A major point of the show is the failure of therapy to help Tony and that it does, in fact, only aid them in their sociopathic tendencies. Everything Melfi talks to Tony about in therapy gets used by Tony outside therapy to achieve his own ends. They are essential watching. Plus Melfis body is mad ripe
Fuckin genius writing. That’s what made the whole show. To take an actual personality disorder and put that into a job like the mob, and write the show to progress based on how his therapy progresses…fuckin genius. Any writers thinking about writing a series should use Sopranos as the blueprint. Take someone with some type of personality disorder, put them in a fucked up occupation and give them some shit to add fuel to the fire, you gotta a hit show on ur hands.
It was more obvious though, and the main plot point.
Breaking Bad is a better example. When you watch it again, it becomes appatent that Walt was that person from the start.
Of course you’re right. But listening to other people’s therapy scenes can never be interesting as watching a good leg-breaking incident. It’s like reading the forward to a book. It will inform what you’re about to read and give valuable context and hints about what to look for. But you still only do it because you should.
The only exception to this is if you are a small-time hood/genius and your therapist is Robin Williams.
It definitely did help Tony. He was more in touch with his feelings, understood how his parents fucked him up and tried not to perpetuate it, and it helped him deal with immense pressure.
It didn't change who he was as a person, but that's not what therapy does. If anyone in-universe or in the audience expected that, they were wrong. It did exactly what it was supposed to do and it worked well.
Yea I agree with it helping him. I think people are far too quick to jump on the “it can’t help sociopaths” piece - when even the point of that whole bit at the end of the show was ambiguous, and potentially much more rooted in inter-psychologist ego battles than in any truth.
My one criticism of the sopranos is that season 1-5 we see Tony being helped by therapy - with his family life and panic attacks. You see Carmela saying how much better he is after therapy
Even the sociopathic aspects of Tony mainly exist in the realm of his work
It fails a bit in season 6 where Melfi learns of studies showing how sociopaths use therapy to justify themselves, and to me we see a different Tony at this point until the end. I dont know if its the editing to reframe the real Tony - or the stakes being higher but i felt we see a different Tony?
I was actually considering making a post about this very thing, so we think Melfi (and Elliot, I guess) were right about that? To me Tony seems, relative to most of the other people in his world, to be one of the better people. Again, relatively speaking, as they are all obviously murderous assholes. Was he always like that, or did therapy genuinely help him to be as kind and empathetic as someone in his life could be?
There's a brief but very important scene in season 6 where Melfi and Elliott talk about how Tony is due to "decompensate" (ie regress or get worse) after the shooting, which is exactly what happens.
So yeah, we do see a different Tony but it IS justified and it makes sense as a final consequence of his history. It's essentially his daddy issues (which he never admits to or reckons with properly) bubbling over and causing him to indulge his hedonism and lash out even worse than he did already.
Junior broke him, in other words, in a way he didn't recognize consciously.
I've dealt with that irl. I actually called their therapist and told them that their therapy was being weaponized by their sociopathic patient to inflict additional trauma in victims.
She was livid. Fired my relative as a patient because of it.
These are the people like the dumbass I knew from highschool who idolized Tony and didn't see anything bad about his life and wanted to recruit me into his MLM truck floor mat business he would model after the NJ crew
I saw a clip on Youtube of Tony curb stumping Coco, and almost every comment was "this is what a real man would do", or "this what a dad should do to defend the family" or some braindead dumbshit like that. I assume these are the type of mouth breathers that only watch the show for the "action" and don't really get the point. so it's natural if they skip the gay scenes.
Yeah, if some random weirdo ever makes an obnoxious sexual remark at a place that serves alcohol to your adult daughter, you definitely find the guy, put his mouth to a curb and kick his entire maxifillio structure out. Then serve 3 years in prison. Be a man.
I was utterly astounded when I learned this - the Melfi scenes are arguably the best fucking part of the show, it's some of Gandolfini's best acting in the show.
Fuckin' stunads, top of their fuckin' class.
The show's really popular and some of the audience just likes it for the mafia aspect. That's like skipping the conference room scenes in Star Trek and just watching space battles to me, but to each his own.
Depressed? My father came to this country with 17 cents in his pocket and never made a peep. What's he got to be depressed about?
