Re: Has Tony forgiven Uncle Junior?

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Forgiveness is a religious concept. At the same time, this notion is often a focus of therapy work. Let's face it, interpersonal damage from within the family... just abounds, for better words. Through Melfi's eyes Tony is clinically resistant and just too defended to process this impasse in regard to Uncle Junior. However, he just may have come to his own existential resolve regarding Uncle Jun's heinous behaviors. Usually those who face a chronic need to forgive others are those who characterologically cannot exercise assertiveness, and are therefore constantly and with their own complicity victimized (this is not Tony). And, then there are those who are just too vulnerable to be able to own such hurtful assaults. I think T demonstrates over-functioning defenses as well as the pink cloud afterglow of a near death experience.

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Re: Has Tony forgiven Uncle Junior?

12
OE, let me begin by saying I enjoy your input to these boards very much, and find your train of thought, generally, exceptionally insightful. However I would like to say for the record that I fundamentally disagree that forgiveness is a religious concept. Of course I see the correlation but do not believe that forgiveness (something I consider part of someone's emotional and genetic make-up) was borne out of any single religion, or religion as a whole.

Indeed, to say that those who face a chronic need to forgive others are the less assertive among us affirms this in my mind.

No offence intended whatsoever, just wanted to throw my two cents into the ring...and this is no reflection of my own religious belief either. In actual fact I would be intrigued to hear your reasoning behind what I felt was quite a sweeping statement, if you wish to share it.

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Re: Has Tony forgiven Uncle Junior?

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No offense taken whatsoever...I'm thinking about what I posted and how this may have been received. The notion of forgiveness resides, I believe, within the overlapping intersection of one's value system and one's characterological structure. One's value system may consist of, but is not limited to, religion, spirituality, ethics...essentially thoughts/actions guided by principled thought. Cultures cloaked in the belief systems of the world's religions appear to ascribe to the notion that forgiveness is virtuous and places us in a morally ascendent position. From my observations forgiveness seems to be one of the governing aspirations across theological domains. Who am I to controvert the teachings and musings of higher powered thought that encourage a self-examined life and altruistic and empathic intentions? I do not, and as a matter of fact maintain an affection and respect for the mystique of the strange admixture of my own religious underpinnings.

At the same time I am reminded on a daily basis of those who characterologically suffer with the weight of forgiveness, either on the receiving or "meting-out" side of the equation. There are those who have not learned and cannot bring themselves to provde adequate self-care; therefore, endlessly get caught up in a cyclical game of "needing to forgive." On the other side of the equation are those who have no internal mechanism for evaluating decent behavior and habitually find themselves in the "needing forgiveness" camp. My problem with forgiveness is born out of the guilt that a warped and merciless interpretation of religious tenets may place on one who might benefit from an equally assiduous regimen of self care or preservation. A preoccupation with forgiveness in a clinical setting is usually symbolic of repressed, yet often righteous anger.

In Tony' case, I believe that his forgiveness of Junior may look something along the lines of a realization that his filial love for his uncle outweighs his anguish, and that he esteems the relationship over the transgression. I do not sense that this process has occurred, although it may. Rather, I experience in Tony a flimsy desire to carpe diem paired with a huge subterranean fire to protect himself from the pain and implications of Junior's actions.

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Re: Has Tony forgiven Uncle Junior?

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<blockquote>Quote:<hr>HOW THE HELL can Chase not utilize such a great acter as Dominic!? <hr></blockquote>

There could be many possible reasons that they decided they did not want to make public.

Perhaps Dominic is sick or has some other family or personal problems and didn't want to make the info public.

Perhaps Dominic had some serious disagreement with one of the producers and for whatever reason they didn't want it to be made public.

There are likely many other possibilities why he isn't being used this season aside from a decision by DC.


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Re: Has Tony forgiven Uncle Junior?

15
This is an interesting thread.

I'm not certain what Tony is feeling re Uncle Junior. But I suspect that the degree to which Tony has forgiven Junior is directly related to the degree to which he believes Junior's actions stemmed from genuine delusion.

On the one hand, he seems to impute a degree of mental capacity to Junior sufficient to ascribe blame ("He's going to prison for the rest of his unnatural life so fuck him." "I get it. My uncle tried to kill me, two times now."). On the other, he sees him as lacking capacity to form a real, culpable intent. ("I have no one but myself to blame." "I brought this all on myself." Calling out to Uncle Jun to dial 911 after the shooting.)

Truth is, Junior's mind has gone steadily downhill since late season 4, and he has been at least borderline nuts this season. There's just enough lucidity at times to make you question his capacity to form a criminal intent. And you have to ask whether mistaken identity (Tony for Malenga) is even relevant to that question. Clearly he intended to shoot the person he thought was Malenga, and, depending upon other components of his delusion, that may be enough to sustain criminal intent in the legal sense.

But in the unique, interpersonal relationship between an uncle and nephew who are mob bosses and who often whack people, the mistaken identity certainly ameliorates the crime. Tony, like the audience, is left to wonder how much of Junior's actions were the result of genuine mental confusion and how much were the result of deep-seated resentments and jealousies toward Tony that his dementia opportunistically spun into a murder attempt.

Junior gave ample indication of the former by repeatedly invoking the name "Malenga". But he also invoked motives and grievances that were clearly all about Tony ("He knows I need that money for my retrial.")

The whole scenario reminds of Where's Johnny and the fact that Junior's memory hickups, though genuine, always occurred on a remark that Tony found particularly hurtful and demeaning ("He never had the makings of a varsity athlete") rather than on something kind or loving. Junior's reaction at the end of that episode may have suggested he did indeed "love" Tony. But the consistently hurtful, aggressive tone of his dementia toward Tony also suggests that the love of which Junior is capable is woefully defective . . . swallowed up by the insecurity and jealousy that Hesh pegged him for back in the series pilot.

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Re: Has Tony forgiven Uncle Junior?

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<blockquote>Quote:<hr>Truth is, Junior's mind has gone steadily downhill since late season 4, and he has been at least borderline nuts this season. There's just enough lucidity at times to make you question his capacity to form a criminal intent. And you have to ask whether mistaken identity (Tony for Malenga) is even relevant to that question. Clearly he intended to shoot the person he thought was Malenga, and, depending upon other components of his delusion, that may be enough to sustain criminal intent in the legal sense.<hr></blockquote>

My mother-in-law suffers from stroke induced dementia, so I know a little about how it affects someone. There are times when the victim can appear to be perfectly normal, and others where they are totally "nuts" and incoherent. I've been told that dementia and alzheimer's are very similar and the reaction from either is directly related to the area of the brain that has been damaged.

Dominic Chianese (Uncle Junior) seems to be playing the part accurately.

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BobbyBuz
"Everything happens for a reason"</p>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p098.ezboard.com/bthechaselounge ... corsale</A> at: 5/21/06 12:33 pm
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