Comments for Watching The Wire

Comment on What do you take away from the show? by Johanna

Johanna — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 00:19:27 +0000

hi Jason et al,

I’m teaching a class on surveillance in cinema and tv in the fall and want to spend a week or two on The Wire. Can you suggest some readings that are appropriate for an upper-level seminar, especially ones that discuss urban surveillance?

thanks!
Johanna

Comment on Course Info by Na sala de aula com Don Draper e Homer Simpson | O CAFÉ

Na sala de aula com Don Draper e Homer Simpson | O CAFÉ — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 21:39:22 +0000

[...] Middlebury College, em Vermont, a disciplina Urban American & Serial Television: Watching The Wire faz parte do [...]

Comment on Episodes 52 and 53: “Unconfirmed Reports” and “Not For Attribution” by Sofia Zinger

Sofia Zinger — Fri, 14 May 2010 05:04:03 +0000

I think one of the most important scenes from this episode is the scene between Sydnor and Lester in the office. They are looking at the bulletin board, as we see people do through the course of the series. Lester is making connections in his head, and Sydnor asks him, “Career case?” Lester hardly hesitates in responding, “Baby, I could die happy.” Lester seems to lay pretty low for a lot of the series, but, when he’s on a good case that he’s intrigued by, he is hooked. For Lester, it’s all about the case solving; what is most important to him is the process of detective work. Unlike McNulty, the result is not as important to him. It’s not the ends, it’s the means, and this scene epitomized this aspect of personality.

Comment on What do you take away from the show? by Tom Ladeau

Tom Ladeau — Sat, 08 May 2010 17:02:35 +0000

I meant to stress the word “chance” in my last post. Success is not by any means guaranteed, as many of the characters demonstrate.

Comment on What do you take away from the show? by Tom Ladeau

Tom Ladeau — Sat, 08 May 2010 17:00:47 +0000

Something I took away from the show, particularly the last episode was contentment at the same time as cynicism. The show seems to say, “this is the way the America works, and its messed up, but you just need to do what you can as an individual.” The show is not entirely negative, and the individual success stories at the end portray this. Simon said in the Bill Moyers interview that the show is pessimistic about systems/institutions, but optimistic about individuals. The cyclical nature of each season and the show as a whole suggest that nothing really changes much, the systems stay the systems, “the king stay the king.” The show seems to be saying that individuals cant change the system, but can make changes in their own lives, stay true to themselves, and have a chance of finding meaning/contentment/peace in a world full of these corrupt systems.

Comment on What do you take away from the show? by Addison DiSesa

Addison DiSesa — Fri, 07 May 2010 20:47:51 +0000

As I was doing research for my final project, I came across a study that included an introduction imploring scholars to focus on the successes rather than the failures of our institutions. Clearly, “The Wire” focused mostly on the failures that exist in American cities. There were, however, several “successes” (i.e. Namond, Bubbles, McNulty?). Somehow, I think that we need to prop up these achievers. The newspaper story on Bubs is, I believe, a way that we can draw attention to those who embody hope in our society. A black kid who learns how to speak in a grammatically correct way should not be labeled “white” just as a white kid who does not speak in perfect grammar should not be labeled “white trash.” We should not be complacent and accept these discriminatory tendencies. Those who discriminate or label people should be ostracized.

In our community at Middlebury, we have work to do in order to achieve a more perfect community. Hippies should not label bros in the same way that bros should not label crunchy kids. It sounds silly to say (or write) but the fact of the matter is, we always find ourselves placing one another in categories. As soon as we stop labeling each other, then we can stop labeling people who we never see except for on television in a fictional context. This has been a rambling post and it certainly smacks of idealism, but if we cannot strive for an ideal world then we may as well accept the status quo.

Comment on What do you take away from the show? by Andrew Ostroff

Andrew Ostroff — Thu, 06 May 2010 05:34:18 +0000

1. We cannot trust large institutions. Every single institution presented in this series was corrupt on some level, and this is a disturbing reality. That said, it is a realistic truth that we must accept. Thus, instead of looking towards instituions for solutions to our problems, we must often rely on individual acts of kindness and altruism.

