How The Wire Uses Character Moments to Convey Its Themes
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Slim Charles staying loyal to Prop Joe gets me in the heart
It was really cool. How about Cheese selling out his own damn family...
...Slim coulda waited until Cheese paid his initiation fee for the connect before exacting his payback for Joe, just sayin'.
True that.
Slim Charles stayed loyal to Avon until there was no more Barksdale organization. Bodie was the only one left. Avon in jail, Stringer was dead. Wee Bay locked up. D dead. So he went to Prop Joe because it was the smart move. Either die for nothing or hitch your wagon to the current boss. But you're right. He was loyal to anyone he served.
Cheese acting like Donald Trump didn't help either.
What about the scene in Season 1 when those cops were trying to move the desk into the room in the basement? 2 cops on either end of the doorway, both groups pushing against each other, with the group in the room totally unaware that the desk is supposed to go inside and not outside of the room. I thought that that scene was a great metaphor illustrating the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the Baltimore PD in their fight against drugs.
Kory Green you’re absolutely right. But it was a little on the nose, for the wire.
@@IDONTLIKETHATSHIT Well, it wasn't in this video and this was my first video I've watched by him.
Drug war? It's like sweeping leaves on a windy day...
@@bielugaful Melvin... a real B-more OG. They got the idea for the pay phone code from him. That was a great line.
yes sir... it also shows how people we expect to help don't communicate and just become a part of the problem instead of helping and these problems are not just in BMore.
"It's Cutty, right?"
"Nah, man. Dennis."
Its hurts when they remember you from some image they design for themselves. I was just some hand to mouth ass nigga that understood the only thing the game respects is going harder faster.
Seeing him as Z on Its Always Sunny is jarring after seeing his redemption as Dennis lol
That scene put the biggest smile on my face
It's the Dickensian aspect.
that was Gus, making fun of, I forgot his name
@@natevirtual The chief editor guy, because he said it to him earlier.
While that was used as a glib description and later a joke, there IS something positively Dickensian about The Wire.
@@johnathonhaney8291 Yes, David Simon is a former Baltimore Sun journalist and I think Season 5 was his exposé.
🤣🤣
i adore the wire in a very personal way because i was like Bubbles,almost 10 yrs clean now
edit : 11 years now in a few days, i'll come back when i hit 13 years and four months ;)
thanks for all the kind words and all those upvotes, i didnt have a clue over 700 people liked this comment.
Well done on that bud - you rock
Congrats man 👍👍
what can you relate to in the wire? all of it, some of it? what a unique perspective
Congrats, really. That's an incredible accomplishment. It's very inspiring, to me at least. And not just because it is relevant to my life; it could and should be inspiring to anyone.
keep going brother
It ended more than ten years ago, but I think it's more than passed the proof of time. Indeed, today it's a greater show than it was back in 2008
anybody who watched seriously will rewatch until death. this material is so complex it cannot be grasped at once. i watch boys in the hood daily. some films demand attention. the wire is like that
@@samuelmuiruri4704 Probably because it does what a good novel of the Charles Dickens/Andrew Vachss variety does, be more about the dysfunctional world around the story than the actual story itself.
@@johnathonhaney8291 basically good art makes you see things like poverty, dysfunction,leadership etc that is why am mentioning boys n the hood, the godfather, it makes you to ask why do things happen this way? but like i said. David Simon is a genius, so no surprise, the guy kills it. his ability to tell stories is like dickens,Dostoevsky, mark twain etc ,. when ple say art is holding a mirror up to society they enable you to look at your self critically. the wire is a mirror that sees in front, behind, underground, above. it is not a simple thriller to entertain.
Johnathon Haney ah yes, the Dickensian aspect.
I would go as far as to say the greatest show of all time with the sopranos being number 2#
I always loved when Clay Davis ripped off Stringer and Avon's reaction was basically, "He's a politician. What did you expect to happen?"
No one ever points out that if Stringer hadn't been taken out, a week later Clay Davis would've been killed. Just one of those random luck things that keeps some people in the game.
That is the beauty of this show. The more watch, the more layers you unravel. This is my favorite show and the more I watch to more I pick up on the nuances of the show. I like your videos as it opened my eyes to some things I haven't picked up on. Makes me want to watch the series all over again.
i saw one silent scene where omar is casing a joint(will rob it later)two ladies come and find him, they are also casing the joint. nothing said, you see omar smile in recognition, ie we are both criminal gangs, no words, so subtle, the wire
If you DO want to watch it again, you can catch all five seasons on Amazon Prime.
