Lochan Mor and Turas - Lessons in Shakespearean Comedy

(Notice:  SOA Apps spoilers)

Photo Courtesy of Bobby Elvis's Bake Sale

In an ideal television-programming world, Lochan Mor and Turas would be shown as a two-hour mini series within a 15-20 episode season of Sons of Anarchy.  I just watched both episodes back to back – as I think they should be.  From what I’ve been reading, there isn’t much love for Turas.  I found it an incredibly informative episode.  It also followed the Shakespearean narrative very well.  Shakespeare provided endless, sometimes exhausting turns of fate that often left the audience with a “what now?” feeling.  Usually this occurred in his comedies.  I reference the Wikipedia site on Shakespeare comedies here:  Characteristics of Shakespeare Comedies: 

·       A struggle of young lovers to overcome difficulty

·       Separation and reunification

·       Deception among characters (often within a family)

·       A clever servant (Ooooh….I love this one:  who is the SAMCRO Fallstaff?  What do you think – Tig is a good candidate, as is Unser, Juice…who else?)

·       Tension between characters, often within a family

·       Multiple, intertwining plots

·       Use of all styles of comedy (Slapstick – Tig/Kozik, Dry Humor – “I don’t recognize your bullshit MC).

·       Pastoral element (Charming – small town; Ireland – hello green).

·       Happy Ending (I don’t know if Sons exactly follows this line – although we have had some happiness…who here is happy for Opie, or just loves that Happy will be a regular on the show?)

So I want to spend this post (another coming later), going over some of the Multiple, Intertwining Plots that give the show it’s characteristic yumminess.

Photo Courtesy of Bobby Elvis's Bake Sale

Things we know (and yes, I know I’m leaving stuff out….there’s just too much to cover):

·       The SAMCRO/Sam Bel/RIRA relationship started when John and Gemma Teller were caught up in the idiocy of the United States health care system when their son, Thomas, fell victim to the Family Flaw.

·       John Teller was a little reluctant to enter into the world of black market arms dealing.

·       John Teller made “friends” with members of the RIRA and their affiliates.  “Friends” because I don’t think Kellan Ashby is being completely honest with us about how much he “loved” John. 

·       John Teller fell in love and fathered a child with Maureen Ashby.

·       Trinity is just as much a child of The Life as Jax is, and I think this bond is what attracts the two to each other (not the icky physical reaction that many of us have been mulling over).  I think they recognize this subconsciously, and Jax’s arm around Triny’s shoulder was a big brother act, not a “move.”

·       O’Neill and McGee are double-crossing assholes, but I think McGee is extremely uncomfortable with his actions toward SAMCRO.

·       Kellan Ashby probably has not intention of returning Abel to Jax. 

·       Kellan Ashby wants SAMCRO to get rid of Jimmy.

·       Jimmy wants Sam Bel to get rid of SAMCRO, but he also wants his guys to get rid of Sam Bel.

·       Fiona is a badass – only she would pull a gun like that on Gemma to save Gemma’s life.

·       Jacob Hale is a dirty bastard who is in bed with a developer who is subversively attempting to take over the retail property market in Charming.

·       Jacob Hale is in bed with two people who will continue to be thorns in his side until someone (I hope Tara) gets rid of them:  Hector Salazar and Luisa 

·       Kozik and Tig are going to kill each other (and make us laugh during the entire power struggle).

·       Margaret Admin is/was and Old Lady.

·       Jax’s deal with Stahl is in real trouble.  She was probably going to double-cross him anyway, but now we have real reason to fear that the deal may fail without her help).

·       Stahl is a bitch.

My questions for future episodes:

·       What exactly does Jax NOT know about JT & Belfast.  Is it that he cheated on Gemma with Maureen?  It’s understandable that Gemma wants to protect the saintly image Jax has of his dad, but he’s a big boy now, and we all have to learn the harsh truth about our parents sometime:  they were once young and foolish, too – and probably did some stupid and foolish shit. 

·       What was the promise Kellan Ashby made to John Teller about his family, and does it involve making sure future little Teller offspring are separated from "the life?"  If that’s the case, he did a pretty terrible job with Trinity.

·       Were Tara and Margaret on their way to the abortion clinic or driving home from it when they were abducted by Salazar and Luisa?

·       Is the Sam Bel VP (Seamus Ryan) aware of the deal O’Neill and McGee have made with Jimmy?

·       Do O’Neill and McGee understand Jimmy’s intentions toward Sam Bel?

·       Are McGee and O’Neill making a power play to become the head “mother chapter” of the MC? 

·       For those of you who have purchased the App:  when do you think we get to meet Lenny “The Pimp” Janowitz?

·       When are Gemma/Maureen going to tell Jax and Trinity that they are brother and sister? 

·       When are we going to find out about the woman who came between Kozik and Tig?

·       When is Jax going to realize that, by his own reasoning, he can’t ever have a romantic, loving relationship with ANYONE if he’s going to stay in the MC life?  The very nature of his lifestyle will always put the people he loves at risk, so he must be ready to live the life of a monk.

I’m still working on a post about some thoughts I have about John Teller and his relationship with his Charming family and his Belfast famiy, but I’m kind of waiting for the App update on the 15^th to finish it up.

Would love to hear your thoughts about the Multplie Intertwining Plots we are now faced with this Season.  Any that you love? Any that you hate?

