I have been listening to a lot of podcasts lately. I really like listening in on a good conversation. The problem is I cannot listen to podcasts and have the ability to write my material at the same time. So I needed to get back to listening to more music. I can write while listening to music even if it has nothing to do with what I am in the midst of writing.
I found the soundtrack to the TV series The Wire. A good soundtrack can add another layer to show’s storyline. A good soundtrack should contain music from artists for the most part you never heard of. It should also not be limited to one genre of music. This is especially true for a weekly television series. It is just another way to be drawn into a story. So this is the album I have been listening to heavily this week.
I also find it helps to get ideas flowing again when I watch shows that grab my attention.
I also know my television watching habits are not the normal. I do not have cable so I have to catch shows when they are released on DVD. Or I am able to see them streaming on the Internet. If I am into a show I prefer to watch 3-4 episodes in row. I also tend to gravitate to shows that are not the typical network affair. I want to be engrossed into a show’s storyline. I realize most people want to watch television where they can just “veg out” in front of a screen. The last thing, they want to do after a long day is engaging their minds. Ironically, these are the same people who complain that there is nothing but “shit” on TV. The networks will continue with success peddling out the “shit” when they have a passive audience.
Here is the first scene ever for the show and its theme song.
That scene set the tone for the series as a whole.
The theme song is Down in the Hole written by Tom Waits. Here it is performed by the Blind Boys of Alabama. I think the use of a Tom Waits song here is appropriate. His music usually tells the tale of people on the fringes of society. CLICK HERE for a concert performed by Tom Waits himself.
If you take the novels The Tale of Two Cities and Crime and Punishment then set them in modern day America you would probably get the show The Wire. This story is set in the city of Baltimore. It follows the ongoing saga of drug dealers and the cops trying to stop them. The show lasted for five seasons. Over the course of the series, the show points out how crime, law enforcement, politics, education, real estate, welfare, and the media are all intertwined. The story of all these aspects of society is more about a game of “cat and mouse”. The other challenge to show is that things are not “wrapped with a pretty bow” at the end of each episode. The show storyline also operates with that infamous “gray area”. It tells its own story and what you take out of it is on you. This show is counter to ones like Law and
Order. That is a show that clearly establishes the line between the good guys and the bad guys. At the end of the hour, everything is wrapped up and the good guys win and the bad guys lose. This is how things should be in the world. The Wire is almost filmed as a pseudo-documentary for it shows you how things are. It also gives no firm answers while at the same time asking a lot of questions. The characters in this show are also well thought out. Too many TV shows have characters that are generic and fit to play a certain stereotype. I would tell you more about them but I would hate to spoil it for anyone who has not seen this show yet.
This show also deserves its title The Wire because it does have a current of electricity within its storyline. And I have watched it through a couple of times and I am still discovering different aspects within it. In the end, what you take from this show is on you.
Take a chance and find out why characters like McNulty, Omar, Prop Joe, Bunk, Lester and Stringer (to name a few) are intriguing.
This show was created by David Simon who also wrote the books Homicide: A Year of Killing on the Streets and The Corner. These books were real life tales of people in Baltimore that will make you reconsider your outlook on what is plaguing society. Each of the books was adapted for television. Plus after reading these books you can see what the basis became for The Wire
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I have said it to many peope, I will say it here, The Wire is the best thing television ever gave to society and one of the strongest narratives since The Count Of Monte Christo. People dismiss televisual images as trivial, because they see them everyday, but The Wire is more than that. Your analogies to Dickens & Dostoevsky are also appropriate, it’s a social tale of moral ambiguity. The character of Omar being the cornerstone of that whole problematic.
My favorite characters over the years were Lester, Slim Charles, Omar, Chris, Avon, Marlo, McNulty & Daniels. I encourage all of your readers to give a good amount of their time to this show.
You are right that this is is a show of moral ambiguilty. And that may scare many people away from this show. This world wants good and evil clearly defined in a TV show or even a movie for the most part. However, I think this show was very brave to let the viewer make up their own mind as to who is what.
Omar was one the best characters on the show. I like how he had his own code of conduct where he only went after those in the”game” and not innocent civilians. He knew how to handle his shotgun and didn’t go shooting indiscriminately.
I also was sympathetic towards Bubbles. He had a good heart but sadly was caught up in the life of a junkie. In other shows, this character would have been just another stock character only there to keep kicking him down.
I like how Lester character made extra money by making doll furniture. This showed he has patience and eye for detail. He was the perfect man to break the code the dealers were using on the phone taps.
Bunny was a good cop who tried to deal with the drug users in a more direct matter and it cost him. And it cost him again in what he tried to the next season in the schools. That is hard season’s story arch that followed the fate of the four boys.
Cutty trying to go from convict to dealer then giving it up to teach boxing to kids as a way to redemption.
I could go on. This story has so many layers to it. Everytime I watch this show I find another detail I missed. It is a show to discover and rediscover.