I think I've watched the whole thing six or seven times. Once a year more or less. Nothing else scratches the itch for realness. (And I notice more and more the weird, standard TV Law and Order moments that HBO made them put into Season One.)
Some series have a higher rating on imdb, like Breaking Bad or GOT (just for the moment, wait and see), but for me this is, by far, the greatest TV show ever made
imdb be damned. the wire is the sh
Metacritic dude, this one is the Best by far
Time ultimately determines the winners. Poe and Lovecraft never got their fame until long after their respective deaths. Film noir wasn't identified as a film movement until the 1970s, two decades after the cycle had run its course. And OG Twilight Zone had to wait for the 1980s, syndication and the Sci-fi channel to earn its immortality. So the fact that people still talk of The Wire this far down the line says much about its longevity.
IMDB ratings dont mean much in 2019 same with rotten tomatoes, agenda ridden
I could not agree more.
The way they show Duquan “Dookie” and Bubbles stories at the end of the final episode was a great example of the balancing hope and cynicism. Duquan’s story broke my heart and it was awful to see him become a drug user. Obviously it’s realistic but no less sad. Bubbles being offered a place at his sisters table was uplifting and hopeful. Such an amazing show!
Duquan's arc was so sad. I wanted so hard for things to work out for him.
Love the analysis. Expertly done.
I love these videos because to me they prove that The Wire is kind of timeless. The story it tells happens in a moment in time, yeah, but the problems it tackles are timeless to any city. These videos give a lot to think about.
"Nothing in this world is more expensive than free." The Deacon
I watch the entire series at least once a year. Hell I'd watch for Bubbles journey alone
I recently watched and finished this series while trying to use it to tide me over between episodes of Game of Thrones. Obviously it didn't do a very good job, seeing as I tore through it in a couple of days, but I loved every second of it. (Ironically moreso than the episodes of Game of Thrones.) So imagine my surprise to find people still talking about it in 2019. Thanks for this video, man, it's great to still have attention paid to this landmark series in television.
Game of Dogshit
The show is probably the best police / institutional show ever done. Everything feels authentic and real, because it is. Everything character feels real, changes throughout the show a little, and is fleshed out. I remember vividly when Carcetti went to the statehouse to try and get funding for the schools (so he could actually DO what he said he wanted to do for the city)...before his greater aspirations for political office caused him to walk away. And, much like his advisor, I was so ashamed of him. And that was when you really get hit with the reasons things never change in the show really; it's just a perpetual cycle with different people continuing on the wheel. Even now, when I get to that point and I realize how much he could have helped that city if he had just acted on the advice of his "better angels" and gotten the funding, I get more upset with Littlefinger for what he did to Baltimore than what he did to all of Westeros.
OK...not really...Littlefinger is the single worst person on that continent.
@@ryanedwards7487 And the smartest, yet he got killed by garbage writing that knew jack shit about what to do with him and wanted to remove him out of the equation.
People will be talking about this after we are long dead just like people still talk about Shakespeare now
Legit. After the dogshit that was episode 3 I had to watch an old episode of the Sopranos to wash away the filth it left in my head, it was that fucking bad. I stopped watching GOT after that because honestly I couldn't give a shit what happened to any of the characters anymore. I'm glad there are well written shows like The Wire, Sopranos and True Detective for me to when other shows disappoint.
I watched The Wire for the first time only about six months ago. Having seen a lot of shows that had much more 'extravagant' finales, that of The Wire's initially felt odd, like nothing was resolved and there was no big victory or realization, just life happening and people moving on. But that's just the perfect way to end a story that was first and foremost about Baltimore.
Yeah, the victories on this show are always small ones. When a character gets righteously convicted in Season 2, the presiding judge gives a speech where he mentions how, for once, he's going home with the feeling that his job actually matters. If that sentiment isn't true to life, I don't know what is.
The Wire was not about Baltimore. It was about the United States.
What made The Wire so great was the depth of it’s characters. Even your secondary characters on that show were exquisite…most with more depth and substance than leading roles on other shows.
This narration is as good as the show. I love both. I liked how each season showed a different aspect of the social order and brought it all together at the end. This narration showed the parallels on each side. The show felt real because there were no true winners or losers and no absolute right of wrong way. There were some battles that were won and some that were lost but the war remained constant, like life really is.
Well put, that is exactly why I think The Wire will remain at the top as far as storytelling goes. The show really drives home how many layers of institution and bureaucracy are involved in creating the chaos of society, all woven so tightly that it can be hard to make a ripple of change. Corruption from top to bottom.
