tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post116059556809127940..comments2024-03-28T18:01:28.997-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: The Wire, "Margin of Error": Primary colorAlan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-39291832577673903712012-07-21T13:53:16.571-04:002012-07-21T13:53:16.571-04:00This, to me, is the Jefferson vs Hamilton Faultlin...This, to me, is the Jefferson vs Hamilton Faultline that our country was built on and will soon (maybe very soon) die on--the profoundly different experience of those living in the dense urban metropolis vs that of those living in the vast areas of the rural center of the country. I get to see it daily here in St.Louis where we have both led the nation in murder rates multiple times, while simultaneously having a city in which you are never more than 15 minutes from farm land. I identify more with the urban experience, yet I have close friends who do not have any concept of why something like a national health care plan might be necessary (the criticism of it's execution not withstanding). It's not because they are racist or classist or hard-line conservative-Christian-right-wingers, it's just because they live in and experience a world that is SO DIFFERENT than the one I see. If we could begin to bridge that gap, maybe we could stave off the apocalypse...but I don't see bridging that divide happening because our institutional systems seem to be allied against it. It's like Jeffery Canada once said, you don't have to look at the name on the machine to know what it does--you just look at what it produces. If it says on the side that it produces nuts and bolts but at the end of the assembly line there's a pile of donuts, it's a donut machine--no matter what the sign said. What does the machinery of our societies institutions produce? And if the product isn't piled up in YOUR back yard, will you care? (Or maybe the product IS piled up in the back yards of those who would think they don't have skin in the game...Aurora? Columbine?)<br />I have become more and more cynical about our prospect as a nation of pulling out of the nose dive that we are in. Near third world conditions exist INSIDE the US at increasing rates, but those of us in America simply try to isolate ourselves from "The Other" America, but time is just about up for that...<br /><br />I rant because there is no one here to read this anyway. <br /><br />The Wire: Best show ever made, and second place is not close. It almost defines a new genre of TV--a non-episodic almost cinematic historical docu-drama. It's a national treasure, and will help cultural antropologist 500 years from now understand a period in which our once great empire fell into confusion, then denial, and then irrelevance (HOPEFULLY, mere irrelevance).Bill Edhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02309360697786846607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-9845534682749694412012-07-21T13:52:41.639-04:002012-07-21T13:52:41.639-04:00This, to me, is the Jefferson vs Hamilton Faultlin...This, to me, is the Jefferson vs Hamilton Faultline that our country was built on and will soon (maybe very soon) die on--the profoundly different experience of those living in the dense urban metropolis vs that of those living in the vast areas of the rural center of the country. I get to see it daily here in St.Louis where we have both led the nation in murder rates multiple times, while simultaneously having a city in which you are never more than 15 minutes from farm land. I identify more with the urban experience, yet I have close friends who do not have any concept of why something like a national health care plan might be necessary (the criticism of it's execution not withstanding). It's not because they are racist or classist or hard-line conservative-Christian-right-wingers, it's just because they live in and experience a world that is SO DIFFERENT than the one I see. If we could begin to bridge that gap, maybe we could stave off the apocalypse...but I don't see bridging that divide happening because our institutional systems seem to be allied against it. It's like Jeffery Canada once said, you don't have to look at the name on the machine to know what it does--you just look at what it produces. If it says on the side that it produces nuts and bolts but at the end of the assembly line there's a pile of donuts, it's a donut machine--no matter what the sign said. What does the machinery of our societies institutions produce? And if the product isn't piled up in YOUR back yard, will you care? (Or maybe the product IS piled up in the back yards of those who would think they don't have skin in the game...Aurora? Columbine?)<br />I have become more and more cynical about our prospect as a nation of pulling out of the nose dive that we are in. Near third world conditions exist INSIDE the US at increasing rates, but those of us in America simply try to isolate ourselves from "The Other" America, but time is just about up for that...