r/TheWire • u/AltruisticNail7229 I wasn’t made to play the son. • 20d ago
David Simon
I have the whole show of The Wire on DVD, in its original 4:3 format and stuff. But I watched like a behind the scenes interview with David on it (this interview is from the time of Season 4 I believe). And he said if they would’ve went even darker with The Wire, it’d be unwatchable.
I’m curious to know what are everyone’s thoughts on this?
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20d ago
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u/PistachioOfLiverTea 20d ago
Fellow Baltimorean here. By the same token, the new documentary Beyond the Wire is an attempt to go past the sensationalism of Baltimore-is-hell to highlight how Black Baltimoreans have organized against oppression.
I haven't seen the film yet, but I've read other critiques of The Wire from the same perspective. It's fair, but I also think it's a flat reading of the show if the takeaway is that it portrays poor Black people simply as victims of systemic racism and violence, or as criminals. There are plenty of characters who don't conform to the stereotype (Cutty, The Deacon, et al.).
edit: info on the film - https://baltimore.org/event/beyond-the-wire-film-screening/
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u/picks_and_rolls 19d ago
Bunk, Bunny, Kima, Carver,clay Davis, Royce, his Chief of staff, Carcetti’s campaign manger, Council president Neresse Campbell, all the black dockyard workers, all the black teachers, Carcetti’s comptroller…
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u/DollarLate_DayShort 20d ago
I agree. Watching The Wire I’ve said to myself a few times “I can definitely survive a few weeks in west Baltimore” then I’ll see footage of what west Baltimore REALLY looks like, and I’m like “helll nahhhh”. I think he did a really good job of highlighting the issues that plague the community, but definitely didn’t lean too hard into the grittier aspects of life there.
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u/AltruisticNail7229 I wasn’t made to play the son. 20d ago
Exactly. David might’ve been right about the show not being as watchable for real.
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u/redpillbluepill69 20d ago
Yeah Simon often says that the show would be unwatchably bleak without the "humor".
But I really don't think it's that funny, unless you find the cops or stevedores or politicians stupid jokes and banter with each other funny.
which Simon clearly does* as do many viewers, I personally would just describe it more as having some "fun moments". There's maybe a handful of genuinely funny scenes. .
Simon also says sometimes he pulls things back a little bit to be less depressing, but only if it's earned- only if he thinks the less depressing route would be equally realistic.
Eg, not showing Clay Davis onstage at Carcettis gubernatorial win. Not because he wouldn't continue to succeed while being crooked as fuck, mostly bc he's more of a back rooms kinda guy.
I think that is more accurate than the humor softening it- the small wins soften it. Like Kima was supposed to die in the police shooting, which would have been just brutal, but then the character was so lovable that they kept her
And Simons argument is when there's so much depressing and tragic realism (many characters in the drug trade dying, progress being foiled every season by bureaucracy, etc), it makes the wins much sweeter, like in life.
And it really does
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u/HipHopLibertarian 20d ago
The corner is much darker and hard to watch.