Devon Michael
Not only institutions and bureaucracy but people as well, who are the microcosms of the macro-society.
"If it's a lie, then we fight on that lie." The greatest TV series I have ever watched!
Slim Charles 2020
You can always tell which characters the writers like most, they get all the best lines. Omar, Slim, Lester and Daniels I think were for The Wire.
"Murder ain't no thing, but this soms assassination shit"
@@geordiejones5618 The thing about the old days, is they the old days.
And Slim puts cheese out when he's preaching the same thing.
@@AkshayMhatre Slim wasn't much for sentiment.
I just finished watching The Wire last week. I am so happy I finally started watching it this year. This video has added to my understanding of this series. Great job!
You know, after many times I have watched the show, I still learn more about it by talking to people and watching these videos. It both warms my heart that after 10 years, people seem to still be intersted, and saddens me that work of cinema such as the wire hasn't been made ever since. It's a perfect storm of characters, events and writers.
Many cinema authors today seem to be fixed and focued on the themes themselfs without adding enough substance to the actual story.
However I must strongly disagree with the sentiment that the end result of The Wire isn't entertainment. I mean, sure, the writers wanted to make a political and thought-provoking peice of art, which it is, however I must say that all the themes, the character drama, the political messages (which as you said aren't propagandistic), the way you could view the show from a collectivist point of view as well as an individualistic point of view, the acting, the writing, the world building, the realism as well as the suspence and many, many other elements of the show all add to the overall entertainment factor of the actual content on display. I say this, because, just because something requires attention of the viewer, and just because something is complex, that doesn't mean it isn't entertaining. I would argue the opposite, and I wish more screen writes attempted to replicate The Wire's style of writing.
Although, frist time I watched the wire, I was about 14, didn't understand english so well, couldn't understand most of what was happening, I still felt deeply invovled in the characters, because they ware so relatable and humanistic.
Don't mistake my comment for dislike, I love your videos man, and I hope you make more videos of The Wire, you are a true homie!
This show is so incredibly intelligent, my favorite show ever, hope to see something as good as this before i die!
Only other shows that came close to the WIre is The Expanse (it is Sci fi but the storytelling is similar to the Wire) and Gommora.
@@iljavija how's it similar?
What an awesome video dude, nicly done
The Wire is better than 99.99% of anything showed in tv hestory
how did you misspell history like that?
@@stephengrigg5988 he went to a Baltimore school
The "giving it away" line about money. I never realized until now that Clay Davis was corrupted by special interests the way the corner kids were corrupted by Marlo. I've probably watched the show a few times through and never noticed that until now. Just goes to show how awesome the wire is.
"Money don't have no owner's just spenders" show is the 🐐
The 🧀 stands alone
In that whole scene, Omar speaks almost exclusively in amazing, bad-ass, quotable one-liners.
"I don't know about cards, but I think these .45s be the full house."
"Hey yo banker, cash me out."
"Boy, you got me confused with a man who repeats himself."
Cutty getting back in the game and then telling Avon he wants to get out...I don't think I ever feared for a character's life so deeply than that moment.
Awesome look! I love the way parallel quotes are taken to show the mirroring examples of systematic dysfunction.
This is great analysis! I watched the Wire multiple times and never got the D’Angelo/ Cutty connection!
D was my fav character on the show too.
WHERE’S WALLACE STRING 😭😭😭
I absolutely loved part 1 and this was just as good. I see you've just gone past 100k, well done on all counts! Immediately subbed after part 1. I was also going to leave a dickish comment about unloyal not being a word but having looked it up I'm wrong 😬
Wow, it's great to see you here Mr. Crisis!
I woulda thought it would be disloyal….???
Fast became one of my most anticipated channels on TH-cam. I love your analysis! Another great video, thanks!
Started a re-watch of the whole series after your first vid, and I'm partway through Season 5 now... great stuff. You've got a new Patron.
I'm rewatching it as well. what I'm noticing more is the comedic element of the show. that shit has me rolling 🤣
@@reallitycheckk the scene in season 1 when McNulty and his partner are investigating Barksdales home and saying nothing but the F word is quite hilarious lol
@@stevangonzalez5908 true. and the gay innuendo between the two. "You know why i respect you Bunk? because when it was your turn to fuck me, you were gentle"
"I knew it was your first time. I wanted to make that shit special"
💀☠
Just watched all 3 parts of this essay - some of the best analysis of The Wire I've seen. You pointed out several things I'd missed, and made me want to watch it again. Thanks!
You put things I've always thought about The Wire into words so well, and you point out things I've never consciously noticed before, even though I've lost count of how many times I've watched this show through. Thank you so much for making these videos, they're fantastic.
