#I've never seen the sopranos or the godfather

[lukebeartoe]

A fic where Luca and Alberto meet as young adults starting out in an Italian Mob and fall in love/lust with each other, call it "Sleeping with the Fishes".

[pacifymebby]

https://youtu.be/uDx-6pEohE4?feature=shared

The comments on this are so confusing… why are people praising her? Also a comment says she offered miners £30,000 redundancy which I’ve never heard of before x

I've never heard the £30,000 thing before and when I've tried to google it I can't find much to confirm or deny it? So I don't know how much I trust it. What I have found though is that any redundancy that was offered, it was offered as a way to try and break the strikes. The options presented to the miners were basically 1) stay on strike and we'll fire you without pay 2) break the strike (be a scab - this is a very bad, seen as a class traitory thing to do and had crazy real world consequences!!) and you'' still lose your job but we'll give you redundancy.

And when you weigh those two choices up (especially when you consider the men being made redundant were 55+) they're pretty hopeless choices. You're not going to get work anywhere else because your trade is being obliterated and any jobs going will go to younger men.

It wouldn't surprise me if this was one of her methods for breaking the strike, Thatcher's Neoliberalism (basically every man for himself politics) was all about dividing the working class, breaking communities and unions so that the working class masses would feel small/ helpless and like they were actually a minority.

This is probably also why people on that video are commenting positively about her too. Thatcher kind of "invented" the middle class when she split the working class into "work shy don't want to better themselves" poor people and the "aspirational working class" She introduced stuff like "right to buy" which enabled people living in council houses/ public housing, to buy their house from the government for cheap. Sounds great if you're the person in the house, (and so many working class people did benefit from this/ there families still benefit now, especially in places like London and the East where house prices have skyrocketed since the 80s/90s). Terrible however because Thatcher and successive tory governments never built new council houses so now there aren't any left and no one can afford a house. (however theres that small chunk of working class people who benefited massively and so love her now)

She did loads of stuff like that whilst she was in power, she crushed the unions and British industry, sold industry off to foreign investors who provided the work for cheaper (at the time!!) which meant that the already very wealthy got to invest in and make more money out of these deals, but the working class lost all their jobs and local economies suffered. Also like my nan on my mums side of the family remembers thatcher fondly for "freeing us from the tyranny of the unions" she remembers it all really differently and pictures Arthur Skargill (the guy who lead the strikes) as some kind of Tony Soprano/ Godfather type mob ruler who was holding the public to ransom, demanding the public pay more and more money to keep him in business (which wasn't how it worked at all haha) But like, whilst the strikes were going on electricity/ power would be cut to homes because no coal and stuff so the country experienced blackouts and this was blamed on strikers (when like, if Thatcher hadn't been threatening them, they wouldn't have needed to be on strike and would have quite gladly gone to work!)

Essentially what happens when a prime minister is doing as thatcher did, is that the government will pick the group of people they're going to attack (in this instance the miners) and they will run with a story about how the miners are being "intimidated" into striking by other miners (as if the unions were the mob), they split them into "these good honest men who just want to work but they're being threatened" and "these evil work shy men who rule with threats and violence and want to bring the country to its knees!" They build this narrative and run with it, and the strikers had their own narrative too which was much different. But the British public will remember whichever story they believed at the time... So people who lived in those mining communities knew the "truth" (I've put this in commas because many would argue with me) and people who did not believed what they were reading in the papers and hearing from the government.

if you can access this then this is a really interesting article about the link between police violence during the strikes (and how they never got prosecuted for trampling strikers with horses) and police violence at Hillsborough which they also got away with for a really long time. (brits might have heard of this disaster, very famous and the inquiry that got people justice only happened in the last few years) Its a pretty solid and since proven example of how the Government and the police twist the truth and outright lie to construct false narratives and get away with really evil things. (word of warning if you google Hillsborough, its really upsetting, I can't read about it without getting extremely emotional)

