The idea for this paper began with a gasp-inducing epiphany while watching episode number five of The Sopranos series. This epiphany was born from the animal noises distracting Tony Soprano as he murders Fabian Petrulio and it evolved into the thesis described in this paper as more and more evidence of a relationship between sound and the theme of psychoanalysis became apparent to me. I originally submitted “What’s Out of Sight is Not Out of Mind” as my second paper for Professor Michael Degener’s WR 100 course, “Renaissance TV: Serial Drama and the Cable Revolution.” With the permission of Prof. Degener, the piece turned into my final paper because I felt I had so much more to explore on the subject of sound in The Sopranos. Thus, the paper grew in length and in range of thought, representing the culmination of my work in the WR 100 course.
Early on in watching the series, I noticed some interesting characteristics about the music in the show, most notably the fact that the music did not always seem to match the narrative content of the show, which brought me to pay close attention in my notes to the effect of the music. Thus, when Tony became briefly distracted at the subtle sounds of animal noises while killing Fabian Petrulio in episode number five, my theory about the music began.
MORGAN BARRY is a rising sophomore studying history in BU’s College of Arts and Sciences. She hails from the small southern New Hampshire town of Windham. Morgan enjoys running, photography, and spending time with her friends, family, and much adored beagle. This piece is dedicated to Professor Michael Degener for his support in writing this paper and for giving the most in-depth editing commentary ever received by this writer. This piece is also dedicated to Joey Federico and Haley and Madison Enos for their willingness to read and re-read every essay by this writer in the wee hours of the morning and in the dead of night (and also for being the best friends a girl could have).