<br /><br />I rant because there is no one here to read this anyway. <br /><br />The Wire: Best show ever made, and second place is not close. It almost defines a new genre of TV--a non-episodic almost cinematic historical docu-drama. It's a national treasure, and will help cultural antropologist 500 years from now understand a period in which our once great empire fell into confusion, then denial, and then irrelevance (HOPEFULLY, mere irrelevance).Bill Edhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02309360697786846607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-30830335059344182132012-03-02T07:55:55.941-05:002012-03-02T07:55:55.941-05:00"Instead of gender, I think a more interestin..."Instead of gender, I think a more interesting question would be how does the show play to a rural audience? Do they care about gritty city violence at all? (I wonder because I'm from Chicago, but spent a lot of time in rural areas)."<br /><br /><br />I know this may be a very late reply, but I live in South Dakota and I can tell you that while I personally love the show, for me it feels like it is a whole 'nother world, yet still at the same time, not. The incredibly poor, drug ridden areas of West Baltimore might as well be Mars to me. However, most people I encounter who do watch a lot of television have never heard of the Wire; the only instance where someone around here had watched it, they were unimpressed. I attribute most of that to simply being unable to relate at all, to the drugs or to the corrupt politicians or to the high end drug work of the earlier seasons, mostly because these areas (while having drugs, of course) are not subject to the same kind of dealing and violence that comes with it. I mean, in 2010 we had two murders. Two.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-54323723520000951942012-02-07T02:47:14.860-05:002012-02-07T02:47:14.860-05:00After spending one(1) Year in a Bay Area County/Ci...After spending one(1) Year in a Bay Area County/City Jail, as a Federal inmate awaiting trial & fighting My case...I learned not a day passed that County/State convicts & Federal inmates didn't cross paths or co-exist. Regularly(& legally) housed in same units/"pods" as 'bunkys' or cellmates, or in intake holding cells(where Omar was)during transport to other courthouses/Jails/prisons/etc... So, Ed Burns, as usual-was spot on. 6 years later, The Wire still stands UberAlles as the VERY BEST. <br /> 5 *S*T*A*R* T.V. edutainment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-20027168010833556492012-01-07T18:23:13.971-05:002012-01-07T18:23:13.971-05:00Thanks to "simon" (who at least makes th...Thanks to "simon" (who at least makes the impression of being, or maybe is, David Simon) for the explanation re 2255.<br /><br />I understand that Mr. Simon is, in political terms, a hard left guy.<br /><br />Truth told, I am one of those evil, stone-cold conservatives, tea-party style and all; yet, The Wire is the only TV show I re-watched - and even more than once. Thanks for this intense, gripping, insightful, thought-inducing, entertaining piece of art. As far as I can tell, both left and right feel vindicated by the story told, and that alone is, to quote the show, not a career, it's a f*cking miracle...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-58245636851170144152010-03-23T23:11:33.148-04:002010-03-23T23:11:33.148-04:00I came here after Googling "The Wire 2255&quo...I came here after Googling "The Wire 2255" and found the answer from Simon himself. This blog continues to amaze me as I slowly get through it's archives!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-24578720684226287252009-06-26T10:20:16.512-04:002009-06-26T10:20:16.512-04:00Thanks for an amazing blog that is really adding t...Thanks for an amazing blog that is really adding to my enjoyment of the show (as i watch it for the first time). Loved your comments about Brianna vs. De'Londa--who's the worst mom? I was thinking along the same lines, only I started wondering who is the worst mom on the whole show...Wallace's mom? Brianna? De'Londa? Dukie's mom? Tough to decide.<br /><br />(There is obviously some poor fathering on the show too, but that's for another time).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-36521112199954371632009-06-05T02:41:12.898-04:002009-06-05T02:41:12.898-04:00The scene with Rawls in the gay bar is in episode ...The scene with Rawls in the gay bar is in episode 10 about 40 minutes in. I had to go back and see for myself since I hadn't picked up on the gay thing myself.fgmerchanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06810080679098585277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-47466512372032625332009-03-17T03:31:00.000-04:002009-03-17T03:31:00.000-04:00this is one of the most informative and intelligen...this is one of the most informative and intelligent blog postings (w/ comments) I've ever seen.<BR/><BR/>great insights into Michael/Cutty as well as clarification on the 2255 thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-2990350150677103242009-02-25T15:55:00.000-05:002009-02-25T15:55:00.000-05:00I'm a woman, too, and I also love The Wire. Actual...I'm a woman, too, and I also love The Wire. Actually, I would think women would be more into this show since it's the visual equivalent of a novel...and most fiction novels today are read by women.