Mere Anarchy is Loosed Upon the World

Turning and Turning and Widening Gyre:  the titles of episodes 305 and 307.  Maybe Sutter likes Yeats.  Maybe one of the writers has a degree in English Lit.  Maybe someone thought it would be cool to be all literary and shit and googled "anarchy" and "poem" together.  I really don't care.  What's interesting, whether it's intentional or not, is how this season is echoing the themes in the first stanza of Yeats' poem


The Second Coming:


Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

CHILLS!

First:  what the fuck is a gyre?  Well...it's a vortex, a spiral, a spinning ring.  There are naturally occurring gyres everywhere.  Ocean currents actually move in big gyres.   Hurricanes are big gyres of spinning storm systems.  Whirpools are spinning gyres of water. 

So, a widening gyre makes me think of a spiral of energy getting wider and fatter and faster with every rotation.  Where two things were once close together, they grow farther and farther apart.  Tara and Jax. Sam Crow and Sam Bel. Jimmy O and Father Ashby. Unser and Clay.  Charming and the MC. But spiraling energy also has a way of bringing things together.  Think of your washing machine, or a centrifuge.  Gemma and Tara, Tara and the Admin, Clay and Jax, the Mayans and SAMCRO. Jax and (God forbid) Stahl. 

The circular imagery of a gyre also brings to mind the "circle of life" archetype.  And not only the one about "dust to dust, ashes to ashes."  I mean how patterns tend to repeat themselves.  "Secret babies are bad ideas."  Well, now we have two secret babies:  Trinity and Sweet Baby Tara Jr (everyone assumes Tara's baby is going to be a boy, including Gemma.  Why the fuck can't it be a girl?  Oh, I forgot...we live in a paternalistic society where boy babies are preferred over girl babies...okay, I'm off my soap box).  Another repeating pattern:  JT went to Belfast to settle some business, now Jax is headed there for some business of his own.  JT had children from two different mothers.  So might Jax.

What really makes the hairs on my arms stand up about this poem and the Sons of Anarchy are the last two lines of this stanza of "The Second Coming" - which also have a lot of tie into the Hamlet parallels of Jax.  The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity. 

Jax's allegorical characterization to Hamlet is so spot on here.  He is "the best," but we as fans are often left to wonder - does Jax have the courage of his convictions?  Why does it seem like he's dilly-dallying around in the quest for Abel (because having sex with a porn bitch and arranging the movement of heroin through Charming are SO important)?  Why does he preach the Brains Before Bullets mantra, but act so impulsively and violently?  Has he even opened John Teller's book this season?  Why is he suddenly okay with heroin being trafficked through Charming?  Is that something his dad would be savvy with? Let's not forget that the heroin is being fed to the Aryan Brotherhood in prison!  Or did I miss the press release that convicts who leave prison as drug addicts are LESS violent than when they entered. Does he even remember that he wants to recreate the club into a kinder, gentler MC?  Wouldn't that protect Abel and Tara and everyone else he loves? 

Then there's that part about the worst and all of their passionate intensity.   Let's see...who are the worst:

• Stahl
• Salazar (we have yet another villain to loathe)
• Darby (I doubt he's done with the game...he'll be back)
• Jacob Hale and the rest of the developers trying to "bring Charming into the 21st century"
• The Real IRA and the Sam Bel traitors
• Ima (she's not really a contender in this list...but I really dislike her)

Yes indeed....anarchy is loosed upon the world.

On to more positive things...to the Turning and Turning imagery.  This brings to mind the Wheel of Fortune in Tarot and takes me to a happy place.  I realize Yeats probably didn't dig on the Tarot (if he did, let me know...that's the kind of useless shit I love to carry around in my brain), but the imagery is there, regardless.  The Wheel is about luck, fortune, or change that can bring joy. 

 I have a lot of hope for this imagery in the coming episodes of Sons of Anarchy.

Thoughts?  I appreciate your comments and thoughts as long as they aren't in Mandarin. 

-TCB.

'Sons' and Mothers

I just finished watching Sons of Anarchy 302, and two things have struck me. The first, which is unrelated to the theme of this post, is the undercurrent of mistrust that is now threaded throughout the intertwined plot lines. I guess the only "honor among thieves" is the no-ratting rule. Jimmy O lies to the Sons about the whereabouts of Abel and Cameron; the Sons clearly don't trust Jimmy O; the IRA council, Father Ashby, and Jimmy O don't trust each other; trust has been broken between Jax and Tara (even if they don't admit it); trust is going to be broken between Gemma and Tara, Jax, and Clay when she finds out about Abel...it seems like the only folks who trust each other are the brothers in the MC...and sometimes that trust is tenuous.

I'm sure these issues will play out with ever more depth over the next eleven episodes.

Now...onto the thoughts I've been percolating since dear little Abel was abducted. It's pretty clear the similarities between Gemma and Jax. Impulsive behavior seems to have passed from mother to son. This impulsiveness in Gemma is something we only get tastes of. Can everyone say skateboard? Perhaps it's because Gemma is older and wiser that we don't see her act out of impulse as regularly as Jax does. What distinguishes mother and son in this respect seems to be the consequences. Where Jax's ability to act out tends to land on supernumeraries (unnamed extras), Gemma's impulses got her framed for murder and her grandson kidnapped. From the previews for 303, it looks like her visit to dad's house is going to lead to a hostage situation.