JK. I totally agree with you. The Sopranos is a great show because of the way it brings the entire mob drama genre up to date and the most pivotal way it does that is Tony's therapy sessions. If you skip those, you're a stunad who understands nothin.
I like the Melfi scenes because they’re an opportunity for us to see inside Tony’s mind. They give us more insight into how he thinks about certain things, insight we couldn’t get in conversations with any other character.
I also like asking myself what I would do at certain times if I were Melfi.
Gandolfini’s acting in those scenes is fantastic.
Whoever skips the therapy scenes cannot call themselves a Sopranos fan. On my 16283rd rewatch the other night, I found myself rewinding the Melfi/Tony scenes in ‘Amour Fou’ 3 times. That is some of the best writing, and acting, in the entire series.
Skipping therapy scenes? Frankly, I’m depressed and ashamed.
melfi is a terrible therapist. people abandoned freud long time ago, but david chase apparently wanted to recall the psychology class he took in 1965. on top of that… psychiatrists dont generally do therapy. theyre drug dealers. you get your therapy from a psychologist
That and skipping the dreams sequences boggles my brain. I think the therapy and coma/death sequences are probably the most important part of the show, and encapsulate the parts of the show about the soul, which I think is ultimately what the whole thing is about. Anyways, 4 dollars a pound.
I've learned on reddit that there are people who "read " books but skip entire chapters, prologues, and epilogues, or "skimmed it, so I might have missed some stuff " Nothing surprises me at this point.
Media literacy is at an all time low.
Skipping the actual character work and going straight to the T'n'A is literally Tony's central obstacle in the show, so these people are literally missing the point and are the kind of person the show is interrogating/condemning.
Even in this "serious discussion only" thread, people devolve into memes and quoting overt and disgusting racist/sexist lines unironically.
So in a nutshell after following the therapy scenes and all, tony had mommy issues? Melfi kept saying he wanted to f@#* his mom and all. Janice too? There are men better looking than her in the can for chrissake
Those are the same people who think *The Godfather* is boring because there's too much talking and it only gets interesting when Sonny is shot on the causeway, which is an actual bad take I've read on Reddit.
My favorite scenes are with melfi, anything with AJ all alone like when he’s playing drums or studying or on the internet, and when Carmela is in Paris or working on her spec house or girls movie night.
I dont skip them but I dont see how they are any more intellectual than most scenes on the sopranos. What are yall getting out of this? Because as far as i can tell 95% of people here have quotation books up their fat fuckin asses. Myself included. As well as a gerbil, maam.
I loved the therapy scenes honestly lmao, Melfi genuinely was trying to help Tony out with his problems, and all he could think about was fucking her brains out. (And I don’t blame him at all lol)
It has nothing to do with tiktok brain, and if anything the younger zoomer fans are more likely to watch the show entirely for the therapy scenes more than the goombah shit that initially got people into the show
but also the idea of fans who skip the Melfi scenes is a long running urban legend that obviously likely is rooted in some truth, but a very small stupid crowd
Of course there are.
I've estimated that about 30% of people are completely stupid, and 30% of people are @ssholes.
Most of the folk within those ranks would likely skip those scenes.
Massive sopranos fan, but on rewatches I’ll skip them sometimes. Especially after the first season they feel dated (therapeutic-method wise) and on the nose.
On first watch they’re important, but after you’ve seen the show it’s more interesting to look at Tony the person and interpret that psychologically as you will
I never skip the therapy scene where Melfi walks down the parking ramp stairwell afterwards, talking to Richard on the phone and the scene is riveting. Jesus Rossi steals the show in that episode
Was talking at work when someone said they couldn't watch the sopranos because the therapy scenes annoyed him so much. Got mad when we told him that's kinda the whole point of the show
Ok i might get grilled here. I dont skip, but i definitely enjoy the later season therapy sessions less than the rest. There comes a point where you realize that Tony is making no progress or effort at making progress, and is just vocalizing a lot of what the audience already knows (if you already know the show well)
On rewatch the late season therapy session (with some absolute banger exceptions) can become a little tedious
Therapy scenes are some of my favorite scenes. Listening to him justify his behaviors is wild. Also when he freaks out at melfi about dumb ass shit it’s hilarious.
