The Wire

This post has been a long time coming. It was recently encouraged by my buddy Josh. Josh, consider this your shout-out. You're now as famous as I am.

The way I like to talk about The Wire is that it's more than just the best show ever made, because I feel like it is the obligatory response for everyone. It ranks #85 on Stuff White People Like, as if everyone is "required to like it". Whenever anyone talks about it, all that's said is that it's "the best show ever". That's such a cop out. Let's talk about why.

People talk about literature, art, and music as "classic", "original" and "a masterpiece" but we don't typically see that for television. Some movies are starting to be given the same credentials, but television shows don't seem to be given the same praise. I believe The Wire is truly broadcast literature, art, and a social commentary on the state of failing American cities like Baltimore. It's an original story told in a masterful way that is engaging and captivating through the entire series.

I think The Wire speaks to the evolution of TV as a recognized medium for truly stimulating entertainment. It's not just the boob-tube anymore, where you can sit and lose brain cells while watching Jersey Shore. We're now creating shows that capture your attention and are thought-provoking. Shows like Lost, Mad Men, The Sopranos, etc. that are more than just the 48-60 in each episode. Of course, if you sit around and watch True Life, you might not be making any serious mental progress.

Most TV shows or movies are created based off something else - usually a book or "based on a true story." The Wire isn't that at all. While it draws some of it's characters based on real-people (mainly the criminals), it's an original story, which makes it that much more interesting in my mind. I get tired of movies where critics say "the book was better" - although it is usually true - and enjoy the fact that The Wire has no book component. It is it's own story. Like I said, we're seeing that developing more and more with TV, and I think it's great. You can't say the same for movies, as we're seeing Shrek 17, a re-boot of Spiderman (which didn't that JUST come out??) and real original movies like Piranha 3D.

What makes The Wire so excellent is it's originality in storytelling. Everything is projected as "real". There is no extra TV shenanigans to make the story feel like it was made for TV - no music, no necessary romances (because that usually ruins shows anyway), no hero that always wins (i.e. Jack Bauer), they don't dumb down the language to a 4th grade reading level, etc. The Wire is REAL. You don't see that in most shows. They talk like real people talk in Baltimore. Because it's HBO, there is no censoring of the content. They portray the police and politicians as corrupt and inept as the criminals - which is very believable to happen within your own local government. It's a show you have to actually watch. You can't have it on in the background. You have to put down the laptop and cell phone and focus for 60 straight minutes. In the 2010 ADHD tech world, that's incredibly difficult for anyone to do.

The show's true focus is on Baltimore, which used to be a thriving city for the working-class, has now become a broken, rundown city, full of empty rowhouses. There's not as much money as there used to be, so people turn to drugs, which leads to violence. In 2009 alone there were over 230 murders in the city. The reality is that most of these people are African-Americans who have fallen through the cracks. The city is falling apart, and The Wire tells the story about how it's citizens, weather they be drug dealers, police officers, politicians, young children, the working-class, etc. must deal with the consequences. The show doesn't portray Baltimore in a good light, because there isn't much good light to shine on (outside of Inner Harbor of course). You could say that about other cities in this country as well - Detroit comes to mind following the fall of the major motor corporations - who seem to be making somewhat of a comeback.

The Wire depicts an all-too-brutal view of how crime operates. How the police are held back by the judicial system and the law to clean the streets. Even if they were close to conviction, the crime crews scare any witnesses by threatening murder. It's an unwritten rule on the street that I personally don't know but have heard of - nobody snitches, because you'll be beaten up, or worse. It's seen from the very first episode, where a man stands up against the crime organization in court, and soon after is found dead. Most crime shows don't go through all of the legal procedures and show how many things can go wrong, which leads to the continuing crime.

The also can be said for within the police scheme. Do you really know how your local Homicide division solves crimes? Do you know what goes on in your local city hall? That's what The Wire depicts - things we've never really witnessed but is essential to our safety and survival in cities.

Even the portrayal of the newspaper - how they are failing and have to cut costs. An institution like a newspaper that represents the basis of American independence is losing money and falling apart. Our independence is dying.

In Season Four, the focus is the educational system, and how inner-city schools struggle to teach the children because of the violence and disruption even in grade schools. These kids have very little parental supervision and support, and are almost forced to hustle for any money. Their childhood innocence is stripped right away. The Wire makes you sympathize with the drug dealers, who literally don't know any other way to succeed unless they are out on the corner - and have accepted that they will die young while on the corner. It shows how the American political system has failed these people. These people don't vote, because it doesn't matter to them. They don't pay taxes, won't be getting any Social Security, etc.

Since 9/11, the government's focus has been on the war on terror, not the war on drugs, which is allowing the drug trade to grow and not have the same federal watch dogs as it used to. It now falls on the local police, who used to just deal with typical murders. The war on drugs is the same as the war on terror, but it's happening on our home turf. It's unspoken amongst politicians and the upper-class, but it's real and it's out there. People in Baltimore are terrorized to stand up in court because of the threat of death. How is that very different than what's going on in the Middle East? We're losing both wars, and not committing enough to work on it.

Then there are the characters that The Wire has created that all feel like protagonists fighting against each other. The cop who would do anything to see them win - McNulty - and how he doesn't do things by the book. The number-two drug dealer - Stringer - who tries to turn drug dealing into a true business coalition so everyone can deal peacefully. The modern day Robin Hood - Omar - who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. The Union president - Sobotka - who turns to drug trade to see his Union stay afloat. The homeless addict trying to get by and be clean. The kids trying to grow up in school, sling, and prove their street cred to their elders. None of these people feel like a true "bad guy". Rather, they are all trying to succeed within the limitations with which they are given, and don't know any other way. You root for all of them, but know that they all can't succeed because of the system within which they operate. They all are full of hope to succeed, but all fail.

The plight of The Wire is that it never really received the recognition it deserved. Never won an Emmy or any real distinguished award. It was never given the chance, maybe because it felt too dreary and was depressing at some points. I'm not sure. It doesn't need the awards to prove it's excellence. It's slowly caught on and more and more people are watching it - even though it began over 8 years ago now. It's losing it's cool as "the best show that no one's seen or heard of" and transitioning to "the best show ever made". I always am in awe of how original and real the story feels. I remember the first time I saw it in 2005 and thought that this was groundbreaking and exciting on an entirely different level than anything I had seen. When a friend asks me for a show to watch, my first response is The Wire, and I'm jealous of the experience they have for watching it the first time. The story is still as good later on, but the excitement is lost.

The show will be the best ever for a while, and look forward towards more shows that tell an original story like The Wire once did.

I've been trying to think of a quote from the show to end this post with, and there are so many to choose from, so I'm going to go with a cop-out quote that summarizes the entire show: In this, all the pieces matter - Lester Freamon.