I just recently started a new show called Sons of Anarchy and I’m really enjoying it so far. I’m not finished the show yet, but I love the way the story is going and I can’t wait to see how it plays out. It tells the story of a young man named Jackson Teller, aka Jax, who is VP of his all-white motorcycle club/gang called the Sons of Anarchy MC. The club was founded by the First 9, which included Jax’s father John Teller and his now stepfather Clay Morrow. John Teller died when Jax was really young, so he joined the club as a way to honor his father’s memory. Outside of fixing cars, which is their day job at Teller-Morrow Auto, the motorcycle club also runs guns and gets into running drugs in the later seasons. Jax’s father did not approve of the club running guns and it is later revealed that he was killed by Clay and Jax’s mother Gemma because of this. Jax thought he was living out his father’s dream by rising through the ranks at the club and eventually becoming president. This is actually the opposite of what John wanted for him. He hated the idea of their club being turned into some crime business and wanted to no part of it. Clay and Gemma set up John so that their ideas for the club could flourish, which is actually very selfish. Jax and his brother Thomas, who died as a child, were left without a father and the club without a leader. Clay and Gemma’s selfishness provided a terrible foundation for the club and the things they go through are a testament to that.
A major part of Jax’s story is his relationship with his high school sweetheart Tara. When the show begins, Tara just recently moved back to their hometown of Charming to work at the local hospital as a surgeon. Jax just recently had a baby with his drug-addicted ex-wife and the baby was born prematurely. Jax and Tara reconnect after Jax’s many visits to the hospital. In the later seasons, Tara begs Jax to leave the MC after attempts on both of their lives, but he cannot give up the life because it meant too much to his dad and means too much to him now. Jax’s relationship with women is skewed and possibly because of his mother. The women married to the men of the club are called an “old lady” and they don’t have much say in what goes on outside of the house. Although Gemma was an “old lady”, she had more influence in club matters than most other women. Later in the show, we see that Tara is becoming more and more like Gemma each episode and this may be why Jax pursues her more than he did in the past. He sees that Tara is smart and not afraid to take matters into her own hands and that is what he liked about her. However, Tara quickly realized that she is not meant to live this type of life.. She is a surgeon with two sons and has been subjected to violence just because she is Jax’s “old lady”. Any woman that wants to have a relationship with Jax will have to adapt quickly to the type of woman he needs, which is a woman like Tara. No woman will subject herself to being an “old lady” because of the risks it brings, which leaves Jax all alone.
I usually don’t watch shows like Sons of Anarchy because the misogyny and racism is out of this world but I really enjoy the story. The woman are almost always put off as “old ladies” who have no say in anything whatsoever. The clubbers often refer to member of the rival gangs as racial slurs and work with white supremacists. My grandfather actually told me about the show but I never payed attention to it until about a week ago. It’s surprising that he likes it so much because he hates hearing slurs and they get very upset, but he loves a good crime show just like me. There is spinoff series called Mayans M.C. which explores the inner dynamic of that club. I’m interested to get started on that after I finish Sons of Anarchy to see how different the language is when they refer to rival clubs/gangs. The show has opened my eyes to motorcycle club culture and although it is fiction, I feel like there is some truth to how the creator portrays the club.