As I stand by my computer (at 2:30 in the morning), bouncing my 12-week old baby boy in a swath of fabric designed to help me hold him without the use of my hands, it isn't difficult to realize how easy it is to be an over-protective (even overbearing) parent. Kids take a lot of damn time, effort, and above all else, sacrifice. Goodbye beauty sleep, driving 55 in a 35 mile-per-hour zone, cigarettes (at least for me), and mid-week-get-fall-down-drunk-because-it's-Wednesday parties. The sacrifice is even more evident if you're a woman (sorry guys - it's true). Women sacrifice their bodies to nurture (when it comes down to it) a parasite. We give ourselves biologically to a separate entity that shares half our genetic structure. Phsyiologically, we're never the same again.  Only mutants regain their pre-pregnancy figures (and other parts) in perfect condition.  I wont go into specifics.  They aren't fun, and may deter those of you who have thought about having kids from going through with it.  The truth is, women are protective of their children because of the sacrifice they've made. 

Gemma's protective instinct toward Jax (and Abel) is therefore very special, because it is defined by more than just genetic connection and physiological sacrifice. The family flaw makes the existence of her offspring both a miracle and a constant source of stress, and all the more protective of them. The death of Thomas Teller from the family heart condition destroyed John Teller. Conversely, it might make Gemma (at least partially) the fierce mother she is. Her protective instinct toward Jax and Abel is about the love she has for them, but it could also be about the survival of her genetic contribution to their existence. They are what she has left to contribute to future generations - they are her shot at genetic success.

I've also been ruminating about the relationship between mothers and sons since the arrival of my own little boy. I have a daughter, and I love her dearly. But I realized the other night that my relationship with my boy will help define the relationships he has with women. His dad will be important here, too.  Learning by example is pretty powerful.  For women, the presence of a son represents a relationship that isn't defined by approval- seeking (with a father figure), attraction (with a romantic partner), or competition (with a male sibling). It's defined by love alone! And that's so incredible. So I'm beginning to understand the ferocity of Gemma's attachment to Jax. And I dig it.

Season Three Fever Builds!

Thanks to Michael Ornstein for the picture of this billboard in NYC!

Would Bobby Elvis use a crock pot?

You can bet your sweet ass he would.


Now, I'm willing to bet that dear Bobby is one for spending long, slow, loving hours over a hot stove, stirring a pot full of delicious epicurean delights for his MC brothers.  That's just how he rolls.

But Bobby is a busy man, and that's why he probably owns at least one crock pot.  I'm guessing he has a 4 quart for when he's cooking for himself, and a 6-quart for when he has the guys over to watch some Raider football.  Why, you ask, would a man like Bobby own something more commonly associated with home-schooling housewives?

There are at least four reasons:

1. He's a motorcycle enthusiast.  Good weather and an open road are more tempting than a homemade pizza.
2. He's club treasurer.  With all of those funds flowing in (and out) of the MC treasury, Bobby probably has his fair share of work to do.
3. He did the accounting for Cara Cara.  Who has time to be a gourmet when there's porn to be watched...I mean books to be cooked?
4. He's got gigs in Reno.  And being an Elvis impersonator isn't something you do on the fly.  Practice is essential, and the amount of work it takes for Bobby to fluff those curls into an Elvis pompadour is a full time job in and of itself.
5. And then there's all that other stuff the club does that can make it hard to dedicate time to clarifying butter and nursing a pot of risotto.

Thus, Bobby rocks the crock pot.  Throw some chicken, a little broth, some veggies, garlic, herbs, and pasta into a slow cooker mid morning (or whenever you muster the energy to get out of bed).  By dinner time you have a pot full of lovely, comforting goodness - just what a guy needs after a tough day of gun running.  And, most crock pots come with attachments that make them easy to travel with.  When Gemma calls a potluck dinner, Bobby can throw the pot on the back of the bike and deliver a dish that's high on taste and low on labor.

This is my favorite picture of Bobby. Ever.

Here's an example of what darling Bobby would probably dig as an easy and delicious slow cooker recipe.  I can't claim responsibility - it's an adaptation of this one from a lovely lady who dedicated a whole year to cooking slow.  I used chicken thighs instead of white meat, added butternut squash and substituted the garlic powder for garlic cloves and paprika for saffron.  I hope you enjoy!


Slow cooked Moroccan Chicken

What you need:

1lb chicken thighs (I used boneless/skinless - came out delicious and moist)
1/2 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 cup salsa
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 t Tobasco sauce
1/3 cup toasted almonds
5 cloves smashed and chopped garlic (I used 3 t of garlic powder)
1/3 cup raisins
2 t honey
1 t cumin
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t chili powder
1/2 t paprika

What to do:
Stir salsa, tobasco, spices, honey, garlic, and broth together.  Place thighs and squash in cooker and cover evenly with sauce.  Add raisins and almonds.  I used a 6 qt cooker and the chicken was done in about 4.5 hours.  I served over quinoa, but couscous is traditional (or some other hearty grain).

Sons of Anarchy Portugal - Interview with Michael Ornstein!

Our good friend Michael Ornstein - beloved, thumbless Chuckie - has shown again how big a friend he is of the Sons of Anarchy fan base.  Here's his recent interview with Sons of Anarchy - Portugal:

http://sonsofanarchypt.blogspot.com/2010/02/entrevista-eclusiva-com-michael-marisi.html

What would Gemma do? She'd help Haiti...that's what.