WOW! This blew my mind! I’ve watched The Wire 3 times now & I’m 2 episodes from the finale on Sky Atlantic. I never saw the correlation between Burrell & Barksdale, or Deangelo & Cutty or any of the others! This is amazing man please part 3/4/5 and more 👏🏼👏🏼😉
Relishing these short but immaculately crafted analysis videos.
Glad that the best television series attracts the very best of what this platform has to offer.
Every time I wanna say “Sopranos is better”, the Wire is found to be one degree deeper. I need to rewatch with a notebook next time.
you are brilliant at making these videos. keep up the great work. I couldn’t be more excited for the next one.
May inspiration keep striking you. Excellent show analysis. This has the potential to be an epic long-running dissection and deconstruction of a show that's so complexly multi-faceted, mirror-like, and fractal that it creates endless possibilities for your series.
Slim Charles turned out to be the pawn that crossed the board.
I just want to say that out of my hundreds of subscriptions you are the first one I've turned on the notifications for. Great work!
Shout to prop Joe!
Great Analysis!! Made me realize Michael is Omar, Dookie is Bubbles and Namond is Bunny Colvin !! This series adds a new layer every time I see it
youre making me fall in love with the wire all over again. i appreciate this so so so much.
Bunny is right and would bring immense positive change to the US. The characters were so great I felt so many emotions with them all. Dookie's final scene breaks my heart every time like Cutty's/Namon's give me hope every time.
Over 10 years later and I'm still uncovering layers of this incredible show. Pure brilliance.
Characters as both mirrors and cycles. Damn I love this show! You’re making me want to watch it all over again. Thanks!
Just wanted to say thank you for these videos. Cant wait for the next one.
Your videos are Dope Tom. Keep it up. looking forward to the rest.
I've watched it three times all the way through in the last ten years. I take something new from it each time.
I literally finished the last episode yesterday. So excited to watch this.
I had to wait and am dissatisfied
at the end of the show when Marlo was at that fancy party , you could totally tell the difference between him and Stringer clear as day. Stringer was trying to pretend and become something he wasn't and Marlo knew right away that he didn't wanna Fake shit lol. This show was deep af and can't believe it took me so long to watch it.
Daaaaaamn I thought I understood the show after watching it 5 times thru. Mind 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
Thomas you are to TH-cam analysis videos what The Wire is to television.
Another amazing and insightful video, keep 'em coming :)
Because of THIS.... You have a new sub❤❤
I'm currently on Season II, and as many times as I've watched The Wire, I'm looking forward to seeing some of the things you mentioned!! When I decided to get a Firestick, set it up, and saw that they had the full seasons.... I haven't watched anything else!! Great analysis of such an iconic show to ever hit the tv screen!!
While I've seen a lot of breakdowns, and this is the most obvious that the wire portrays, is the good guys sometimes come off as the bag guys, and the bag guys come off as the good guys. The quote unquote bad guys, are just trying to make ends meet as they have fallen victim to their surroundings; while the good guys have to do bad and unsavory things to make ends meet, the "good guys" are human as well, and could have just as easily been part of the streets. Those directors show us constantly how close the two organizations are through character mirroring.
Job well done sir, i could tell you had a lot of fun making this, i would LOVE to see the same (kinda) content of the Sopranos. 🙏👍🤜🤛
You articulate why this show is the best of all time like I never can. Thank you for this video, it is wonderful!
Second season of the wire is the best storytelling I've ever seen on television.
Explain
@@fupalover The story is a true tragedy. It starts super slow but it comes together perfectly -- the last 2 episodes are amazing, probably my favorites of the entire show. Being the second season, it's the first "expansion" of the series, where it takes a step back and looks at the drug problem from a different, wider angle, and it does so superbly by showing us life and corruption on the shipping docks. I love the story of the Pollacks with Frank, Ziggy, Nick -- it all rings very real. The story of The Greek is very cool, too. IMO it's the best season. I rate them in this order 2, 1, 3, 4 and 5. Now, 2 and 1 are almost identical in quality, but I give the nod to season 2 because it's almost Shakespearean in style.
John Falcon Season 4 is too low (it’s the best season imo) but otherwise this is a great ranking
@Ryan Akwar No, I said season 2 and that's what I meant. Actually I think season 4 is the fourth best season in the series.
@Ryan Akwar You think season 5 is better than season 2? Maybe you didn't understand the show. Try watching it again with captions.
Just watched all five seasons - incredible show from beginning to end. Wish there was more.