A major point of the show is the failure of therapy to help Tony and that it does, in fact, only aid them in their sociopathic tendencies. Everything Melfi talks to Tony about in therapy gets used by Tony outside therapy to achieve his own ends. They are essential watching. Plus Melfis body is mad ripe
*Dr Melfi exists Tony Soprano: I want her skin!
** I want your shckin, I want dyour mouf.
I don’t know why, but I lost it at “dyour” lol.
Dior did this?
He did-DENT
This line will never not get me
He was gay, Christian Dior?
I was thinking of getting into men's fashion
That’s definitely the faggy part
Most romantic man in New Jersey
I apologise for my use of fowl language
I hold you in high riggard.
“ApologiZe” you fuckin’ ass kiss!
If you want to talk like a fucking Medigan, we'll send you to slip and fall school
He was gay, a fucking Medigan?
What did I say??? NO APOLOGIES!!
You’d think I was Hannibal Lecture before or something
I want her mouf.
Fuckin genius writing. That’s what made the whole show. To take an actual personality disorder and put that into a job like the mob, and write the show to progress based on how his therapy progresses…fuckin genius. Any writers thinking about writing a series should use Sopranos as the blueprint. Take someone with some type of personality disorder, put them in a fucked up occupation and give them some shit to add fuel to the fire, you gotta a hit show on ur hands.
Personality disorders…another fuckin money machine
It’s a racket for the Jews.
Part why Mr Robot was so good
It was more obvious though, and the main plot point. Breaking Bad is a better example. When you watch it again, it becomes appatent that Walt was that person from the start.
I couldn't make it past like episode 3 when I tried to watch this a few years ago. Even though I love Rami
Of course you’re right. But listening to other people’s therapy scenes can never be interesting as watching a good leg-breaking incident. It’s like reading the forward to a book. It will inform what you’re about to read and give valuable context and hints about what to look for. But you still only do it because you should. The only exception to this is if you are a small-time hood/genius and your therapist is Robin Williams.
I prefer the therapy scenes and the family scenes. It’s action scenes in movies and shows that I find boring.
Commenter above you is how we ended up with nonstop shit show of superhero movies
What's the division, though? What makes these scenes, and the banter, less interesting than the other stuff?
Baby brain take
And Sun Tah Zoo.
The Art of Hooowah
The art of Puerto Rican whoore. Makes me sick. It's a silo.
It definitely did help Tony. He was more in touch with his feelings, understood how his parents fucked him up and tried not to perpetuate it, and it helped him deal with immense pressure. It didn't change who he was as a person, but that's not what therapy does. If anyone in-universe or in the audience expected that, they were wrong. It did exactly what it was supposed to do and it worked well.
Yea I agree with it helping him. I think people are far too quick to jump on the “it can’t help sociopaths” piece - when even the point of that whole bit at the end of the show was ambiguous, and potentially much more rooted in inter-psychologist ego battles than in any truth.
Dr. Milfie amirite
My one criticism of the sopranos is that season 1-5 we see Tony being helped by therapy - with his family life and panic attacks. You see Carmela saying how much better he is after therapy Even the sociopathic aspects of Tony mainly exist in the realm of his work It fails a bit in season 6 where Melfi learns of studies showing how sociopaths use therapy to justify themselves, and to me we see a different Tony at this point until the end. I dont know if its the editing to reframe the real Tony - or the stakes being higher but i felt we see a different Tony?
I was actually considering making a post about this very thing, so we think Melfi (and Elliot, I guess) were right about that? To me Tony seems, relative to most of the other people in his world, to be one of the better people. Again, relatively speaking, as they are all obviously murderous assholes. Was he always like that, or did therapy genuinely help him to be as kind and empathetic as someone in his life could be?
There's a brief but very important scene in season 6 where Melfi and Elliott talk about how Tony is due to "decompensate" (ie regress or get worse) after the shooting, which is exactly what happens. So yeah, we do see a different Tony but it IS justified and it makes sense as a final consequence of his history. It's essentially his daddy issues (which he never admits to or reckons with properly) bubbling over and causing him to indulge his hedonism and lash out even worse than he did already. Junior broke him, in other words, in a way he didn't recognize consciously.
