Super interesting man, love when art is able to do that for people. If I may ask, how old are you, when did you watch the show, where are you from and most importantly- what exactly changed?
@@michaelsilver253 I am 17, I watched the show last year, live in eastern France where a lot of the same issues apply, and I’d say it got me to understand how everything is connected and how you can’t solve one issue without stumbling on a thousand others a bit better. And I’m probably a bit less quick to judge some of the guys at school, particularly after season 4, which I’d say impacted me the most, some scenes being really close to things I’ve actually seen without having the full context and while I already did have some clues, I’d say getting things laid down in front of me helped to, let’s say organise thoughts I already had.
It's embarrassing to admit, but as a young man growing up in a mostly white country, I had some really negative ideas about black people and crime in America. The Wire showed me how wrong that type of mindset is. Now I know better.
I kinda liked the finale of The Wire. Nothing too over the top. No need for a dramatic conclusion, it just ends the way life does. Corruptness and violence and children getting screwed over and over and over again. It just doesn't stop, it just continues as long as the Earth rotates.
It's very fitting, unlike most police shows where the bad guys are taken down for good, in the wire it just continues, new faces, same game the cycle continuing just like in real life its a brutal ending but also the best one it could have had
One of my favorite things about the series is it's cyclical nature and how things don't really change (Dukie becoming Bubbles, Michael becoming Omar etc.)
Dukie is a intresting character , in that world he was always gonna end up at the bottom , however if he could have escaped he had the attributes to achieve in the real world. Guess it's hard to leave what u know without someone putting u on their shoulders , like Ervin Burrell did for the other kid. The game was never letting a kid like micheal leave, in the same way a private school wouldn't let their star student leave education.
Not sure why "literally" was necessary here but it's easily my favorite show of all time. I don't think any other show comes close. Everybody should watch this show.
@@powertrip8676 I've never heard anybody who got past episode 3 of the first season call this show boring. My only guess is that maybe a lot of what's going on is getting past you. You have to really pay attention closely and look at all the details. There's a ton going on and they don't spoon feed you. It is by far the best show ever but it's not meant to be mindlessly entertaining. It's meant to be elite story telling and world building.
I recently rewatched the Wire, still one of the best drama out there. Season 3 and the way the writers brought systematic issues full circle to viewers was incredible.
The show (and this essay) is an insightful portrayal of how much of our lives are socially-determined. The ways that we understand the world, our place in it, all of the choices we make - everything emerges through our social context. The drug trade has consumed everybody that you have bonds with: your caregivers, your community, every source of love that you've ever known. To not play the game, to go to school and become (e.g.) a pay lawyer, is as distant and ludicrous as being an astronaut.
If you're a easily influenced moron who doesn't independently think for themselves then maybe. Everyone has agency over their life, and their lot in life is mostly the result of their actions. These guys could have moved out at anytime, could have focused on school, learned a trade, made a living that way. Many don't want to put in the work, so they are in this situation in most cases because its the easiest way to make a living and even greater if they progress enough. Culture does play a role though, and I see these issues as mainly American cultural vs institutional. Certain cultures are more practical and better than others. Asian culture for instance encourages good grades, music, discipline, goal oriented, TWO parents with the kid. Family values. You need a framework for your life to live it properly and progress yourself. Change needs to come from within that culture, an acknowledgement how some of it is toxic and produces people like what we see in the wire in the US...
@@thepunisherxxx6804 Just curious - when you watch Season 4, do you come away thinking that the kids' failure to escape the drug war is because they lack independent thought or are unfocused at school? Rugged individualism as a solution to these problems is facile. It ignores how humans actually work.
Yep. Hence why those with a kind of "free will", "anyone can be a billionaire", conservative or neoliberal types will never get this show, assuming they would even give it a chance. It is too realistic and cuts through the arguments of the right, without being preachy in any kind of political way. It is basically a sociological drama.
@@the_local_bigamist Plenty of people who got out of the hood and made it big. Stop treating yourself like a victim and things are out of your control. Hell some of them just stay in because its easier and a life they know. They don't care about breaking the law. Its not white peoples fault, its not the governments, its yours. take accountability for your lot in life and stop blaming others. Its pathetic.
This series was a masterpiece. The ending left me feeling a bit broken. I definitely need to watch it again. Last time I watched was in 2015. Thanks for another great video.
Probably the best video on The Wire on TH-cam. Love how you explained the life path by using different characters to showcase it, and I loved those cut images of which characters "became" the "next" Marlo or Omar!
