Comments on: Today’s Civics Lesson from The Wire

By: no longer blind

no longer blind — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:08:13 +0000

“It also would serve as an excellent text for a course on how whites acting in a spirit of righteous indignation use the law selectively to wreck the lives of Afro Americans.”

Watch the entire series and then tell me how this reductionist lazy thinking does not jibe at all with the show’s overarching and true message: “legal” and “illegal” institutions rule the United States and, regardless of race, creed, gender, etc., they use and discard people, cities, and the nation without a second thought. And they will continue to do so until they are forced to stop.

So act accordingly. I would start with Omar’s mindset and go from there.

By: Cvnk

Cvnk — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:09:30 +0000

I’m curious as to why you exclude the 5th season? Did you really think it was that bad or do you just think it doesn’t contain a worthwhile lesson in civics?

Personally I don’t think I would exclude any season as I thought they were all great (even though S2 was a little frustrating at first it was still great drama).

By: Rhayader

Rhayader — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:19:32 +0000

I watched the first episode and wasn’t impressed.

Yeah that’s actually almost to be expected with this show — it’s so dense and interwoven that a single stand-alone episode does little to draw in newcomers. Before you write it off though, you really should watch the whole first season. If you still aren’t impressed, fair enough. But my guess is you’ll be addicted.

By: josh

josh — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:34:27 +0000

I watched the first episode and wasn’t impressed. Even as a Baltimoron the cops had accents so thick I couldn’t understand half of what they said.

By: Gonzo

Gonzo — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:38:45 +0000

There’s a dual-instructed course at the university I teach at that deals with The Wire. It’s taught in tandem by professors from both the English and Criminal Justice departments. It’s fucking brilliant — I just went and sat in as much as possible for the semester.

By: Carlyle Moulton

Carlyle Moulton — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:44:13 +0000

Yes the Wire is brilliant. Season 2 has just started on ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission) TV. This week episode 3 was broadcast. It acts as an excellent text for a course on how the war against drugs is really "the war against Niggers" and how it acts as the new "Jim Crow". I recommend that anyone who likes the wire or the books by its creators get hold of Nate Blakeslee's book on the 1999/2000 Tulia Texas cocaine travesty. http://www.amazon.com/Tulia-Cocaine-Corruption-Small-Texas/dp/158648219X. It also would serve as an excellent text for a course on how whites acting in a spirit of righteous indignation use the law selectively to wreck the lives of Afro Americans.

By: Another Brian

Another Brian — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:10:35 +0000

Greatest television series ever made.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:33:12 +0000

Over the last two weeks, I watched all five seasons. I’d planned to just watch an episode here or there, but I just couldn’t turn it off.

By: Rhayader

Rhayader — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:10:13 +0000

@Dan #3: Yeah I noticed the same thing after reading the books. My favorite cameo is DeAndre McCullough as Mouzone’s “Harper’s”-forgetting sidekick. Jay Landsman does a great job as Lt. Mello too, especially in season 3.

But yeah, the paper bag speech was kickass. It’s virtually impossible to pick a favorite character from a show like that, but Colvin would have to be up there.

By: Nick T

Nick T — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:33:04 +0000

There is a class like that Radley, I believe it’s being offered at Harvard University. Sadly it’s not required.

By: Nando

Nando — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:38:49 +0000

Simon makes some great points and Bunny’s paper bag speach is a great example. Watching this video makes me change my x-mas wish: I wish there were a Hampsterdam somewhere in the USA.

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:42:53 +0000

Funny, I have also been recently rewatching it. Between the time I first saw it and rewatching it now, I have read David Simon’s Homicide: A Year On the Killing Streets, and The Corner. Now that I pay more attention to them, its funny to see the small cameos of all the people I have read about that David Simon made connections with over the years with his books and stories; like the real Jay Landsman, Deandre Mcullogh, Derodd Hearns, Tyreeka Freamon, even caught Simon himself trying to interview Sobotka.

By: digamma

digamma — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:36:42 +0000

That speech is lifted nearly verbatim from Simon’s & Burns’s book The Corner.

By: Noel St. John

Noel St. John — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:17:28 +0000

That series ruined TV for me. Now I cannot watch any other show without comparing it to The Wire. Can’t wait to see David Simon’s next effort, Treme.