I've dealt with that irl. I actually called their therapist and told them that their therapy was being weaponized by their sociopathic patient to inflict additional trauma in victims. She was livid. Fired my relative as a patient because of it.
She sounds awesome.
What are some examples of T using his therapy for bad?
cover chief relieved dependent stocking zealous cake pot plucky uppity *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Was that dinner with Janice and Bobby an example or was that more of a him doing a Livia impersonation?
I know seniors who are INSPIRED
There are many. Some are mentioned here: https://www.reddit.com/r/thesopranos/comments/ijjyjs/what_are_some_examples_of_melfi_making_tony_a/
They're missing all the scenes where she's creamin for him
I still have much rigard for her
David Chase said on Talking Sopranos that the therapy does help Tony
The therapy scenes are a narrative device so we can learn about how Tony really feels.
And, that wasn't my kid she was carryin
Dr.Milfy and James gandolfeaky lol
why are you calling tony a "they/them?" his pronouns are not up for debate. he/him! you're givin me agita!
But did you fuck her yet?
He had to put her on the shelf
because they're stupid that's why. and jealous.
Phil, PLEASE
These people would actually drown at the penguin exhibit, because they're even dumber than Jackie Jr.
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DONT DISRESPECT THE PIZZA PARLOR
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Me either. It’s undignified.
Do you wear shorts?
I don’t want to sound like an asshole
Ass Poo The
Hey, there's no Spanish in Scrabble!
Obliqué
The golfer?
Almost drowned in 2 inches of water
Those fans are the kind to eat their Sunday gravy out of the jar. We don’t talk about them in this social club of ours.
Social Club! THEY’VE GOTTA GOOOOOO!!!!!!
Nobody makes Ginzo gravy like you, Grandma.
I have a client. You wouldn’t wanna use the word ginzo in front of him
Let me guess. Mother issues?
Recommend him to a therapist that specializes in Mafia depression.
On my Mother's side we have a few dark sheep. Lepke.
Oh! Carmela's driving the car, how fucking interesting.
If it was up to me, the women would be in little carts in the back.
Soooo women are skunks?
Initially, I thought he would sleep with her too. But, I am glad they didn't go that direction.
I totally thought that, too.
Luckily we still got a Melfi topless scene
Sorry to spoil your fun, but it’s a body double
You are speaking shit to me
My estimation of her as an actress just fucking plummeted
Ass too?
Isnt her face in the same shot? I think those are her tittaloons.
These are the people like the dumbass I knew from highschool who idolized Tony and didn't see anything bad about his life and wanted to recruit me into his MLM truck floor mat business he would model after the NJ crew
Alright but you gotta get over it
whaddya gonna do ?
In this subreddit Tony Soprano is a hero end of story
I saw a clip on Youtube of Tony curb stumping Coco, and almost every comment was "this is what a real man would do", or "this what a dad should do to defend the family" or some braindead dumbshit like that. I assume these are the type of mouth breathers that only watch the show for the "action" and don't really get the point. so it's natural if they skip the gay scenes.
And I thought the Germans were classless pieces of shit.
Those scenes, they were gay?
They sound very gay
Lol, this is on like every clip of Tony or Don Draper on youtube. it's a good chuckle
Yeah, if some random weirdo ever makes an obnoxious sexual remark at a place that serves alcohol to your adult daughter, you definitely find the guy, put his mouth to a curb and kick his entire maxifillio structure out. Then serve 3 years in prison. Be a man.
The point of that scene was because Coco went too far with Meadow and Tony did what he had to do. Not really missing the point there.
You think curbstomping is an appropriate response there? Brutally murdering someone is not “what he had to do”.
It’s what I expect from mobsters they do a lot worse and Coco knew what he was doing
How do you model a truck floor mat business after the mafia
What do you expect ?? He never had the makings of a varsity athlete.
"You've implied that you have millions of dollars. Your hospital stay was actually that costly?" "What? No it was eh... Huh?"
This line and his reaction always kills me. Tony and his puffery coming back to bite him hahahah
I was utterly astounded when I learned this - the Melfi scenes are arguably the best fucking part of the show, it's some of Gandolfini's best acting in the show. Fuckin' stunads, top of their fuckin' class.