<BR/><BR/>Instead of gender, I think a more interesting question would be how does the show play to a rural audience? Do they care about gritty city violence at all? (I wonder because I'm from Chicago, but spent a lot of time in rural areas).<BR/><BR/>As for the comments about the personalities of the Barksdale vs Marlo crew...I think the coldness of Chris and Snoop's personalities are showing what all the violence of the previous generation has done to this generation. They are completely numb to killing and, in fact, do it in a robotic, calculated way. And I don't think that's true of just street violence, but is true in military operations as well (such as the usage of robots and computers in Iraq and Afganistan to fight). <BR/> <BR/>And seriously, thanks for the 2255 explanation. I was completely lost there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-12935690841707218932008-03-09T13:33:00.000-04:002008-03-09T13:33:00.000-04:00I'm a woman and I love the Wire. There.I'm a woman and I love the Wire. There.Magda Boreyszahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01486887285701816937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-66440855772617485062008-01-12T16:24:00.000-05:002008-01-12T16:24:00.000-05:00Are there any women watching this damn show? NO! I...Are there any women watching this damn show? NO! I am one and no thank you. Just thought I'd throw that in somewhere...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-1163635350592992202006-11-15T19:02:00.000-05:002006-11-15T19:02:00.000-05:00Many people don't understand that the roboticness ...Many people don't understand that the roboticness of Marlo, Chris and Snoop is deliberate. Sure, the Barksdales had plenty of personality. But look where they are now. What I think the show is saying is that Marlo and crew have to be extremely cold and ruthless to succeed in taking over their part of the drug trade. Its all business with them. Avon romanticized the Game. Stringer didn't, but he wanted to dignify it like a real business. With Marlo, its just economics and war. No emotion. The actors are doing a great job portraying this if they've made the audience complain about it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-1161716836210829142006-10-24T15:07:00.000-04:002006-10-24T15:07:00.000-04:00"Surprised no one has yet remarked on the decline ..."Surprised no one has yet remarked on the decline of personality in the show's villains. Avon, Stringer, and even Wee Bey had personality to burn, as well as complicated private lives. By contrast, Marlo, Chris, and Snoop are boring sexless robots with no personality whatsoever. I can't even picture these homicidal androids having any kind of private life. I doubt this is an oversight by the creators, though. What do people think about this development?"<BR/>True, Marlo is no Avon and Chris is far from Stringer in terms of dept. The writer's did drop the ball on that note. However, the kids seem to be more character driven this time around. It would have been nice to see what Marlo, Chris, and Snoop are like "after work."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-1161398611064416352006-10-20T22:43:00.000-04:002006-10-20T22:43:00.000-04:00Okay, so David Simon doesn't want any unseemly pra...Okay, so David Simon doesn't want any unseemly praise. I'd like to make two criticisms, one general and the other specific. <BR/><BR/>1) I think The Wire tends to be a little too cavalier in its attitudes towards police brutality and asset forfeiture.<BR/><BR/>2) Did you have to make the white do-goody-good professor who's working with Colvin this season such a wimpy bumbling dork stereotype? He even needs Colvin to translate some perfectly obvious expressions for him. Please.<BR/><BR/>That said, I'll end on a note of unseemly praise. I don't know how credit is actually distributed on the credits, but I think the teleplays credited to David Simon and/or Ed Burns are every bit as good as the ones credited to Dennis Lehane or Richard Price. In other words, they ain't half bad, and The Wire is one of the few TV shows that don't insult our intelligence. Now don't go getting a swelled head, David.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-1161366030774356162006-10-20T13:40:00.000-04:002006-10-20T13:40:00.000-04:00Surprised no one has yet remarked on the decline o...<I>Surprised no one has yet remarked on the decline of personality in the show's villains. Avon, Stringer, and even Wee Bey had personality to burn, as well as complicated private lives. </I><BR/><BR/>True in terms of the street crews, at least, tho I hope to see more attention on Bodie. I've enjoyed the developing character of Prop. Joe. Perhaps we'll see more of him in the rest of the season, given the interesting developments in his relations with Marlo and with Omar.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-1161303758340095442006-10-19T20:22:00.000-04:002006-10-19T20:22:00.000-04:00Surprised no one has yet remarked on the decline o...Surprised no one has yet remarked on the decline of personality in the show's villains. Avon, Stringer, and even Wee Bey had personality to burn, as well as complicated private lives. By contrast, Marlo, Chris, and Snoop are boring sexless robots with no personality whatsoever. I can't even picture these homicidal androids having any kind of private life. I doubt this is an oversight by the creators, though. What do people think about this development?