Sometimes it really helps to read something totally bias in the direction opposing yours, this is kinda good for explaining why some people fucking love the woman haha

the paragraph at the end about how Britain was confident and empowered by 97 because of thatchers is so wack, Britain was emboldened by 97 cause Tony Blair had presented them with an offer of change and hope lol. The middle/ upper class just got cocky because thatcher had lined their pockets with working class money lol

Also something I've just remembered is that Brassed Off (the film I mentioned earlier) is about the union bands, which if you're a Sam Fender fan you might have heard him mention when he talks about why he likes having those brass sounds on his records, the union bands were like, crazy parts of the community, they got all the men together and like sharing something (not their feelings unfortunately but you know, it was still a vital part of community and support) And idk, that could be a really cool little watch if you're interested in that connection to Sam's music and the north east and stuff!!

[thelegendofmrrager]

When are you gonna drop the Sopranos fanfic? Would love to see how you do Sopranos and Godfather crossover :0

It's a self insert fic where I kill tony soprano and then I slide in and get with his hot milf wife

[tinnchan]

Read your post about analyses with regards to kinnporsche, and I totally agree.

There's a difference between irrational critiques, and rational critiques, and audiences and fans shouldn't lump the two together, and decide to reject all critiques of the show, all together.

Personally, I observe that a lot of fans of institutionalised crime stories, particularly those categorised as mafia, buy into the glamoured, and valorised characterisations of the stories enough to dismiss as baseless, or bad, any analysis of the stories that counters what they find, or have been directed to find, appealing.

Kinnporsche fans should (re)learn the basics of storytelling analyses to figure out genuine criticisms of the work, and disingenuous ones that aim to discredit and misrepresent the show. They should learn it's acceptable and sensible for people to be repulsed by the anti-social attitudes and behaviours expressed by characters in the story, or for people to point out when certain acts and opinions are portrayed as good when they're not, and not assume one is hating on the show. They shouldn't lump critiques of characters' actions in the show with complaints by people who ignore all the show's promos and then get upset that the show airs what it promos, and not what they wanted it to be.

I've seen this sort of defensive, pre-emptive reaction from certain fans which I find understandable because this is the internet and people will be extreme and there are a lot of bad-faith actors out there but as you said, there has been little attempt to pick out the genuine criticism from the not so genuine ones. There's of course a spectrum when it comes to mafia stories in my pov; you have on one hand your Sopranos which keeps reminding you that you are following a despicable sleazy man doing despicable sleazy things. You can catch yourself sympathizing with Tony Sopranos at times but the ugliness of his actions are given the appropriate framing and weight. Then you have your the godfather of the world where everything is under a veneer of "code" and "honour" and "family". It becomes compelling, fascinating. There's also this anti-establishment angle pushed by these kind of narratives which are even more compelling to viewers but which cannot be further from real life (one day I'll get on an unwarranted rant about the ties between crime syndicates and the rise of far-right extremism in various places and points in history and everyone shall hate it, me included).

With the way KP is marketed ('Mafia never dies'), we already can kinda guess on which side of the spectrum the show will land. Which would be fine, if simultaneously, the fans were not already pushing the argument that "these are dark, people Of course they are doing despicable things! we aren't condoning it".

Ok, but there is a real possibility that the narrative or the aesthetics WILL condone their actions. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Does that mean that no one is supposed to enjoy mafia stories? Nah. That's not what I'm saying.

However, when it comes to KP, things gets even trickier when you are reminded that this is a romance story in a romance oriented genre where there are certain romance-expectations from the audience.

Plus, the uniqueness of the mafia-trope, its origins and growth within the boy-love world...well it's its own cans of worms. This romance/boy-love aspect warrants an extra layer of criticism and caution imo. I don't think you can wave it away with a simple "ah those are criminals, you expect them to be goody goody two shoes??".

[rhettakins]

Meadow Soprano:

Are you in the Mafia?

Tony Soprano:

Am I in the what?

Meadow Soprano:

Whatever you want to call it. Organized crime.

Tony Soprano:

That's total crap, who told you that?

Meadow Soprano:

Dad, I've lived in the house all my life. I've seen the police come with warrants. I've seen you going out at three in the morning.

Tony Soprano:

So you never seen Doc Cusamano going out at three in the morning on a call?

