "I had no idea!"
Tony: "Well, now an innocent man has been beaten half to death, in front of his son, because of you."
There was also a completely selfish line from Janice, but we're used to that at this point.
A number of major character this episode (major exceptions: Carmella, Meadow, AJ, Chris) showed incredible selfishness, and a crass disregard for the plight of others. All of the examples above showed a complete lack of empathy -- the problems of each speaker were all far greater than the problems others were experiencing.
I think this is why Jason Barone's mother's plea for any consequences to come down on her rather than her son stood out so much. It was the only example in the entire episode of someone accepting responsibility (a buzz term now!) for her own actions, and attempting to shield the innocent Jason from receiving harm because of her actions.
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Johnny Sac: "I'm in here rotting, and all Tony can think about is HIMSELF?"
--in response to Tony demanding he remain an employee of Barone, primarily for W-2 and insurance coverage reasons as he is in the hospital.
Tony: "This girl came in today, burns over 80% of her body"
Paulie: "You should hear about the week I had!"
Rapper: "He was supposed to produce my first album, but with him laid up in the hospital there will be no release for me this year."
--Rapper that Bobby Baccala was talking to, about the other rapper who was shot 7 times.
Tony (to insurance woman): "You want me out of here? I just had surgery, I'm in pain, and I can barely walk. And you want me out of the hospital just so you can save money?"
CONTRAST WITH:
Tony (to paramedic): "There was money missing after your little "wallet biopsy". You owe me 2 G's."
Paramedic: "2000? I don't have that kind of money!"
Tony: "You've got a week."
Jason Barone: "I had no idea!"
Tony: "Well, now an innocent man has been beaten half to death, in front of his son, because of you."
There was also a completely selfish line from Janice, but we're used to that at this point.
A number of major character this episode (major exceptions: Carmella, Meadow, AJ, Chris) showed incredible selfishness, and a crass disregard for the plight of others. All of the examples above showed a complete lack of empathy -- the problems of each speaker were all far greater than the problems others were experiencing.
I think this is why Jason Barone's mother's plea for any consequences to come down on her rather than her son stood out so much. It was the only example in the entire episode of someone accepting responsibility (a buzz term now!) for her own actions, and attempting to shield the innocent Jason from receiving harm because of her actions.
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