Language is an important tool that can invalidate relationships. — In case you haven’t heard the term before, a microaggression is a gesture, comment, or opinion directed at a minority person that isn’t meant to be offensive or harmful, but can have profoundly negative consequences because the language is steeped in phobic history. When a white person tells their black…

Analyzing the final season of HBO’s legendary drama series. — Episode 6.1: Members Only This season opens with a year-long time jump forward. Carmela is still having her new house built, A.J. …

Heterosexual people overlook how easy it is for them to love. — There is no exact definition of straight privilege. Merriam-Webster doesn’t even have one in their dictionary when one goes for a simple keyword search of the topic on their website. …

Coming out to yourself is the biggest step towards acceptance — The following excerpt from a Medical News Today article sums up internalized homophobia keenly: Internalized homophobia occurs when a person is subject to society’s negative perceptions, intolerance, and stigma toward people with same-sex attraction. …

An episodic analysis of the fifth season of the legendary drama series. — Episode 5.1: Two Tonys With Tony fresh off of his separation from Carmela he decides that he is finally going to make his move on Dr. Melfi and ask her out on a date. …

Analyzing the fourth season of the legendary drama series. — Episode 4.1: For All Debts Public And Private Carmela starts to worry about what will happen to their family if Tony is to ever die unexpectedly, leading the patriarchal Soprano to start looking into stocks, investments, and hiding money in the bird feed outside of their home. It feels really shallow that Carmela is once again more concerned…

Analyzing the third season of the legendary drama series. — Episode 3.1: Mr. Ruggerio’s Neighborhood The third season opener is one of the more artistic and experimental episodes in the show so far, playing around with montage sequences and music choice as the FBI gets creative trying to wiretap the Soprano household while they are away during the day. The plot events are frivolous, giving…

Analyzing the second season of the legendary drama series. — Episode 2.1: Guy Walks Into A Psychiatrist’s Office The season 2 premiere is notable for introducing Tony’s older sister, Janice, a loud-mouthed and equally opinionated female variant of Tony. She doesn’t think it’s right that her brother has disowned Livia, who is recovering from a stroke in the hospital and has nobody to look after her anymore. …

An episodic recap of the legendary drama series. — Episode 1.1: Pilot The first half of the pilot episode of David Chase’s masterwork starts out with a familiar premise that any patriarch of a family could relate to: a father and husband struggling to figure out why he is suddenly overwhelmed with his responsibilities and everyday activities. …