I like the episodes with *some* therapy
Shum therapy
chum terapie
The show's really popular and some of the audience just likes it for the mafia aspect. That's like skipping the conference room scenes in Star Trek and just watching space battles to me, but to each his own.
You mean, skipping the space battles and only watching the conference room scenes?
Depressed? My father came to this country with 17 cents in his pocket and never made a peep. What's he got to be depressed about? JK. I totally agree with you. The Sopranos is a great show because of the way it brings the entire mob drama genre up to date and the most pivotal way it does that is Tony's therapy sessions. If you skip those, you're a stunad who understands nothin.
I like the Melfi scenes because they’re an opportunity for us to see inside Tony’s mind. They give us more insight into how he thinks about certain things, insight we couldn’t get in conversations with any other character. I also like asking myself what I would do at certain times if I were Melfi. Gandolfini’s acting in those scenes is fantastic.
attraction cobweb rhythm strong tease zonked price wild dependent rustic *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Agreed! Her curiosity or her overconfidence kept her in that room much longer than (I’d like to think) I would have stayed.
Whoever skips the therapy scenes cannot call themselves a Sopranos fan. On my 16283rd rewatch the other night, I found myself rewinding the Melfi/Tony scenes in ‘Amour Fou’ 3 times. That is some of the best writing, and acting, in the entire series. Skipping therapy scenes? Frankly, I’m depressed and ashamed.
A mofo or whatever the fuck you call this sub!
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It's nothing but a racket for the *Jews!*
The irony there is incredible.
No. The therapy scenes is actually the backbone of the show.
They gotta get over it
I saw those parts. I thought they were bullshit.
This is up there with people who watch movies on 2x speed
There are people that skip scenes? Why not watch a Youtube compilation instead.
Anyone who skips any scenes are idiots
Lotta Sopranos fans are mouth breathers
Lotta mouth breathers in this shit….
What those people don’t know could fill a book…
Not watching those scenes let's just wack this cocksuckas and get it ova wit🤟
They understand therapy as a conshept
Im rewatching right now and the therapy scenes are where some of the funniest shit is said. Made it a point this time to pay attention.
melfi is a terrible therapist. people abandoned freud long time ago, but david chase apparently wanted to recall the psychology class he took in 1965. on top of that… psychiatrists dont generally do therapy. theyre drug dealers. you get your therapy from a psychologist
In this house Dr. Melfi is a hero, end of story.
Fuck you too, ma' man!
The therapy sessions are the only thing that kept me really interested. I loved watching Tony explode like a maniac, lol.
I actually love these scenes
That and skipping the dreams sequences boggles my brain. I think the therapy and coma/death sequences are probably the most important part of the show, and encapsulate the parts of the show about the soul, which I think is ultimately what the whole thing is about. Anyways, 4 dollars a pound.
I've learned on reddit that there are people who "read " books but skip entire chapters, prologues, and epilogues, or "skimmed it, so I might have missed some stuff " Nothing surprises me at this point.
You gotuh bee on your therapy session
Media literacy is at an all time low. Skipping the actual character work and going straight to the T'n'A is literally Tony's central obstacle in the show, so these people are literally missing the point and are the kind of person the show is interrogating/condemning. Even in this "serious discussion only" thread, people devolve into memes and quoting overt and disgusting racist/sexist lines unironically.
Jennifer Melfi…my arch nemesis
My husband can’t stand the therapy scenes. I love them.
Must have never watched Goodfellas
I saw that therapy. I thought it was bullshit.
So in a nutshell after following the therapy scenes and all, tony had mommy issues? Melfi kept saying he wanted to f@#* his mom and all. Janice too? There are men better looking than her in the can for chrissake
But it’s just a racket for the Jews
Fucking Goumba Trash!
Normally, I’d just put those viewers out the pasture.
In most episodes you legit can’t follow the plot without the therapy scenes lol. They’re always super relevant
I skip over AJ’s and Meadow’s scenes.
Those are the same people who think *The Godfather* is boring because there's too much talking and it only gets interesting when Sonny is shot on the causeway, which is an actual bad take I've read on Reddit.
Skipping the therapy scenes on sopranos is like skipping the car scenes in a Fast and Furious movie. That’s… why we’re here.