Meadow Soprano:

Did the Cusamano kids ever find $50,000 in krugerrandts and a .45 automatic while they were hunting for Easter eggs?

Tony Soprano:

I'm in the waste management business. Everybody immediately assumes you're mobbed up. It's a stereotype. And it's offensive. And you're the last person I would want to perpetuate it... There is no Mafia.

Meadow Soprano:

Fine.

Tony Soprano:

Alright look, Mead, you're a grown woman, almost. Some of my money comes from illegal gambling and whatnot. How does that make you feel?

Meadow Soprano:

At least you don't keep denying it, like Mom. Kids in school think it's actually kinda neat.

Tony Soprano:

They seen "The Godfather", right?

Meadow Soprano:

Not really. "Casino" we like, Sharon Stone, the 70's clothes, pills...

Tony Soprano:

I'm not asking about those bums. I'm asking about you.

Meadow Soprano:

Sometimes I wish you were like other dads. But then, like... Mr. Scangarelo for example? An advertising executive for big tobacco. Or lawyers? So many dads are full of shit.

Tony Soprano:

Oh, and I'm not.

Meadow Soprano:

You finally told the truth about this.

Tony Soprano:

Look, Mead, part of my income comes from legitimate businesses, stock market...

Meadow Soprano:

Look, Dad, please, okay? Don't start mealy-mouthing.

“The Sopranos”

January 10, 1999

[violetsystems]

#personal

For all intents and purposes, I have not actually seen the 1973 film Goncharov as presented by famed director Martin Scorsese. But from what little I've seen from the film's poster, I get the gist of what it's all about in a near Criterion paragraph or two. Three if you've been here long enough to know the truth. You see, I've been around long enough to know how to judge a book by its cover. There's a ton of them sitting on my shelves unread, waiting for that perfect dead time when I'm not worrying about the crime family sagas playing out on my own streets. Even those dramas that I skim in passing just trying to use the public sidewalks I know too well. My life in America for however long I've lived it seems like three different movies. Sort of like Godfathers one through three, I wager there were a couple of sequels to Goncharov which never got to see outside of the bootleg market. I imagine they would be very reminiscent to some of the memories I had from my own adolescence. Like riding around in a Mustang GT listening to Musto and Bones "Dangerous on the Dancefloor" with two daughters of a mafia boss construction worker from a subdivision called Meadowview. Subdivisions in America are their own little fiefdoms held with the promise of home ownership, shady construction deals and cocaine money laundering. I had a crush on one of the sisters but I remember only because I was slightly embarrassed when they sang along word for word to the aforementioned cassette single. Years later I would take a trip to Frankie Bones' home turf in New York to see the original Concrete Jungle venue. I was invited by a Polish girl I met on an online forum who subsequently drugged my drink. It definitely wasn't the first time over the years someone drugged me. In fact, this is probably a regular occurrence dealing with unsavory types in the Sopranos-esque utopia we call America. But this is Goncharov we're talking about. And one fateful night on my birthday only a few years ago, my boss at the time put me in a cab after inviting me out to a disco club. She had invited me to sit at a table which they called bottle service or the vip, whatever that stood for. I had gotten into a scuffle on my way to the club in a neighborhood they called the "Viagra triangle." Everyone who knows me for my erections knows that that's not really my kind of town. But someone tried to throw a punch that night. And the rest I barely remember other than my boss escorting me out of the club and paying for a cab. These were the people I stopped hanging out with. Pretty much after everyone conveniently forgot I was let go from the job I worked at run by the same powerful and politically connected families that made Goncharov such a wild ride in the first place. So you might forgive me of all people for mistakenly thinking I've already seen this movie and its sequels. I don't get paid to be a writer. I don't get paid to do anything except be stalked by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Because my ex boss is too busy touring the world promoting Morbius, the living vampire. That's when she's not doing coke with MMA fighters on company time.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. What made the original Goncharov so memorable to me wasn't the cameos. In my mind, Action Bronson's role as the pizza guy in Goncharov 2 had more of an impact on me cinematically. A step up thematically from the coffin salesmen in the Irishman to be certain. But really, Harvey Keitel's role as the one eyed banker slash financier sticks in my mind as the crux of the poetry of money and power. He does lose the other eye in the sequel and walks around blindfolded but seems to be gifted with the extrasensory prescience to pick Chinese stocks on the Singapore exchange. But he does so without the violent world around him in view and perhaps leads him to a spiritual clarity which is explored more in the third film which I have not seen. My eyesight isn't the greatest either but thanks to contacts from Canada, I'm able to sell my information on the internet and make social media networks the money they need to survive. Hell, maybe they'll sell the entirety of these three paragraphs and make them into a Goncharov tv show with musical guests that won't include me because I'm too close to the source material. After all, my life is eerily similar to the main character of the first film and his obsession with a beautiful supermodel turned international computer hacker. I know what you are thinking, the first mainframe in Russia was called Урал built in 1956. How could Cybill Shepherd's character communicate with Al Pacino so covertly with such a large footprint? The fax machine was invented in 1964. The first memes were shared along the international spy wire during the coldest of wars which begin to thaw at the beginning of Goncharov's opening sequence at a ski lodge. I only own one ski. I found it in the garbage. Kind of like where I found the unmade script for Goncharov 3 : The quickening. But sometimes, true love speaks through the fog regardless of how ancient the technology is. Just look at us on Tumblr. What speaks to us in this little known film is the fact that we can see through bullshit like Andrey Daddano. We know without knowing in the Dune sense of the word which is a little known fact that David Lynch was so inspired by the film he had to mask it in some bullshit obsession like the wizard of oz. Toto, the band, was secretly running secrets for the American government at the time down in Africa in a town of diamond smugglers which birthed the great Elon Musk. David Lynch was so awestruck by the similarities that he invited them to make the soundtrack and secretly studied their every move on the set. In fact, the original Dune is simply Goncharov in space. The spice as the currency for the underworld and the beauty and tyranny of psychedelic liberation. I prefer reverse cowgirl myself but what do I know?

