First, I want to point out that I was not putting down the television drama (yes, that is what it is) Sons of Anarchy in my last article. To be perfectly honest, I have never even seen an entire episode. Second, I wasn’t putting down the people who enjoy watching the show (my girlfriend watches it….she loves Lenny the Pimp!). I was simply telling the story of a rather interesting (and, let’s face it, slightly disturbing) experience I had with a couple of fans (which is short for fanatic, by the way).
My girlfriend told me that, in all fairness, I should watch one episode. I asked her what she thought of the show and she said, “It’s entertaining.” I asked her if she thought it was realistic. She laughed.
“Ok,” I thought, “I’ll give it a try.” Please keep in mind that when I was a teenager, my mentors were members of a motorcycle club. I kept my mouth closed and my eyes and ears opened and did what I was told. The payoff was that they shared their vast knowledge of motorcycles with me.
My girlfriend picked a couple of random episodes (I didn’t care to or have time for learning the entire story line from the beginning). The first thing I catch onto here is that a woman called “Gemma” seems to be calling the shots. According to my girlfriend, she is the Presidents old lady. In fact, she is on her second “Prez.” She is also the VPs mom. I almost walked out right there. Things have come a long way since I was 16 and saw a woman called Cat (short for Catherine) sprawled out on a mattress, naked from the waist down, passed out after a long, “hard” night at the clubhouse. But I can tell you this: Women DO NOT call the shots! Ever! Women are not involved in club business.
Several women have tried to convince me that this show is a realistic portrayal of a motorcycle club. Really? I get that television writers want to create strong female roles that appeal to the women watching. Hell, my girlfriend is one of the strongest, most independent and determined women I know. It’s what I love about her. But, as I pointed out in the beginning of this, she laughed at the thought of this show being anything close to realistic.
I think the only realistic thing I saw Gemma do in the couple of episodes that I did watch was that she smacked a young girl in the face with a skateboard after learning that her old man “did” the girl. The only reason I could buy that is because I could see my girlfriend smacking me in the face with a skateboard if I was ever that stupid!
I guess my point is this: Things have come a very long way since I was a kid but women are not club members. Gemma is 100% a figment of a writer’s imagination. She is not based on a real life person and the things she does would NOT happen in real life.
I asked my girlfriend to remind me why she actually watches this show. She said for the same reason she watched “The Sopranos”. “It’s not realistic but it is entertaining.”
The two main characters in SOA:
Gemma is Katey Sagal, and is actually married to Kurt Sutter, who writes and produces the show. Gemma is the grand old lady in the Sons of Anarchy biker club. She was married to the founder of the club, John Teller, and then to Clay Morrow who became leader after Johns death. Gemma is also the mother of Jax Teller, who is destined to inherit leadership of the club when Clay is too old to ride.
Then there’s Tara from Mad Men veteran Maggie Siff, she was Jax’s childhood love. She is an accomplished surgeon and doctor who often ends up fixing up family and members of the club. She receives quite a bit of ‘training’ from Gemma on the role an old lady plays in this club. She has a love hate relationship with Gemma throughout the show.
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