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The Wire

Like many across the blogs, I am a big fan of the HBO show "The Wire." My favorite discussions of the show generally spring from Matt Yglesias' blog, but today I like Ezra's discussion:

It's testament to the overpowering awesomeness of The Wire that despite being a deeply opinionated commentary on social, urban, and economic policy, it's basically beloved by the whole political spectrum. You already know the panoply of lefty bloggers who regularly recommend and rave over the show, but now Cato is recommending it as a stocking stuffer. Meanwhile, my personal Wire-watching group includes lefties, punk rock chefs, and hardcore libertarians. So I think the anecdotal evidence of pan-ideological appeal is ironclad. Which is a bit odd, given that the creators are, as best I can tell, revolutionary socialists. . . . Yet everyone likes the show. That's possibly because it's a masterful story, expertly told, and exquisitely acted. It may also be because it's little kinder to state intervention than personal initiative. While none of the problems would be solved by charter schools, the public schools aren't making progress either. Indeed, it may be the radical apocalypticism of The Wire's vision that makes it so palatable: By offering absolutely no hope, it evades arguments over solutions.

Pessimism is what "The Wire" is all about. For some reason, the drama of futility attracts me. And this is as close to a criminal law post as I will do.

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  • Display: Sort:
    Pessism? The Wire (none / 0) (#1)
    by mreyn on Mon Dec 11, 2006 at 05:50:42 PM EST
    What do you mean by "pessimism"? that is expecting the worst?  The portrayal of reality? I don't get it. You can find nothing in this extraordinary series but that?

    Far more real than reality TV (none / 0) (#2)
    by Aaron on Mon Dec 11, 2006 at 09:33:12 PM EST
    Fabulous show, I was slow to warm to The Wire because of its subject matter, but after watching this season, perhaps the best yet, I have to say that at the moment it is easily the smartest show on TV, comparable to Deadwood or Rescue Me in its quality of writing and acting.

    For anyone who is interested in seeing how the street drug world on the East Coast operates, or in seeing the dirty underbelly of city government politics and the interaction with law enforcement, or how crimes actually get solved and how police departments function, or what's happening in inner-city schools today, this is the show for you. It's the real deal without sugarcoating or embellishment.  The realities of life portrayed in The Wire are stark and cold, but at the same time engrossing and compelling.  The show goes places where others fear to tread.

    What? (none / 0) (#4)
    by Patrick on Tue Dec 12, 2006 at 03:51:19 PM EST
    It's TV, not reality...

    Parent
    Not Reality (none / 0) (#5)
    by squeaky on Tue Dec 12, 2006 at 05:14:52 PM EST
    Good point Patrick. Reality is much worse. They have to sanitize it a bit for tv comsumption.

    Parent
    Sorry, I don't watch it... (none / 0) (#3)
    by JHFarr on Tue Dec 12, 2006 at 10:57:32 AM EST
    I have, though. Used to live near Baltimore, too.

    The thing is, I've never understood "engrossing and compelling" as reasons to let something into one's consciousness that make one feel broken and ugly inside. So much that passes for entertainment falls into this category, and I just look the other way. If I slit your throat on national TV, millions would watch, and my contribution to  co-creating the universe would be what, exactly? Engrossing, absolutely, and the point???

    The shadow in my own soul is every bit as dark, and I work every day to integrate the whole of everything I am. If promoting and watching portrayals of "reality" like "The Wire" helps some of us to find our way home, then more power to HBO. I've watched the show, and I applaud the quality of the production and congratulate everyone involved.

    I'm certain my remarks will be misinterpreted as promoting "feel good" entertainment, though that couldn't be further from the mark. Things like this just don't help me any more, you know? And maybe I'm not the only one.

    Amen (none / 0) (#6)
    by jondee on Wed Dec 13, 2006 at 06:43:25 PM EST
    JH - Been there for awhile myself. The vicarious experience of "gritty realism" is for those who  havnt experienced it enough firsthand and in full consciousness; either within or out-in-the-world. If you have, you find that you dont have much    time for this kind of thing.