It's all part of being fierce, folks.  

Want to help Haiti and don't know how?  Here you go:

George Bush and Bill Clinton organize to help Haiti:  http://clintonbushhaitifund.org/

Of course, the Red Cross is a good choice.  You can either text "Haiti" to 90999, or you can donate online:  http://www.redcross.org/

People have been buried under rubble for nearly six days now.   Many who are rescued will have to have limbs amputated because of gangrene.  Most will die from their injuries, dehydration, and starvation.  Those who were not buried under rubble will suffer from dysentery and be vulnerable to crime and violence. 

Remember how lucky we are to live where we do, that we have building standards, a stable government, safe access to drinking water, and a living wage.  Hug your loved ones and be grateful for them.

Peace.

"Charming" French Onion Soup

I've decided to fill the void that is the Sons of Anarchy hiatus with one of my other passions:  cooking.  Bobby Elvis and I are soul mates in this respect.  I love cooking for the people I love.  I'm not an especially effusive person when it comes to public displays of affection, so I show folks I love them by making tasty things to eat.  My dear husband probably blames his inability to lose his grad-school weight on the fact that I insist on cooking with real butter and whole milk. 

Anyway, I made this amazing pot of French onion soup tonight, and during the process I thought to myself:  "This is something Bobby Elvis would do for the boys in the club house.  He's a worldly guy...he probably tries to expose the guys to as many different dishes as he knows how to cook."

So, here's my recipe.  I'd like to think it's something Bobby would throw together.  And, in the spirit of Bobby's enthusiasm for organic foods, I used as many organic ingredients as possible.

Ingredients (for six to eight servings)
1 1/2 pounds organic sweet onions (about two large).
1 big tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons organic sweet cream butter
1 heaping tablespoon salt
1 heaping tablespoon sugar
3 heaping tablespoons flour
2 quarts organic broth (I used a quart of vegetable broth and a quart of onion/beef broth)
1/2 - 3/4 cups Madeira (or other dry California white wine)
Organic Jaarlsburg cheese (Swiss or Parm work, too)
A loaf of organic French bread (day-old okay)

Instructions
Peel and slice onion to your preferred thickness.  Steam on low in a covered, four-quart soup pot or saucepan with the butter and olive oil for about 15 minutes.  If the onions start to brown too quickly (which it may do if you sliced it thinly), turn the heat down a little.

Add the sugar and salt to the onions.  The salt is for flavor and the sugar (also a little for flavor) helps the onions brown evenly.  On mid-to-low heat, cook the onions slowly until they are a golden brown.  They may take anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes to cook, depending on onion thickness. 

When the onions are a golden, carmelized brown, add the flour.  I know this sounds strange, but trust me...it's all part of the process.  Stir until the flour is absorbed.

At this point, your house probably stinks of onions.  I apologize for that.

Add the broth and bring to a slow boil.  The soup will seem relatively thick at this point.  Then, add the Madeira.  Return to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer and let simmer for 40 minutes.  Make sure you partially cover the pot so the yummy flavor stays in there.  Stir and taste occasionally to adjust flavor. 

Slice and toast the bread until just crunchy.  I prefer big, beefy slices of bread, but this is a personal preference thing.  Place in oven-safe clay or porcelain bowls (if you have any bowls with handles, well, that's even better).

Pour a big spoonful or two of soup over the bread.  Top with a slice of cheese and place in a toaster oven.  I used the toaster-setting and toasted the soup until the cheese was melty and bubbly.  Microwaves work, too.  You could also put the bowl under the broiler until the cheese melts.

Yummy.  Here's to keeping resolutions!

SAMCRO Resolutions: 2010

I know, I know....resolutions.

But there's something to be said for resolutions that may be fairly easy to keep, given enough inspiration and the occasional reminder.  Thus, I present to you my list of Sons of Anarchy inspired resolutions.  Note, there is nothing here about losing weight or quitting my somewhat embarrassing chocolate habit.

1.  Share the road.  If anything, Sons of Anarchy is a great reminder for those of us cagers out there to keep our eyes open for our fellow motorists on two (or three) wheels. 

2.  "I accept that."  My new mantra for the year 2010, inspired by our two-fingered friend Chuckie.  I'm not known as the most flexible person in the world, so my next resolution for the year is to be willing to accept the things I can't change and learn to live around them.

3.  Bake lots of banana bread.  What better way to show the people you love how you feel than to bake them banana bread?  Or buy them fresh, organic muffins.  I wonder if Bobby's recipe is posted anywhere.

4.  Be fierce.  Granted, I just said that I'm going to "accept" those things I can't change...but I'm not going to back down from the things I can and know I should.  This includes standing up to power-tripping administrators and wrong-doers.

5.  Take one for the team.  In times like these, sometimes we need to consider the bigger picture.  We need to think about our wider role in the system, rather than our place at the center of it.  So, here's to putting aside some of my own wants and desires this year in the name of a greater good.  This is my shout out to you, Juice and Otto.

6.  Embrace diversity.  This is a given, and I'm mostly good at it (I hope).  However, there's always room for improvement.  Here's my effort this year:  porn stars are people, too.  However much I want to do what Gemma/Tara did to their cars at CaraCara....it's better to befriend than cause extensive damage that requires expensive repairs and filling out painful insurance claims. 

