The hit HBO show The Sopranos will forever be remembered for challenging the stereotypical Mafia drama by incorporating themes such as family, identity, power, and mental health.
More than two decades after it first aired, the Emmy-winning series is now being analyzed through a new lens.
A viral tweet focused on an unlikely character: Caitlin Rucker, Meadow Soprano's freshman-year roommate at Columbia.
Highlights
- A viral photo from the third season of ‘The Sopranos’ has sparked debate over whether the TV industry has made progress in how it portrays actresses.
- The image from the 2001 season shows Caitlin Rucker, Meadow Soprano's college roommate, wearing underwear bottoms and a tank top.
- An X user expressed surprise that the actress’ body type was “considered comically fat two decades ago.”
A tweet about an unexpected TV character has reignited a heated debate about beauty standards from the early 2000s
Image credits: HBO
Portrayed by Ari Graynor, the character is presented as emotionally fragile, and her increasingly erratic behavior creates tension with Meadow.
An image that has amassed more than 5 million views on X shows Caitlin in her dorm, wearing underwear bottoms and a tight tank top.
“This is what was considered comically fat two decades ago,” the user wote alongside the image from the 2001 episode.
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The post, which has been liked by 137,000 users, reignited discussions about beauty standards and whether the entertainment industry has made progress in how it portrays the actors it casts.
Many viewers said Ari Graynor's body type differed from the very thin actresses commonly cast on television in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Still, they were stunned to learn that she was written as the “crazy fat roommate."
Viewers were in disbelief that the actress was considered “comically fat” in 2001
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“This is my dream body,” one woman wrote, while another exclaimed, “This is a healthy weight! She looks great.”
“I have this exact body type and this actually makes me feel so validated,” another woman said in response to the post.
Meanwhile, some fans of the show pushed back against the idea that Ari Graynor's body was part of her character’s narrative.
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“Not really, she was just considered crazy,” argued one Sopranos fan, while another shared, “No one on the show said she was fat.”
Another user said that, beyond this specific character, the TV industry’s beauty standards were much narrower in the 2000s than they are today.
Renée Zellweger's transformation for Bridget Jones's Diary has resurfaced as a reminder of the era's beauty standards
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“Being ‘fat’ was half of Bridgit Jones' personality and all the Cosmo girls were disgusted,” they wrote of the beloved 2001 rom-com.
In Bridget Jones's Diary, Zellweger played the socially awkward protagonist, whose weight is a recurring plot point and a key part of her characterization.
Image credits: Miramax Films
The story, which reflects the beauty standards of the 1990s and early 2000s, includes scenes in which Bridget obsessively records her weight in her diary and feels guilty about eating. Friends and family members also make comments about her appearance.
Zellweger put on weight to play the rom-com heroine. Speaking with The Guardian in 2001, she revealed that she gained 17 lb (8 kg) and consulted a dietician and endocrinologist, who created a regimen of three full meals a day, multiple snacks, and no exercise.
While many believe Hollywood has become more inclusive, others argue today's actresses face a different kind of pressure
Image credits: Miramax Films
Amid the debate surrounding the “mainstream” body types of the early 2000s, some have suggested that the entertainment industry hasn’t changed much after all.
If anything, they argue, the actresses we see on our screens have taken on an increasingly eerily similar look with the rise of weight-loss jabs and cosmetic treatments.
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In a TikTok video that went viral last December, a user compared retro photos of Glenn Close and Meryl Streep to recent pictures of Megan Fox, Lindsay Lohan, and Sydney Sweeney.
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The woman, who goes by @trainingforamazing on the platform, argued that society now “expects our actresses to look like supermodels, whereas supermodels used to be supermodels, and actresses were actresses.”
“This group of women has some of the most prolific acting credits of all time. And all of them look like real people,” she said while referring to the photos of young Close and Streep.
A viral TikTok claimed modern stars are starting to look increasingly alike
She stressed that plastic surgery has become so normalized that people don’t notice the changes until they see a contrast with the “real” actresses of 1980s Hollywood, many of whom didn’t have plump lips, small noses, or hollowed-out cheekbones.
According to the user, the actresses’ alleged cosmetic enhancements are making them less expressive, therefore affecting the quality of their performances.
“Our faces are our stories,” she stressed. “They are what’s passed down to us through generations. And if your face can’t move and you look like everyone else, what story are you telling?”
"That girl looks completely normal," a viewer wrote
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