When the War Comes Home

When the War Comes Home
Timothy Greenfield-Sanders/HBO

By GINIA BELLAFANTE
Published: September 8, 2007
A few months ago, an actor named James Gandolfini ended his career as a mythologized crime boss on a television series called “The Sopranos,” which had drawn considerable attention for nearly a decade. Why all the fuss? Well, in the teensiest nutshell, “The Sopranos” served as a kind of mirror of the national consciousness, and Mr. Gandolfini, in the role of Tony Soprano, as a symbol of contorted morality and middle-class aspiration. He bore such a huge share of the cultural trust that when “The Sopranos” finished, he must have felt like a statesman who leaves office still bound to furthering the public good.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/08/arts/television/08aliv.html?ref=television