(As do a hundred other discoveries of the modern world.) What was outrageous to me was that many mainstream believers at the time were egregiously siding with their radical brethren on the issue, even though the theory of evolution does not threaten mainstream beliefs. Religious radicals, not surprisingly, find evolution to be a threat because it undermines their radical beliefs. Of all the cultural battles of the Bush era, I found the skirmishes over the theory of evolution to be the most infuriating. Bush placed the entire world in a duality: “Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists,” he famously said just before launching his War on Terror. Bush (like Pastor Bob here) tended to see things in a black-and-white way, he retreated from nuance or complexity. President Bush wore his certainty on his sleeve. It was Colson’s boss Richard Nixon who engineered the “southern strategy” (making an appeal to white, religious, sometimes racist voters) which transformed the Democratic south into a Republican stronghold, and which eventually led to the election of Born-again Christian George Bush in 2000. He became a Born-again Christian while in prison, and was enjoying great popularity within the Evangelical community at the time this episode first aired.) (Colson served time for his role in the Watergate cover-up. ![]() The reference in this hour to Charles Colson, President Nixon’s hatchet man, is particularly interesting because it explicitly brings politics into the episode. This episode makes reference to several battles of the “culture war” of the period, including Pro-life/Pro-choice standoffs and the Terry Schiavo case. I’ve stated before that Chase seems to make a conscious effort in Season 6 to place The Sopranos within its American milieu, and Aaron and Bob represent the Religious Right that began truly flexing its power in the first decade of the 2000s. The duo represent that segment of our population that revels in simplistic certainty, those folks that are 100% sure that they embody all that is Good and Right while all others are Evil and Wrong. Aaron Arkaway, who we haven’t seen since “…To Save Us All From Satan’s Power” (3.10), reappears now with a brand new character, Pastor Bob. The Sopranos is stocked with characters that would prefer the latter choice, and Chase now adds two more to their number. This parallels a choice that was being debated in the real world at the time this episode originally aired (and is still being debated today): would America be better off if we approached social and political issues with a nuanced understanding of their complexities, or would the country be better off if we were guided by uncomplicated, strongly-held values and decisive action? wrong,” I think Chase is far more interested in getting us to see SopranoWorld in a complex way as opposed to looking at it in a simplistic way. Although it’s easy to watch this series and think about it in terms of “good vs. It seems to me that Chase has always put his audience at a crossroads in how we choose to view the series. Will he take advantage of this opportunity? Some residue of his near-death-experience (or whatever that long, strange trip was) seems to be lingering in his consciousness-he tells his nurse, “I’ve been feeling, I dunno, not myself.” We get the sense that Tony is at a crossroads in his life, he has been given a second chance to change his ways. Tony is slowly recuperating after coming out of his coma. In fact, one of my favorite things about this episode is how it seems to endorse the idea that there is room in this world for varying viewpoints (and that dogmatic positions that insist otherwise are just plain silly). (Part of the reason why this write-up is so long is that there is a lot I need to get “on the record” here if my “Made in America” entry is to make any sense.) I am sure that many viewers will not agree with how I’ve unpacked this hour. Within days of the Series Finale, I had formulated an interpretation of that cut-to-black that was deeply informed by this episode. ![]() And then, in the aftermath of the cut-to-black at Holsten’s Diner, I found myself thinking about “Fleshy Part” quite a lot. And this particular work of art is chock full o’ magic.) When this hour first aired, it rang a deep chord in me. (I think “definitive interpretations” have the effect of a solvent, dissolving all the magic and mystery out of a work of art. ![]() Although I have a fairly specific interpretation of this outing, I recoil from calling it the definitive interpretation. “The Fleshy Part of the Thigh” is one of my favorite episodes, it is truly a keystone hour in my understanding of the series. Written by Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider Bobby gets a chance to test his marksmanship.Įpisode 69 – Originally aired April 2, 2006 Tony is discharged from the hospital, but not before he meets a scientist
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