2. There is a dominant culture in society, and those that do not possess the cultural capital required in order to relate to this dominant culture are bound for failure. This most often requires an individual that belongs to this dominant culture taking individuals from minority cultures, and helping them “move up.” Stringer strives to enter into this dominant culture (his desire to receive an education supports this idea), and Namond, it seems, succeeds with the help of Bunny Colvin. Interestingly, this takeaway translates very well to the one mentioned above.

3. This course reinforced why we must study television. I really don’t feel as though any further explanation is necessary here, simply because there are to many things to consider that have to do with the relevance and importance of The Wire.

4. Selfishness rarely makes you any friends, but it gets you places in life. I think of Rawls, Valcheck, Landsman, Marlo, Avon, and Levy in particular.

5. Humans do not have the capacity to understand and internalize the potential consequences of the decisions they make in life. McNulty, Lester, and Colvin lose their jobs, Kima looses her girlfriend, Dukie succumbs to drugs, Randy suffers in the group home, the list goes on and on…

I know there are many more to add to this list, but I think this is a good start!

Comment on Episode 60: “-30-” by Alex Oberg

Alex Oberg — Thu, 06 May 2010 02:20:33 +0000

Interesting catch. I actually didn’t notice any of those “repeat” scenes until I watched the montage again. But I think they work. Maybe these flashbacks are subtly reminding us how far the show has come. For example it’s encouraging us to reflect on the Snot Boogie scene again– 60 hours later. And the D teaching chess scene… now that we’ve seen all three of the chess scene characters get killed, doesn’t that put D’s assertion that they were merely pawns, in a new light?

The last scenes of the montage are what struck me the most– quick close-up shots of random Baltimoreans. While we have been focusing so much on what The Wire has to say about institutions, what really matters in Baltimore are its people. And there are so many people who’s stories we haven’t heard.

Comment on Episode 60: “-30-” by Matt Hedgpeth

Matt Hedgpeth — Tue, 04 May 2010 17:49:56 +0000

I agree with Sofia that the closing scenes and last montage were rather effective in helping to bring the show to a proper close. Interestingly, this last montage as a whole contained the only other examples of flashback in the entire series (and as we now know, the first example was HBO working against the creative decisions of Simon and his production team).

Towards the end of the shots of “projected” lives of the characters––a sense of the world continuing––there are also shots of scenes from past episodes including the children on the fire wagon from the opening “Snot Boogie” scene, Wallace and Poot going to make the call reporting their sights on Brandon, Herc Carver and Prezbo drinking under the bridge before their raid on the high-rises, the empty Barksdale detail room, Beadie’s port patrol, and D teaching chess. I’m curious as to what people think the show might be saying by reintroducing these particular scenes to the conscious viewer?

Comment on Episode 60: “-30-” by Emily McCabe

Emily McCabe — Tue, 04 May 2010 12:51:22 +0000

In general Loved the final episode! Favorite moment hands down: watching Bubbles eat upstairs with his sister and her daughter and watching him reforge the bonds of trust with those he cares about. However, Jimmy’s speech to that weasel in the newspaper office and Levy’s final scene with Herc were also pretty classic. Of course there were a number of disappointing surprises. Sidnor? Who would have predicted he would be the new McNulty to rise from the ashes. One can only imagine the lovable havoc he will wreak inside the department. Carcetti Lee, Leadership for all of Maryland? That scum should have crashed and burned outside the states house, or at least experienced a little more discomfort. The ending with Rawls in Annapolis seemed a little too neat. Valchek? What is Nerice thinking? On another note the fake funeral was cruel. I freaked out and started scrambling for ways one of Baltimore’s finest could have been felled in the line of duty. After I got over the shock I enjoyed Jays speech in the bar which encapsulated the love hate relationship of audiences toward Jimmy quite well especially as we knew him during the fifth season.