Farewell To The Wire

The Wire, one of the great (and there are two), television dramas of the 20th century, aired its final episode on Sunday night. I was one of about three people on earth who watched the show, but I considered myself lucky to have had the privilege of doing so. It was a privilege not because Howard's dorms get HBO, but because The Wire was first and foremost, a Black show, about Black people, and on that level, it was an unparalleled success.

I know this subject is tired, but it bears repeating. In 90% of television shows and movies as well, Blacks are only welcome if they're clowns, criminals, or nurturing and nonthreatening. The Wire did feature the criminals; the show began as a parable about the failed war on drugs, and it presented many Black youth slinging rock and junk, as well as the cops trying to stop them. In this sense, it was conventional, and in this sense it did reinforce the trope that the only way to get serious Blacks faces on screen, is if they're playing cops and robbers.

Creator David Simon and others, to their credit, took that basic premise though and expanded upon it to become so much more. They shot a show for five years with an overwhemingly Black class, and this cast was representational in a fictionalized way, of the variety and nuance that all HUMAN BEINGS share. Some are good, some are bad. Some are stupid, some are brilliant. Some are rich, some are poor. Some are capable of change, and some are not. All are at times, contradictory. It was a show that exhibited as all great drama does, the many different kinds of people in this world.

It had respect for its audience and respect for the people it portrayed. You don't find that a lot. I'll miss that honesty, courage, and risk in a medium not known for these attributes. Guess there's nothing much to do now except wait for another Wire to come along. That, or try and write one yourself.

Posted by: Hannibal
Photo: thisdistractedglobe.com