Early in the show when he went to juvenil judge and got Back to the hood he mention a few careers and laugh about it. About having the potential being a doctor or a lawyer ir some other good shit 😂
What a great video, it captured perfectly the essence of The Wire, the way the enviroment plays a great role in the life of everyone in the game. Some get lucky, some get caught, or some get killed, and they cant choose, they just can roll the dice.
"One of the best crime dramas ever made." Bruh... It's literally *the best* . It is to crime dramas -- and television as a whole -- what Lionel Messi is to football.
@@SUPERRRSAIYANNNNN this and the sopranos. Most shows take this shows approach too story telling while at the same time basing their MC around tony soprano
Wow. I just finished watching the Wire after 20 years of putting off watching it😂 Your explanation of the show and how it applies to the gamble of life is spot on.
No bro, it’s Dickensian. They literally call itself that in season 5. Also the director himself says it’s more like the stories of Ancient Greek tragedians.
You did a great job with this thanks. Often as a black person of middle class income I get into conversations trying to explain the reality of people in this situation. It’s tough trying to humanize your ethnicity in another eyes but this video is a Succinct resource to help.
Specially when dumbass middle class don't know about sociology and keep acting like poor people everywhere from every race(mexico, brazil, italy, england, east europe..) don't make poor decisions, like every ethnicity and races in usa didn't have their gangs (irish, italian, greek, jewish, chinese, latin etc) One fun racial fact about the show is, first season had less audience than the second because there were white actors..the second season clearly shows that crime is related to poverty not race...but people don't care about sociology it's easier to use stereotypes right?
@@pinkii6132 If I don't, then who will? In higher education or while meeting people from other countries some of these people I meet have never met a black person before myself. So in these specific scenarios, I try to help someone understand what being black is and what it is like. Before I met that person the only catalyst for these people to render a concept of a black person is through what they see on the news, social media, movies, etc. Of course, that begs the question of what they see. They see black people characterized as creatives and athletes but at the same time, we have also been characterized as not trustworthy, dangerous, violent, intellectually incompetent, and hedonistic heathens. these are our stereotypes. I find stereotypes often turn into generalizations that people who lack knowledge or experience use to satiate their need for understanding. it can be annoying at times but we have to tell others our story because even if they have met a black person before just meeting someone tells you almost nothing of how the world is through their shoes. and if we don't do it no one will.
@@ALEX-eh6qk Agree. But on the other hand, gaining understanding isn’t a one way street. If we engaged in real heart to heart dialogue with others and listened to each other, we’d find we are more alike than we assume, and our world would be a better place. We may not agree and that’s ok, but at least we would have a better understanding. Appreciate your POV.
One of the restaurants carcetti goes to in dc in the later seasons was being cleaned by my dad at the time! He also met a lot of people who worked on the show in west Baltimore
In a strange way, Marlo did win the game. He didn’t go to prison, he survived all the threats, sold the plug for millions and flipped legit. But based on that last scene, seemed like Marlo won’t be able stay walking the straight & narrow. He loved the game and thrived off the competition and drama.
Marlo is the biggest loser. He crossed the finish line but turned around and ran backwards. Everyone else could not even finish and if they had they may have never looked back.
Marlo didn't win according to him, he won according to you. He went back to the hood to prove that he was still a winner to his block but found the corners empty; he was proving himself to no one but himself. He wanted to be on top of the game b, but he was on top of nothing. He wasn't invited to the meet where Slim came out on top of the game, but he wasn't. He didn't want what Stringer wanted and achieved it so easily. You want to, I'm sure, secure a future for yourself. I think you're talking more about you.
Marlo was after a unachievable goal, he didn't want money or respect, he wanted everyone to fear him, but no matter who you are or where you are, not everyone will be scared, some won't even know who he is and therefore not even know why they should be scared
@@james4238 and marlo's name was forgotten..the kids on the corner he fought at the end, were talking about omar they didn't know who marlo was..he lost!
