Sons of Anarchy is an action-drama about the trials and tribulations of a biker gang created by Kurt Sutter and shown on FX. Most of the emphasis of the show is on the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original (SAMCRO) who reside in the fictional town of Charming, California. It also focuses on the relationships SAMCRO has with rival gangs, local law enforcement, and with government agencies hell bent on shutting them down. The show has been on the air for four seasons and has traveled along with the Sons through botched gun deals, marriages, and even to Ireland to recover a kidnapped newborn in Season 3.
SAMCRO has 12 active members, but two members are serving life sentences in prison. The club president is Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman), one of the "First Nine" that started SAMCRO after serving together in the Vietnam War. The Vice President is Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam), the son of the "possibly" murdered original president and Clay's current wife, Gemma (Katey Sagal). Clay's right hand man is the unstable Sergeant at Arms Tig Trager (Kim Coates), who has no qualms with carrying out any of SAMCRO's dirty work. The club treasurer is Bobby Munson (Mark Boone Junior), who happens to moonlight as an Elvis impersonator at resorts in Lake Tahoe. Opie Winston (Ryan Hurst) is Jax's best friend and the club's resident explosives expert. Opie's dad, Piney Winston (William Lucking), is also a member of the club despite his dependence on oxygen and dislike of Clay's decisions regarding the club. Juice Ortiz (Theo Rossi) is the resident hacker and information gatherer, yet he is still assigned trivial tasks by Clay. Chibs Telford (Tommy Flanagan) is a former IRA member that is excessively loyal to Jax. There are two members that are considered nomad, members of the gang that have no permanent address or are on the run, Herman Kozik (Kenny Johnson) and Happy Lowman (David LaBrava) who are only called upon if more muscle is needed. Otto Delaney (Kurt Sutter, the shows creator) and Lenny Janowitz (Sonny Barger, a real life Hell's Angel) who help with jail house killings and other business the members on the "outside" can't take care of.
For this assignment I watched the episode "Fruit for the Crows" in which Jax must deal with an "anonymous" threat against his fiancee/baby mama, Tara Knowles (Maggie Siff). The threat was actually orchestrated by the former Sheriff Warren Unser, who has been in Clay's pocket for quite some time. Meanwhile, the club has a drug and gun deal get attacked by three Mexicans, who injure the president of the Mexican biker gang The Mayans, a recently acquired ally of SAMCRO. After Jax tracks down and kills the shooters, the club finds out that they were hired by a Mexican Drug Cartel to perform the hit. Out of frustration Bobby calls for a vote on a new leader which causes riffs to develop all though out the club. Later in the episode, the local sheriff and Assistant United States District Attorney blackmail Juice into stealing a sample of cocaine and becoming an informant against SAMCRO. In the process of stealing the Cocaine he gets discovered by Kozik and after a struggle kills him, sending Juice into a violent depression. This leads to Juice committing suicide at the very end of the episode via hanging.
During this episode most of the commercials seemed aimed towards the 18 -34 male demographic. There were five ads for alcohol/beer(Miller Lite, Southern Comfort) that featured either scantily clad women or extra suave men. There were a few commercials for fast food (Burger King, Carl's Jr) and snack foods (Kettle Chips, Doritos) that all seemed to be soaked in a bottle of extra strength testosterone. Mostly the commercials were for other shows on FX (It's Always Sunny, The League) or promoting replays of severely outdated action movies (Starship Troopers, District 9). The showing of these commercials during the show make perfect sense due to the show portraying bikers, violence, sex, and drugs, things which are commonly considered to be "man's entertainment."
INTERPRET
Sons really tries to avoid stereotypes, for the most part no one is ever what they seem. For example, Sheriff Unser is your average sheriff in the public eye, but behind closed doors he takes pay offs and is even shown partaking in the use of Marijuana frequently for his cancer.
EVALUATE
The show is very entertaining and the characters make you want to cheer for them despite their whole being outlaws and murderers. The storyline is super complex and one must pay attention to every episode if they wish to fully understand what is happening. Even then it can be a challenge because every character has a fully developed backstory, as do characters that aren't actually portrayed on the show. The show is beautifully shot and features great editing that makes one always riveted to the seat for that hour (45 minutes without those pesky commercials) a week when the episode premieres.
As a cultural mirror Sons casts light on aspects of the criminal underworld that not many get to see. I just hope that the politicians and law enforcement agents are nowhere near as corrupt as those shown running Charming. Overall, I think it is a skewed cultural mirror that combines elements of reality with a healthy dose of "What If" thrown in for flavor.
According to MetaCritic, the show is receiving positive to mixed reviews and holds a ranking of 68/100. Glenn Garvin from the Miami Herald had this to say, "Sons of Anarchy is bloody, disturbing and maniacally addictive." On the opposite end of the spectrum, Robert Bianco in USA Today slammed the show, "Sons wants us to care about their hopes and struggles, but gives no clue as to why we might do so."
ENGAGE
Everyone I am around usually watches Sons and if they don't watch it, they do after viewing one episode. We have discussions about where we think the story was going, celebrate the triumphs of the club, and even talk fondly about characters that have been killed off.
I am a fan of the show on Facebook and regularly respond to their updates. I have also spent sometime browsing the fan sites, reading crazy theories and taking in the subtle clues others have noticed. I like the fan built community around the show.