This is the best analysis of the wire that I have seen on TH-cam
"If you come at the King, you best not miss. "
Great analysis mate. Lets give the wire the récognition it deserves
SO much to dig into in this show! Love your videos, keep ‘em coming!
the analysis is just so spot on for a show thats 12 years old, its all still relevant.
I didn't even peep certain scenes like that until you put this video together!! You're really good at what you do!!
THE best analysis and homage I have seen. Connection to details I found (own the box set). Thank you sir.
One of my favorite scenes is when the guy switched Omar’s toe tag after he died. Omar was a low key legend in the game.
I watched it three times in a row.
GREATEST TV SHOW EVER
finally got round to watching it, just finished the box set and itching to watch the whole thing over again. Never felt like that about tv series
i’m so happy when i find people that find these great moments and these situational comparisons
No TV show sits with me the way The Wire does. The authenticity is unmatched. Will stand the test of time for decades to come.
I was telling this girl about how good this show is and she said she couldn't stay awake while watching. She also watches keeping up with the Kardashits and bachelor. Smh had to never see her again.
LOL
You're not a better or worse person because of the shows you watch.
@@Alby-sky Exactly
she belongs to the streets dawg..
This is simply the best series ever made
i see the wire i click
NotXsoXoptic likewise.
A simple man. A man of culture.
"Stringer Bell is punished by his institution for that very attempt to reform. Just like Bunny Colvin is punished for his attempt to reform."
The whole video was great but that comparison blew my mind. Sub'd.
Best analysis series on YT rn, well done.
Respectfully, that mantle goes to @Every Frame A Painting
Started watching the wire cuz of this channel. Not gonna finish the video cuz of spoilers but... Thanks.
dude I really appreciate your work here. keep it going. I love this show and feel everything you are connecting but I'm not of the mind to make those connections in the moment. very good stuff man.
i watched the first episode of this series this morning and was wondering when the next one would come out! great visual essay.
The Wire video? Instant click and thumbs up!
Incredible Breakdown. Ive watched the Wire in it's entirety about 4 times and never noticed some of the parallels that you shared in this video.
subbed.
OH my, thanks for uploading in that sweet 2160p, by the way!
I never feel bored watching this show. Whenever I feel not in the mood to watch new shows I always put the wire on because the story it tells is so vivid and realistic you don't feel it will ever get old.
The connections made here are so genius. Brilliantly written
"Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeit"
-Clay Davis.
why do I have such low self control? he literally says not to watch the vid if you don't wanna get spoilers and I still watched it. Shows how great the vid is
The show was created at the sweet spot where all the writers and creators past experience was still highly relevant and connected computers and mobile devices were barely starting to raise their head into the world of "ordinary" work. The whole new world coming with always connected, social media information avalanche dynamics laden, TOR and cryptocurrencies, cybecriminals driven, old newspaper free world of today would have been much harder to leverage the creators experience in than in the early 2000s. I love that they have found that sweet spot. With all the realism this show has in the hugely fine grained details, i happily look over the grossly ridiculous staging of the wiretapping setup with visually appealing on screen mumbo-jumbo and modem dialup handshake sound over it. It works for the story, of course and few screen productions are realistic on that front (apart from Mr. Robot).
These " The Wire " mini lectures are amazing.
Thank You
These are brilliant videos...thank you for sharing them!
You're a fantastic writer man. Keep it up.
You're analysis of institutions reminds me of Peter Joseph and the Zeitgeist Movies.
Fantastic video, loads of observations that I didn't think of!
Also, I got NordVPN just 2 weeks back. Damn, could have used that extra month.
love the chainlink fence analysis very nice!
Oh wow. I never picked up on all of those lines that get repeated by characters on the opposite side. That's amazing! Very cool.
Beautiful work here. Lots of parallels I never noticed first time..
"disloyal" not "unloyal"
You did a great job. I don't want people who admire you to repeat your error while trying to emulate you.
Such a deep show. When I first watched it (around 5 years ago) I just thought it was so well put together, and immersive. YEARS later I catch little things here and there as I revisit and watch random episodes. You start to see things just pop up you didn't notice. The chain link fence from prison and the evidence room was one of the first things I caught on my first play through. Once you catch one thing, suddenly your spidey sense goes up 5000% and you start picking up on ALL KINDS of little things.
Analysis of The Wire are always the best.
Ironically, I had just finished my first ever viewing of the wire the week you uploaded this.
You have me looking a series that I already love under a new light. Thanks.
Brilliant video, great analysis, keep it up, can't wait for some more very in depth and interesting Wire content.