If you’re anything like me, Save Jerseyans, and you probably are (because you’re here reading this), then you’re excited for the The Many Saints of Newark to make its October 1st debut. The highly-anticipated Sopranos sequel movie might be amazing; it could also underwhelm. We’ll see. Recapturing a legendary, ground-breaking series’ original magic is no small feat. Amazing or mediocre, it’ll be a treat for any fan of the original HBO series, and James Gandolfini’s son’s performance as young Tony Soprano promises to tug the heartstrings.
There’s an extra layer for New Jerseyans to enjoy: a trip down memory lane.
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The film is set during the infamous 1967 Newark riots which took place between July 12th and July 17th.
To say the riots scarred the Garden State is probably a gross understatement. Four full days of non-stop looting and burning resulted in 26 deaths and many more injuries, but the human toll and extensive property damage was only the start of it. The images of National Guard tanks in the streets of New Jersey’s largest municipality destroyed Newark’s reputation and accelerated the Brick City’s decline. Newark’s population collapsed from 405,220 in 1960 to 275,221 by 1990 – a nearly 33% decline!
Thousands of ex-Newarkers emptied out into the emerging North Jersey suburbs, transforming our state’s map for all time and transforming the politics of Essex County and its neighboring counties forever. Even today, you’d be hard pressed to visit a suburban outpost in Bergen County or Middlesex County without encountering at least one family boasting an ex-Newarker of that generation in its ranks.
Mayor Hugh Addonizio (D-Newark) was the face of the riots. He lost his bid for reelection in 1970, and Newark hasn’t elected a white mayor, Democrat or Republican, since he left office. Addonizio later spent 5-years in jail for a kickback scheme and died in disgrace. Because New Jersey, right?
Newark’s population isn’t dropping anymore but it hasn’t recovered either; we’re still waiting for city-level data, but the head-counters think its population was probably around 280,000 as of 2020, miles away from the 438,000+ it boasted in 1950 before the race to the burbs began in earnest…
I recommend turning off your brain and enjoying the movie to the extent the creators allow you to do it, Save Jerseyans. It’s 2021, so it’s hard to enjoy a cinematic experience without some wokeness leaking into the script. Sopranos showrunner David Chase was fairly politically incorrect in the original series, however, so we can hope Saints sticks to what made the series a success and doesn’t fall flat on its face trying to achieve “relevance.”
Still, for those of us who eat, sleep and drink New Jersey politics, it’s hard to ignore the context of our times. In 1967, New Jersey had a Democrat president (Lyndon Johnson), a Democrat Governor (Richard J. Hughes), and a Democrat mayor (Addonizio). Perhaps the obstacles to social mobility remaining in our cities didn’t start with Donald Trump and MAGA hat-wearing grandmothers in Central Florida? Maybe – just maybe – the Democrat Party is projecting when it rages on the topic of “structural racism”? Just a thought, but one worth exploring before and after you leave the theater.
We can expect some “lighter” elements in the movie, too. The Sopranos was famous for its dark humor.
For example, the legendary Mister Softee ice cream truck familiar to most New Jerseyans who grew up here makes a notable appearance in the trailer; Tony and another youngester (the one who picks a fight with him earlier in the movie) beat the tar out of the driver. This is a mob movie, folks. I’m willing to bet teenage Tony pinched an ice cream sandwich just for good measure.
Here’s the trailer if you haven’t seen it yet (or watched it 30 times like me):
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