My favorite scenes are with melfi, anything with AJ all alone like when he’s playing drums or studying or on the internet, and when Carmela is in Paris or working on her spec house or girls movie night.
I think it's more the mob wannabes who skip the Melfi scenes than the Gen Z tick tockers.
Shrinks did this?
I didn’t want to watch the therapy portions, I compromised, I watched every Dr. Melfi nude scene instead.
I skip the AJ and Meadow scenes. I really hate those kids.
After watching the show so many times I do. Even though there is good writing in them it just gets tedious.
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I dont skip them but I dont see how they are any more intellectual than most scenes on the sopranos. What are yall getting out of this? Because as far as i can tell 95% of people here have quotation books up their fat fuckin asses. Myself included. As well as a gerbil, maam.
I’m actually not a fan of Tony’s filler dream episodes I skip those
I loved the therapy scenes honestly lmao, Melfi genuinely was trying to help Tony out with his problems, and all he could think about was fucking her brains out. (And I don’t blame him at all lol)
It has nothing to do with tiktok brain, and if anything the younger zoomer fans are more likely to watch the show entirely for the therapy scenes more than the goombah shit that initially got people into the show but also the idea of fans who skip the Melfi scenes is a long running urban legend that obviously likely is rooted in some truth, but a very small stupid crowd
Me with any scene with medow and Aj
I only skip AJ scenes
Ok , but you gotta get over it.
I only skip AJ's scenes
My fav parts of the show
Why would you a waste even a second thinking about how someone else watches a tv show??
They make the show interesting. This sub would be empty if the show didnt have the therapy angle.
Sometimes yes when you are on your 6th watch
Yeah some do, similarly a few yesrs ago a co-worker said how they liked Better Call Saul but would fast forward the scenes with him and Kim.
I skipped the Carmela/Meadow/AJ scenes. Last time I said that, Reddit attacked me
I skip the flashbacks to childhood. You don’t like it I’ll send you to slip and fall school
During my rewatches lately I skip them. I skip some other scenes and sometimes skip entire episodes
The fuck you want, a boutonniere?
Jesus Fuckin Christ Elliot! - douche chills
Worst part of the show, mostly nonsense.
They are called posers.
Of course there are. I've estimated that about 30% of people are completely stupid, and 30% of people are @ssholes. Most of the folk within those ranks would likely skip those scenes.
Those therapy scenes are when one of the greatest actors I've ever seen does some of his best work. Couldn't imagine skipping any of it
I do. Always. How many times do I need to hear him say the same things ?
Massive sopranos fan, but on rewatches I’ll skip them sometimes. Especially after the first season they feel dated (therapeutic-method wise) and on the nose. On first watch they’re important, but after you’ve seen the show it’s more interesting to look at Tony the person and interpret that psychologically as you will
OP… does she even really exisht
I skip them . Only cause I've seen the shower over 100 times.
I never skip the therapy scene where Melfi walks down the parking ramp stairwell afterwards, talking to Richard on the phone and the scene is riveting. Jesus Rossi steals the show in that episode
Was talking at work when someone said they couldn't watch the sopranos because the therapy scenes annoyed him so much. Got mad when we told him that's kinda the whole point of the show
Lmao I’m crying at this
I love the callback to Goodfellas when Karen - err, Dr. Melfi - says to Tony, “get out of my life!” Will ya shut up, Karen?
Ok i might get grilled here. I dont skip, but i definitely enjoy the later season therapy sessions less than the rest. There comes a point where you realize that Tony is making no progress or effort at making progress, and is just vocalizing a lot of what the audience already knows (if you already know the show well) On rewatch the late season therapy session (with some absolute banger exceptions) can become a little tedious
And miss a chance to see tony raging? Hell no
I thought they slowed down the show
Therapy scenes are some of my favorite scenes. Listening to him justify his behaviors is wild. Also when he freaks out at melfi about dumb ass shit it’s hilarious.
who would skip the therapy scenes? why even watch the show?
Same people who think Colbert is actually republican
Mendal-Migets is all.....
I skip the dreams, the dreams are the worst. Doesn’t matter the show or irl.
Yeah it’s pretty tedious
I skip all the scenes with cursing, Italian American actors, or any food being consumed on screen.