I'm a Sri Lankan- I left home in 2011 to go attend uni in the UK, a year after finishing high school. I was already someone that was very interested in this idea of 'fairness', and had isolated ideas of what was wrong with the world around me, esp. hot on the heels of what was going on in SL politically at the time, as well as certain feelings I had about Sri Lankan society. I watched The Wire in 2013 or 2014, I think. Long after I'd watched the fan favourites: Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Deadwood etc. I watched this show for 5 seasons and came out someone that was finally able to connect those isolated ideas I had, developed and (imo) as near a complete picture as it was possible to get for me. It's why I will always rank this show as the greatest ever- those other shows are good, they're fucking great shows, but this- this has the power to change your entire worldview if you pay attention and follow close. The Wire isn't just about Baltimore- a lot of people make the mistake of thinking it's about what's wrong with that one city or the US. Nope, it's pretty damn universal. It's about the human condition keeping societies locked in misery, as told through the POV of systems: failing institutions in Baltimore. Things like personal ambition, for instance, is the cause for a lot of problems in TW: but there's no true solution for this. This is why I always say this and The Sopranos are so much more than just drama: they both examine the human psyche- Sopranos from the individual level, and The Wire from a more collective/systemic view.
This is a pretty comprehensive highlight and summary of The Wire. This should be studied in film and literature with its contemporary view and critique on American society in the city.
Did Marlo really get out tho? I wouldn't think so. He was almost out but if the show had continued, he'd be right back in the game if you go off how his arc ended
@@christopherwalker8397 season 5 was written as a finale so no, his ending would have been the same. You can take the man out of the game but you can’t take the game out of the man.
he only got out thanks to an illegal wire tap that his lawyer was lucky to catch with help of former criminal defense investigator who i bet levy had misgivings on hiring🤣🤣🤣🤣 sure marlo had certain qualities that got him ahead but other weaknesses that would have brought him down one day
Marlo may have “got out” but it seems like he suffered a fate worse than death, at least for him. Through the whole show, Marlo was cool and in control except for one scene: when he found out people were talking about how he was too scared to step up to Omar. That was the one time he lost his composure and showed anger and vulnerability (which by the way, superb acting) and I feel like that’s indicative that death and violence doesn’t scare Marlo- it’s losing power and respect that scares him. In his final scene, you hear everyone on the street talking about the legend of Omar. But the new kids on the corner don’t even know who marlo is and they try to jump him. The streets left Marlo behind and the finale ends by showing him as a man damned to forever be trapped between two worlds
Poot was the really lucky one in that he survived all these changing of bosses and was able to still make it out young. Where he could then build some life away from the street and the game.
I think Poot's main trait was apathy. Not disloyal but completely non-ambitious, he didn't care about anything other than money and women. The truest pawn of them all. One way to survive in the game I guess.
This should be required viewing in many schools in urban areas to show kids how futile that path is. Adding another video for alternative options would go a long way to planting the seed on how choices can make our break your life plans.
@@JustanObservation That's awesome. Yeah, Bodie is the embodiment of the Blue-collar worker trying to do it all by all the rules, but is caught in a hamster wheel. Great choice on featuring him a lot in this one.
To be fair as someone already wrote “the choice to not play dis t seem clear.” There are reasons why the kids of Baltimore end up doing what they do. But the show makes it clear that entering the game is a sunk cost fallacy. You may be on top in the drug war, but it’s only a matter of time before you fall. And it ain’t just the drug war-it’s all the institutions. The politicians play the game if being inefficient and corrupt jsut so the can get power. The cops use cronyism, racism, brutality to enchants their open power over the community-notice how mcnaulty DISNT actually make long term changes-he May be effective but he essentially got fired. The only one of the cops who truly shined was prezbo and that’s only because he RESIGNED after shooting A kid. Prez wasn’t this innocent; he was corrupted by the game but he left. And even then peez’s influence as a good teacher was limited-not because of anything he did but how the school system fails the kids.
All of the videos I've seen of yours are compelling takes on The Wire and its stories. Also, I appreciate how you understand the correct time to use the word "an."
Great vid. My humble opinion... i agree with the statement that circunstances dictates action, that is also stated by machiavelli's book, art of war. Soldier has 04 choices. But even bjj has taught me that in disadvante position, while harder, can be inverted. All attacks opens defense for counter. And transitioning from position to position is how humans beat rigged games. Such is the art of war by sun tzu also. I believe in allingnment and convergence as method against games. Works in politics and game theory. Godspeed. Tks and merry c.
This is one of the best observations I have ever seen of this show. I love the Wire, its my fav show ever and the one that the most close to my reality.
Growing up in west Baltimore from 10 - 26 I can definitely say that The Wire is the best depiction of what Baltimore is. Definitely top 5 in my series list
Really good video. There were a lot of great things about The Wire that I liked. Even "the game" that the police/government were caught up in was presented in that show. I really liked at the end of the series, when that guy was shoot for the sake of "honour" rather than the gangs rallying around him as a new source of income. He was shot for the sake of revenge. It was a great way to communicate both "honour among thieves" and how the "unwritten rules" keep people in a perpetual cycle. You can parallel that moment with how capitalists/business people/politicians/etc. kept their mind capitalist-orientated and didn't have honour but neither did they have "beefs" to such an extent where violence was required because of that. All round great show, good video man.