I know one thing. Some people out there think they know everything about my life when they've never looked past the cover art. And the lesson we learn from Goncharov and its little known sequels is that truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. I write about it here all the time. Seven or eight years in fact. Maybe more. I don't have to see the movie. I live it. And write about it on the internet for free in order to confuse people enough to be on a level playing field with the rich and untalented. I'm a cameo in my own life most of the time on a Hollywood backlot of broken dreams and confidence tricks. And yet somehow, I'm as famous as some movie that never got made outside of the Czech Republic. What is that worth these days? Not a lot. I have a company that could be construed as going concern if I didn't have the mob, the police, and the terrorists chasing after me every time I go to the grocery store. I'm a slow walker. To me it's more of a parade on the sidewalks of the world's most walkable city. That is when the County Sheriff isn't parked on the aforementioned sidewalk to get coffee from the local dunkin donuts. They drive their squads on that shit too but don't ask me to confirm it. Shortcut for them to to follow me to the bank. A classic scene in the original Goncharov no doubt. How the police came that day to Harvey Keitel's branch to lay on the heat for a bribe? He laid out a penny on the floor to let Pacino know they were onto him and his frequent visits for quarters to do his laundry. The apparel kind not incidentals that happen off his quickbooks reports. Can you write off the laundromat when your constitutional rights are null and void? I don't really think you can. The lines of fantasy and reality are blurred any way you look at it. And in some ways, the world's most dangerous movie that no one can seem to find on streaming services pales in comparison to the shit I have to deal with on a daily basis. I, too, know what it's like to theoretically exist. And yet I'm fine with living it instead of seeing it dramatized by scam artists on the internet trying to dissemble my entire identity to cover up a scandal so big in proportion that some guy had to buy an entire social media network to drown its memory. Can we go back to the mainframe for one second? How many bots do you think it takes to write off your entire company at a loss before you funnel it into crypto with a furry conspiracy's help? Maybe we should ask Mario Ambrosini his thoughts? I'm too busy sharing memes with the people I love to write any more of this garbage. <3 Tim