7.  Care for my community.  I love where I live - I love the weather, that there are no drive-thrus, that I have a thriving downtown to stroll and that all of the big box stores are on the outskirts.  This is a resolution to be a more active member of my community, to speak out when I don't like where someone wants to take it, and to use my voice and my wallet as forms of activism.  We don't have a chapter of the SoA in our town, so we need to look after ourselves.

8.  Stay out of prison.  Let's face it, a stay in prison has more minuses than pluses.  Sleeping in a cell designed for four with twenty other folks just isn't my idea of a pleasant time.  I enjoy my privacy too much and don't fancy getting shived for not being in the right group.  I've had good luck with this one so far, so let's hope this is another successful year.  And, really, orange just isn't my color.

9.  Keep out of the ATF's radar.  Yeah...Agent Stahl is one scary bitch.  I don't plan on doing anything that would attract someone like her to my quiet little corner of the world.  Therefore, I shall not be making any nefarious arrangements with scary underground groups.

10.  Be a good listener.  Here's to really listening to people.  Here's to trying to understand what someone else is trying to say instead of formulating a response based on what I think they are saying, or try to solve their problem before they've even asked for advice (and maybe don't even want any).  We've all done it...and it isn't very helpful.  I resolve to be a good and careful listener.  That's really what people want:  someone to listen. 

11.  Forgive. 

Yet have I something in me dangerous. . .

I've been tossing around a comparison of Jax Teller and Hamlet for a couple of weeks now and am finally ready to get some thoughts down on the proverbial paper.  I'm only scratching the surface with this blog - the comparison could go much deeper.

I was totally into the dark, brooding guys in high school; the guys who always seemed to be contemplating the more depressing aspects of life as they wrote in their black leather-bound journals using black ink and tiny, nearly illegible script.  Although they seemed to carry with them a certain ennui about life on their hunched shoulders, they carried it well - the dark yet neatly donned clothes, the ponytail so carefully slicked back.  So, when we read Hamlet in high school, I have to admit I always felt a certain level of affection for the perpetually prickly prince.  Despite how unfairly he treated Ophelia, I wanted to throw my arms around the suffering Dane and tell him that everything was going to be okay.  His tortured soul was so attractive.  He was so quick to act on some things - how he treated Ophelia, the impulsive murder of Polonius - but contemplative, even strategic in his plotting to avenge his father.  The audience is never entirely certain of his madness (Polonius even recognizes the method to it), never knowing if it is a function of his father's murder and his need for revenge, or if it is a carefully crafted ruse to distract everyone.  And, while we're suffering with him through his "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," Hamlet delivers some great lines to his rivals that makes us think:  "damn, I wish I was quick like that."

Jax Teller doesn't necessarily share Hamlet's appeal as the dark, brooding type.  The attraction to Jax is much more in the "bad boy" vein wrapped up in a male model package.  Yet, we all know Jax to be so much more dynamic than that.  We know, for example, that he's well read - how many of us actually got through Upton Sinclair's The Jungle in high school?  Jax tells Tara that the book almost made him a vegan.  We know how passionate Jax is about the Club - it defines who he is and gives him purpose - something Hamlet never really had. We've seen him contemplate his father's words on the roof of the clubhouse and journal his reflections...maybe he's even penning a new edition to The Rise and Fall of Sam Crow.

Where Jax and Hamlet are similar is much scarier when it comes to Jax's character arc.  Jax is both contemplative and impulsive.  Unlike Clay, he's a big picture guy.  Clay, like Hamlet's uncle Claudius, sees power as an ultimate goal.  We know that Jax understands that it isn't power that's necessarily important - it's what one does with power once it's achieved.  John Teller, like Old King Hamlet's ghost, provides some perspective for his son as he tries to navigate the tricky sphere of influence in Charming.

But Jax is so quick to act that he often undoes his own carefully laid plans.  Consider the episode in Season One when he had Half Sack dig up a dead body to use in a crime scene fabrication in order to distract the Lodi CSI crew away from the burnt gun factory.  Clay initially wanted Tig to find someone to kill, but Jax convinced everyone that using a member of the already-deceased would be better.  Good plan.  Very noble.   Yet on their way to stage the crime scene, a jerk in a mustang cuts Jax off.  They eventually run into the guy again, and guess what:  the guy ends up dead because Jax impulsively confronts him.  Now, Jax didn't actually kill the guy, but his actions created the right formula for the man's death.

Another area where the two characters overlap:  self-loathing increases as time passes.  Hamlet's is based on his role in the deaths of Polonius and Ophelia; Jax's as the MC unravels before him and he feels increasingly powerless to stop the downward spiral and somewhat at fault for it.

Where will these similarities lead Jackson Teller?

I was re-reading some of my favorite quotes in Hamlet today, and this line in particular gave me the chills about Jax:

"Though I am not splenitive (means to be angry, hot headed) and rash, yet have I something in me dangerous."  (Act 5, Scene 1).

And now we see the most impulsive act by Jax yet...to go nomad.  What will the fallout be?  How will he affect change in the Club if he isn't there?  Will Stahl try to turn him?  What will Tara do? We know from the previews for next week that Piney tries to convince Jax to stay, and that Gemma introduces Jax to the theory that his dad's death wasn't an accident (so juicy...did she have a role in John Teller's death? Is she omitting important information?). 

