Why I Want To Be In A Biker Gang

My favorite show on TV right now is "Sons of Anarchy" and it has been for quite some time now. From the moment I saw the pilot, I was hooked. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, "Sons of Anarchy" follows an outlaw motorcycle club in California as they navigate through the seedy underworld that is organized crime. As the show progresses, the club continues to make decisions that ultimately lead them farther and farther down a dark path of moral ambiguity. Part of the reason I love "Sons of Anarchy" is that the characters are all believeable. Mind you, you have to be willing to suspend your disbelief that a bunch of bearded guys in leather with a penchant for shooting first and asking questions later is considered normal. My point is that they seem human. Sure, they may live a lifestyle that is almost mythical, but the way they respond in certain situations is authentic, fueled by real emotion and the kind of bond you obtain by being by someone at their darkest moment. These characters have fueled a sort of para-social relationship that I (and I'm sure many other viewers) have created with many of the people on the show. Over the course of the 6 seasons the show has been on the air, I have formed "bonds" with many of the characters. When one individual's wife is accidentally gunned down, I felt deep sympathy and rage, just as he felt on screen. When another character was forced to watch powerlessly as his own daugther died in front of him, I felt the pain and anguish he did. And when a fan favorite meets his maker courtesy of a lead pipe, I actually felt sick to my stomach, just as his brothers in arms did. These kinds of emotional connections are what separates good TV from great TV and what keep people tuning in week after week. In addition, "Sons of Anarchy" portrays the ultimate counterculture. What is more anti-mainstream than ignoring the laws and rules that form the foundation of society? The members of the Sons are all portrayed as their own individual subculture, one full of sex, drugs, and violence and can easily identify themselves based on their motorcycles and their leather vests. However, just as it is in real life, by having a counterculture simply exist, it impacts how the mainstream culture acts. Throughout the show, numerous people attempt to emulate or join the motorcycle club, only to be immediately turned away or shunned by the members themselves. Not only does the counterculture influence the mainstream culture, in this case, the counterculture IS the mainstream culture. The way the show is portrayed, there is no other option other than to be in the club. Rarely do you see normal, upstanding citizens living their life. Instead, the only possible lifestyle is to be in the club and (for the most part) anyone who is not is singled out and dealt with accordingly. "Sons of Anarchy" has made me lust after Harley Davidson motorcycles, which is part of the point. The desire to be something we aren't has been played out time and time again, and television allows us to live these alternate fantasies as an escape from a our mundane lives. "Sons of Anarchy" does just that for me. I don't want to ACTUALLY join a motorcycle gang, but "Sons of Anarchy" is the closest thing I will ever get to being in one and for 60 minutes every Tuesday, I can imagine driving down the highway, next to my favorite people on TV.