Letters to the Editor
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Not love, but rooting for
I think the whole debate about loving or hating Tony is off-base. I doubt that any viewers really love Tony. But, viewers are rooting for him. Drama is about conflict. Just as most people immediately root for one team or another within seconds of starting to watch a sporting event, dramas are set up for us to root for someone against somebody else. On The Sopranos, we root for Tony because the writers have structured the show that way. The Shield is another show with a clearly immoral lead character that we still root for.
Given that the show is about the conflicts between criminals, then those who watch can only root for a criminal. A question: Does anyone know anybody who is rooting for Phil Leotardo? I doubt it. And, if you desire cops and robbers morality, then you are out of luck because the Feds are such miniscule characters in the show that there is nothing to root for.
Now, if someone wants to write an article about why people would want to watch a show that is a conflict between two criminals, then there's probably some interesting points to make. However, I doubt that the interesting point would be that somehow this show tells us about the psychology of the average American and their views in Iraq. That's a stretch.