What is it about these characters that make them so appealing? For that matter, what is it about any fictional character that makes them so attractive that we spend our time blogging and tweeting about them?  I've thought about this a lot, and I have a theory:  they are at once larger than life and completely familiar.  We all know someone who reminds us of Jax or Bobby or Clay or Gemma.  Piney in particular reminds me a little too much of one of my relatives.  But we also don't know anyone like Jax or Clay or Gemma....or Hamlet.  They say things we never have the nerve to say and do things we're too chicken to do.  And we, like the Greek Chorus in Oedipus, must watch them make the worst mistakes while we shake our heads and shout "NO! Don't do that!  Zobelle is behind it all!"

They are fantastic, and they are real, and they are really fantastic.

The real world has encroached on my SAMCRO obsession

Alas, my goal of writing a SAMCRO-related blog entry once a week in time for each new episode of Sons of Anarchy has been sabotaged by the real world.  You'd think my boss would be sympathetic to my need to pontificate profusely about a fictional motorcycle club in Northern California, but no.  Other deadlines are pressing.  Sheesh!  I hope to have a new post up by next week, but until then I hope you enjoy this great post by our Sons of Anarchy friends in Portugal:  An interview with Kurt Sutter! 

Enjoy!

http://sonsofanarchypt.blogspot.com/

Anger, Rage, and Sam Crow

My copy of the Sons of Anarchy Season 1 DVD arrived a few weeks ago.  Suffice it to say I've spent a lot of time in front of the T.V. watching the bonus material and re-watching my favorite episodes.  The final episode, The Revelator, tied together a strange motif that's been swimming around in my brain for the last couple of weeks:  Understanding rage and violence.

I just finished reading Sherman Alexie's Flight.  If you've read any Alexie, you know that some common themes in his writing are absent fathers, Indian identity, and anger.  Flight is no different.  Alexie filters these themes in Flight through the eyes of Zits, a half-Indian teenage boy with a history in the foster care system, an absent dad, and a dead mom.  This formula works like as a crucible for his anger and frustration and culminates in an act of Columbine-like violence, egged on by a friend (known only as Justice).  At the moment of crisis, Zits is transported into the body and time of another man.  He spends the better portion of the book traveling through time, into the bodies of other men in unenviable positions, from a Civil War scout responsible for the death of an Indian village, to a flight instructor who not only betrays his wife, but gives flying lessons to a terrorist.  What Zits communicates, subtly, through his excessive profanity and dismissive language (lots of "whatevers") is frustration.  Lots of it.  He's frustrated that his mom is dead, that his dad is a drunk, that each person he inhabits hurts other people for reasons that don't seem to make much sense, and that those same people can be kind, compassionate, even heroic.  Zits returns to his body still angry (though not as much), still an orphan, still cursed with terrible acne, but aware of the pain of the world and aware that he has control over how much he causes.  Alexie asks us to try to understand where rage comes from, what its impacts are, and if understanding the rage could lead to the prevention of its consequences.

No, I'm not on Sherman Alexie's payroll, or the payroll of his publishing house.  And I’m getting to a connection with Sons of Anarchy.

We've been thrown into the tumultuous world of an outlaw motorcycle club without a lot of back-story.  So far, we know that the founding members of the MC were Vietnam War vets and that they returned to an ungrateful country.  With almost every episode, we're being fed slightly more of that back-story.  Most obviously, we know that John Teller became jaded with what the MC became - less about social anarchy and more about retributive violence - and that Piney sympathizes with his views and Clay Morrow (and Gemma) do not.  Gemma may be the reason why the MC is in charming at all (and I’m so excited to get that whole story, aren’t you?).

Rage and anger come from somewhere.  They are actually secondary emotions to frustration, and frustration comes from unmet expectations and disappointments.  Unfortunately, for the residents of Charming, the results of frustration are ever-present.  The town is protected by an MC full of members of a disenfranchised group of society:  war vets.  Most are vets from the Vietnam War, but Chibs and Half-Sack represent a new generation of Vets – those who were created because wars were fought over oil. 

But there are a number of other disenfranchised groups who we’ve encountered through the show, whose issues and frustrations are now becoming clear.  The One-Niners, Mayans, the True IRA, and even the League of American Nationalists represent populations who, in one way or another, have been denied resources, cast aside because of the color of their skin, or castigated because of their beliefs.  Because these resources have been denied, these groups have turned against and fought each other.  You could even say that Gemma represents the 50% of the population who has fought for equal rights to resources longer than any of the others:  women.  (For more on this, see Tim Wise’s video).

But there are also members of this cast of characters who aren’t really members of any disenfranchised groups.  Instead, they represent a generation who has had to fight for identity in a world defined by commercialism, the technological revolution, and wars fought not for ideals but for wealth:  the generation on the cusp between Generation X and the Millennials).  Jax, Opie, and Tara.  Neither are war veterans.  Jax, Opie, and Tara all grew up “in the club,” so for them the MC culture truly is their culture and provides them with an identity that people who enter the club from the outside don’t necessarily have. 

The transformation Jax has experienced after the birth of Abel is similar to the transformation experienced by Zits in Flight.  He sees the bigger picture now.  He understands the impacts his actions and the club’s actions have on other people.  He has the will to act in ways that preserve both the life of the Club and the lives of people connected to the Club.  Yet, as we’ve seen this season, Jax’s ability to stop a lot of violence has been curbed at nearly every turn by the Club itself.  Will he be able to turn the frustration of the Club members into something less than anger?  Will he be the salvation of the club?  Will he be the “balm of Gilead?”

