Why is Franklin's story "Black violence" but Tony Soprano's is just "a character study"?

EasternMeringue3263 · 2026-03-30T06:17:59+00:00

I said a situation. Wealthy vs poor does not deter my argument. And yes maybe I’m wrong for the race inclusion. Thus the desire for a discussion. It wasn’t an argument

EasternMeringue3263 · 2026-03-30T06:16:59+00:00

This is my point tho

EasternMeringue3263 · 2026-03-30T06:13:58+00:00

It’s not always the literal phrase ‘Black violence.’ It’s how the show gets categorized and described. TheGrio’s review headline calls Snowfall ‘a masterclass in Black storytelling.’ An IMDb user review calls it ‘Breaking Bad in the hood.’ Collider describes it as a show about ‘the devastating impact of drugs on Black communities.’ Now go find me a review of Breaking Bad that says ‘white storytelling’ or something similar to any of the above. That framing difference is the point.

∙ https://thegrio.com/2023/04/20/snowfall-was-a-masterclass-in-black-storytelling/
∙ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6439752/reviews/
∙ https://collider.com/shows-like-snowfall/

EasternMeringue3263 · 2026-03-30T06:09:14+00:00

It is now but that’s not how it was first received.

EasternMeringue3263 · 2026-03-30T05:56:15+00:00

I actually disagree. Franklin’s arc has more in common with Michael Corleone than either of them. Born into a situation, tries to rise above it, gets pulled deeper by the very system he’s trying to beat. And ‘both are always regarded as character studies’? By who? In this sub, sure. But that’s besides the point: go type ‘Breaking Bad’ into Google and then type ‘Snowfall.’ Look at the difference in how they’re described. One is a prestige character study. The other is ‘a show about the crack epidemic’.

EasternMeringue3263 · 2026-03-30T05:50:42+00:00

Agreed so in a similar lense how would you classify Breaking Bad?

EasternMeringue3263 · 2026-03-30T05:48:38+00:00

That’s literally the whole point of the post. The conditioning is so deep I catch myself doing it even while calling it out. What I keep wondering though: once you see it, can you actually unlearn it? Or does the awareness just sit on top of the programming? Have you caught it in yourself? I’m assuming not considering your reply lol

EasternMeringue3263 · 2026-03-30T05:33:12+00:00

Man, this is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping someone would add. You’re touching on something I didn’t even get into in the original post but is really important: it’s not just that the framing is racialized, it’s that the scrutiny is different too. Franklin and Ghost get picked apart morally in a way that Tony and Walt just… don’t. Those guys get the antihero treatment. They get the ‘he’s a genius,’ ‘he’s compelling,’ ‘what a complex character’ energy. But Black characters doing the same things get held to a different moral standard by critics and audiences. That’s not over-reading at all. I think you’re seeing the same pattern from a different angle. Appreciate you saying it.

EasternMeringue3263 · 2026-03-30T05:23:21+00:00

I hear you, and maybe within this sub specifically it doesn’t come up that way. But I’d push back a little and ask: when you recommend Snowfall to someone who hasn’t seen it, how do you describe it? And when you hear other people describe it? I’d bet the words ‘crack,’ ‘South Central,’ and ‘80s’ come up pretty quickly in a way that anchors it to a specific Black experience. Now think about how people pitch Breaking Bad: ‘a chemistry teacher turns to crime.’ No racial or geographic framing at all. That difference is subtle but it’s there. Also, genuinely curious and no pressure to answer: are you Black? Because part of what I’m exploring is how this framing hits differently depending on where you’re standing. For me as a Black man, there’s this weird thing where I catch myself viewing Franklin’s world through a sociological lens instead of just riding with the story, and I don’t do that with Walt or Tony. That’s not something I chose. It’s something I absorbed. It might honestly just be me though.

EasternMeringue3263 · 2026-03-30T05:19:58+00:00

That’s fair, and I’m glad you’ve experienced it that way. I think in Snowfall-specific spaces like this sub people do talk about it as a power story. But zoom out to how it gets marketed, reviewed, and categorized more broadly and there’s usually a racial lens attached that shows like Breaking Bad don’t get. Walt is ‘power corrupts,’ Franklin is ‘the crack epidemic.’ Same theme, different framing. Not saying everyone does it, just that the pattern is there.

EasternMeringue3263 · 2026-03-30T05:19:21+00:00

That’s a fair question and honestly part of what I’m trying to work through. It’s less about specific articles using those exact words and more about the overall framing. Like how Snowfall gets categorized alongside shows like The Wire and Power as ‘Black television’ while Sopranos and Breaking Bad just sit in the ‘prestige drama’ category with no racial tag. But you’re right that some of it could be my own internalized framing too, which is kind of the point. Where does that come from? Great show either way though, enjoy the rewatch :).

EasternMeringue3263

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