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-1161246911944681682006-10-19T04:35:00.000-04:002006-10-19T04:35:00.000-04:00That 2255 thing had me wondering big time. Thanks...That 2255 thing had me wondering big time. Thanks for explaining it. <BR/><BR/>That is _Classic_ regarding the scene with the 'real-life Omar' character. It's one of the things I love about this show, like using the actors they did for Snoop and The Deacon. Just great.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-1161242079736003432006-10-19T03:14:00.000-04:002006-10-19T03:14:00.000-04:00Yeah, I did appreciate how lightly Simon & Co. sli...Yeah, I did appreciate how lightly Simon & Co. slipped that little scene in there (i.e., Rawls in the gay bar). Blink and you missed it. <BR/><BR/>What I'm curious about is whether the writers had conceived of Rawls as a closeted gay man from the very beginning, or whether it only later occurred to them to reveal him as such. Perhaps David Simon, if he's still reading this thread, might be so kind as to clue us in.<BR/><BR/>I'm so glad that the writers haven't done anything too obvious or corny with this revelation (like having Rawls's sexuality being used to blackmail him or something). It's just there for us to ponder or dismiss as we wish, casts an interesting light on some of his previous and subsequent behavior, and adds a little more depth to a secondary character.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-1161238755886475522006-10-19T02:19:00.000-04:002006-10-19T02:19:00.000-04:00Anonymous said... "Yes, that skin mag scene popped...Anonymous said... <BR/>"Yes, that skin mag scene popped right out at me. I took it as a combination of "bullshit posturing" and sly inside joke for the diehards. It's been kind of a running theme throughout the series, from the very beginning. You probably also noticed that Rawls is always deriding his underlings as "cocksuckers" and making crude "heterosexual" jokes and analogies about feeling up tits, etc. The gentleman doth protest too much, methinks."<BR/><BR/>I think you're right on with Rawls and his "heterosexual protest." On season 3,I'm sure my eyes weren't deceiving me when Rawls was shown for a split second in the gay club that Brother Mouzzone and his assistant frequented in search of Omar. It was a subtle gester that that the average eye wouldn't catch unless paying close attention.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-1161228985251357492006-10-18T23:36:00.000-04:002006-10-18T23:36:00.000-04:00Alstair-I read Cutty's remarks to Michael in a sim...Alstair-<BR/>I read Cutty's remarks to Michael in a similar way. He realized -- on the night of the fight when he tried to drop Michael off at home -- that Michael is scared of being alone with an older man, probably because he was abused. I'm not sure that Michael's gay but clearly Cutty is trying to make Michael feel comfortable around him.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-1161213440551296962006-10-18T19:17:00.000-04:002006-10-18T19:17:00.000-04:00Yes, that skin mag scene popped right out at me. I...Yes, that skin mag scene popped right out at me. I took it as a combination of "bullshit posturing" and sly inside joke for the diehards. It's been kind of a running theme throughout the series, from the very beginning. You probably also noticed that Rawls is always deriding his underlings as "cocksuckers" and making crude "heterosexual" jokes and analogies about feeling up tits, etc. The gentleman doth protest too much, methinks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-1161206272981375712006-10-18T17:17:00.000-04:002006-10-18T17:17:00.000-04:00If you are referring to last year's "revelation", ...If you are referring to last year's "revelation", I am in the know. His motives are still sort of unclear to me I suppose.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-1161199454955678142006-10-18T15:24:00.000-04:002006-10-18T15:24:00.000-04:00There are so many great moments for this show that...There are so many great moments for this show that I could write about it all day long...<BR/><BR/>Anyway, I found the scene with Rawls perusing the girly mag absolutely hilarious. It was one of those moments where you would HAVE to be a diehard to "get it" which then makes the piece all the more "titillating."Waset - writer.truthseeker.part-time security guardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05944194681960676624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-1161198507821609692006-10-18T15:08:00.000-04:002006-10-18T15:08:00.000-04:00I am surprised no one has mentioned this (at least...I am surprised no one has mentioned this (at least I think no one has, maybe it happened last week?) but Rawls flipping through Landsman's skin rag? Was that bullshit posturing? Or was he curious as to what certain straight people read and the appeal it might have? Or was it a half-joke on the part of the writing staff? I was not totally clear on why that might have happened.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com