Gilead - Day after news

Gather.com Episode Recap

Sons of Anarchy Season 2 Episode 7

October 20, 2009 11:16 PM EDT

SAMCRO looks good in orange. Good for them, because on Sons of Anarchy Season 2 Episode 7 they're all in the slammer. Gemma and Tara are hard-pressed with the seven figure bail (They'd need 300k even with a bondsman), so in the meantime, Clay is searching for protection from Zobelle's skinheads behind prison walls. He decides to team up with a group of black guys, but to do so, he must deliver a few enemies to them. One such enemy is Dion, a snitch in protective custody. Dion has developed certain tastes since he's been behind bars, if you catch my drift. Jax offers up cute little Juice as bait and arranges for the two to meet undisturbed in the infirmary. Juice lures him into the bathroom, unaware, and under the guise of going to retrieve some condoms, lets in the group of black guys, who proceed to jump Dion. Clay set these events in motion in his attempt to take care of the club; all that happens is that Juice is stabbed in retaliation out in the courtyard, yet another example of his poor leadership.

Katay Sagal Interview - Thanks to Sons of Anarchy Portugal for the link!

Katey Sagal (Sons Of Anarchy)
Uploaded by Tele-Loisirs. - News videos hot off the press.

Sons of Anarchy News - Monday, 10/19/2009

Here's a little Sons of Anarchy fix for your Monday morning: 


‘Sons of Anarchy’ creator Kurt Sutter weighs in on TV business: Emmys, ratings and Leno in primetime

Clark’s Kurt Sutter, creator of FX’s ‘Sons of Anarchy,’ explains how he really feels about Jersey

Ken Tucker's EW Blog about Sons

Ken Tucker's EW Blog about Sons of Anarchy

A bit of an oldie, but some good press, nonetheless.

Gertrude was no Gemma

I've compared Gemma Morrow and Gertrude (Hamlet's mom) in recent posts.  I vow never to do so again.  Gemma transcends Gertrude.

Now, the similarities between Gertrude and Gemma can't be denied.  Gertrude's husband and father of her child dies (is murdered) and she marries the king's younger brother, Claudius (note:  similarity to Clay).  Shakespeare surrounds Gertrude in a little bit of mystery:  because she marries Claudius so soon after King Hamlet's death, and doesn't really appear to mourn, was she involved in the murder?  In Sons, we haven't really been told how long it took Gemma to marry Clay after the accidental  death of John Teller (hit by a semi...that's about all we know, and that he took two days to die).  Gertrude clearly loves Hamlet and wants him to be happy.  She wants him to marry Ophelia, and it pains her to see his descent into madness.  She's also relatively aware that it was her hasty marriage to Claudius that causes Hamlet's malaise.

Much about Gertrude is left to interpretation; Gemma is no different.

However, when Shakespeare penned Gertrude's lines, the reader is not provided with a great deal of character depth.  In fact, if we follow Hamlet's vision of his mother, she represents the so-called weakness of the female gender:  driven by passion and sex.  While she obviously loves her son and does want him to be happy, we have no sense that she will make a sacrifice for him. In the final scene of the play, Gertrude does die in Hamlet's stead, but only by accident.

Gertrude was no Gemma.

Compared to Gertrude, Gemma's character depth is like a glacial lake.  Now, it's undeniable that Gemma is heavily power-driven.  She enjoys her role as Queen and doesn't take kindly to anyone who she perceives as a threat to her influence.  I'm only speculating here, but Gemma might be the type of person who allies themselves with people of power, and when they perceive their power to be waning, they find a way to separate.  Case in point:  Gemma knew John Teller's philosophy about what the MC should be, and that if he was allowed to move the MC forward in that direction, his power in Charming would diminish.  Enter Clay Morrow.  The great thing is, Gemma doesn't appear to be so completely enamored with Clay that her vision for what her life should be is clouded.  Maybe it was when she was younger - but it isn't now.  Does anyone get the sense that Gemma's starting to explore her options now that Clay's arthritis (and judgment) are weakening his stance in the club?

There's a great quote from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, where the matriarch of that family tells the heroine:  "The man may be the head of the family, but the woman is the neck, and she can turn the head any way she likes."  It's a great reminder that, even in the most paternalistic societies and subcultures, the power dynamic between men and women is always present...sometimes even more so in a culture like Sam Crow.   Gemma knows she's the heart of the MC; perhaps she doesn't understand the depth of that power until her rape...she knows that if Clay and Jax realize she's been attacked (and therefore the center of the MC's power), it will truly break an already weakened club. She could so easily turn the "head" of the club in that direction, but she's wise enough not to.

Within this MC power structure, Gemma sees her role as matriarch as one that requires actions that often cross the ethical divide.  When it comes to family, you gotta do what you gotta do.   Jax (and now Abel, too) are practically the center of her universe, and she didn't really appear to juggle with the ethical implications of giving Wendy enough crank to make Jax a widower.  On the flip side of that coin, Gemma wants to protect what Jax loves - even if she didn't trust Tara in season 1, she gave her a hand gun (serial removed) to protect herself, without knowing who she needed protection from. 

Maybe that's why the Gemma from Season 2 is so much more dynamic and real than the Gemma in Season 1.  I'm not going so far as to say that Karma has come to call, because no one -- and I mean no one ever deserves to be raped, ever -- but I am not afraid to say that the rape was a catalyst for Gemma.  It was a catalyst for a lot of things on the show, but especially for Gemma's character arc.  We've seen her engage in some major self-reflection over the last three episodes, from paging through a bible and John Teller's book, to spending a lot of time in the hospital chapel.  We know Gemma is completely averse to being a victim, and we know she's definitely not going to be made to feel like a victim in a therapists office.  She's going to seek her own path.  I'm willing to bet Gemma's understanding of John Teller's words will come none too soon. 

In a previous entry, I asked that Gemma be given an opportunity to right the wrong that was done to her, and I meant, basically, that I hoped she got to kick someone's ass...really kick it, like, cause enduring, painful, debilitating injuries.  Although I do think the whole "eye for an eye" deal is one that is sometimes useful (and will still cheer Gemma on if she gets to have her retribution), I'm not sure that would be the best outcome.  Maybe if she just gets to face her attacker, confront A.J. about what he and his crew did to her, and let him see that she has not been broken, and that her spirit has transcended the need for physical retribution, then justice will be served.

Then Clay and Jax can have at them.

But where will the similarities between Gemma and Gertrude end?  Will Gemma spend spies after Jax (has she done so already?).  Will she witness Jax's murder of whoever fills Polonius's shoes (hmmm..who is Polonius on the show)?  Will she sacrifice her own life (accidentally or not) to save Jax?


Images:
http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2008/mothers_day/bd_mom_hamlet.jpg
http://www.daemonstv.com/images/fx/sons_of_anarchy3.jpg

Falx Cerebri

Here's what one looks like, in case you were wondering.  It's very scythe-like, don't you think?

Source:  http://www.somso.de/english/index.htm?f=english/anatomie/qs8_6.htm

Routing: From Kurt Sutter, a thought-provoking video

Kurt Sutter's Blog: Posted video "The Creation of Whiteness"

A really thought provoking youtube video of Tim Wise, noted anti-racist speaker and author.  This really speaks to the idea that the only differences we think there are between "us" and "them" are artificial, and created because it is more profitable for "the man" to propagate otherness than it is to foster brotherhood.

Fuck the man.

Sam Crow and Stereotypes

As a neophyte to the culture Kurt Sutter has introduced to the mainstream through Sons of Anarchy, I feel totally incapable of speaking to the art of motorcycle maintenance or the subtleties of organized crime, gang warfare, or arms dealing.  My experience with motorcycle clubs (outlaw or otherwise) is limited to my interactions with my mechanic in a small town in California that is not unlike Charming.  If I ever had a stereotypical picture in my mind of a motorcycle-riding mechanic, this guy would fit the bill.  Big gut, long white goatee, shaved bald head, Harley-Davidson t-shirt.  The hairs on the back of my neck stood up when I took my Subaru in for an oil change and brake pad replacement.  Within five minutes, however, I was reminded yet again that stereotypes more often than not reflect the exception, and not the rule.  He was one of the nicest guys I've ever met.  Maybe it was because I drove the only Subaru in town and this added some novelty to his shop, or maybe it was because a glitch in the Subaru's computer that developed during my tenure in the town stumped him.

His garage blurred the lines between mechanics and art.  Two of the slots in his garage were for routine oil changes and other maintenance jobs; the other two were for the custom builds - classic cars and motorcycles, and there was some fairly amazing metal working going on.

"John's" office was what really made me like him.  He had a billboard full of pictures of him and his daughter, "Mandy."  From infancy through toddlerhood and beyond, John had documented Mandy's development.  Pictures of him and Mandy on his bike, at her dance recitals, as him dressed as a Hog-riding Santa Claus and her as an elf were my particular favorites.  Sure, there were the requisite posters of scantily clad women on the walls of the shop, some raunchy bumper stickers. John was also the head of the local group of motorcycle enthusiasts.  They rode together in the town Christmas parade and collected funds for anything from the local library to the Lutheran church's food drive for the homeless.

I didn't need Sons of Anarchy to break down the stereotypes I carried around in my head about dudes on bikes.  I had John.  What the Sons of Anarchy is doing is helping the rest of Suburbia understand that this culture is more than what has been typically portrayed in the media.

For example:  James Frey in his book Bright Shiny Morning provides a typical description of an MC member who owns an auto shop.  His name is Tiny.  He fits the description of John, but that's pretty much where the similarities end. Tiny spends most of our time with him shouting at his wife on the phone.  He also seems to take pleasure in constantly reminding a new employee that his life is in danger.  And, after a particularly violent attack on Tiny's garage, Tiny completes the image of the terrifying biker dude.  I wont spoil the ending for you.

Stereotype successfully propagated.

The characters in Sons are studies in members of a society we've been shown to be traditionally packed with testosterone, petroleum, and violence - and that's about it as far as complexity goes.  But these residents of Charming are full of a texture and life that make them more real than most real people.  To be sure, this particular stereotype is based on plenty of evidence.  Hunter Thompson not only wrote about the Hell's Angels, but was on the receiving end of a pretty major beating.  Sutter knows this culture.  He's studied them, lived with them, and even spent a birthday with one of the most important and influential members of Hell's Angels (Sutter Celebrates Sonny's 71st). 


And we're the happy beneficiaries of his research.  God, I love this show.