This perfectly captured the entire essence of the show in exact detail. I feel like this show and Oz really did show how the game is just the game. Breaking Bad was a great show but it didn't really show reality. It was more like a just "Stuff happens" type of show, whereas The Wire was was more of a "This is the stuff that happens" type of show.
I loved this video, but there was one omission I feel could have been addressed - Bubbles. In the finale, the show closes with a montage of all the characters we have come to know continuing on with their lives, with a sense that the game continues on without our watching it. But then after the montage, we get a final scene with Bubbles being invited up out of his sister's basement to join her and her family for breakfast. I have to believe the decision to end on this note was intentional to show us that though the game goes on uninterrupted, people can and do escape it. Everything about the series tells us that the game will be there and there's no escaping it, however I believe that this decision to end on this positive note shows that there is hope for all the players seeking a way out. It is a long and difficult rode (few characters are jerked around by the game and the system more than Bubbles), but escape is possible
Exactly. It's hard and most people choose not to, but that doesn't mean that you have no choice but to take part. There are always ways out for someone who wants it bad enough. Bubbles found his way out, another good example is Dennis (Cutty). Not only does he make a honest living as a landscaper, but he devotes his spare time to running the boxing gym and being the positive influence many of the hoppers need to keep from going down the same path he did. Poot also eventually extracts himself and manages to find an honest living. And although he gets killed by Stringer due to fear of him snitching, D'Angelo was also actively seeking to straighten himself out after getting disillusioned with the game when he saw what happened to Wallace. I believe he would've walked the straight and narrow path had he lived. I think far too many people use poor circumstances as an excuse for bad behavior when it is absolutely not. We can simultaneously acknowledge that we should seek to remedy the circumstances that lead to cycles of violence while also acknowledging that those who "play the game" are the largest part of it. Their choice to carry on such a tarnished legacy is what ultimately keeps the cycle going, and while you can feel some sympathy for them growing up, they still knowingly subjected the next generation to the same thing, and that is not something that should be overlooked
_The Wire_ is not just unequivocally the greatest television show across any culture ever produced, nor is it just categorically the greatest work of modern North American art, but it is one of the greatest pieces of fiction ever concieved.
It's really nice to see shows like The Wire getting some attention, it deserves it. One other show that doesn't get the attention/love it deserves is The Shield with (not to be confused with the Marvel show). Thank you for the videos, I just found this channel but imma watch the subsequent videos on The Wire. Cheers from France! 🍻
The Wire is classic “entertainment” for us living outside that world, but more importantly shows how the destructive cycle self perpetuates. The underlying cause: poverty and illegal drugs. IMO, the only solution is to legalize and regulate drugs to take the gang element out of it. We’re never going to be able to stop drug use, but perhaps it can be regulated in a way that does not result in such despair and death.
My favourite TED talk of all time is Steven Levitt's comparing how corporate America, or McD, is run and crack cocaine gangs. At the end of it, he not subtly compare "the game" to corporate America corruption through asking gang leaders why they always get themselves paid even when business is tough. The gang leader replied that they can't look "weak and shit" when people are out there eyeing their job. It's just astounding how profound it is, and how much it reflects why things just can't change. The gang ladder and the corporate ladder are similar. It's the illusion of success that lured innocent souls in and let theirs be consumed by the race to the bottom. There's so many cold, hard economics that speaks to life in gangs: Why don't you just walk away? Sunk cost.
I've always told people new to The Wire to go watch the cold open from episode 1x04 (featured in the beginning of this vid), stop at the HBO logo, THEN start the series.
While I love The Wire and believe it’s one of the greatest shows ever made, my biggest concern I see here in the comments are the erroneous belief that West Baltimore is a microcosm of Black American communities. The Black community is NOT monolithic. It would be awesome if more videos or TV shows were created that went to middle-upper middle class predominantly Black areas such as, many sections of Prince George’s County & Charles County MD, suburbs of Baltimore, suburbs of Philly, suburbs of NYC, huge swathes of the Atlanta suburbs, parts of Raleigh-Durham, many neighborhoods in SE Queens NYC (Cambria Hts, Rosedale, etc), Baldwin Hills-LA, Southern suburbs of Chicago, Cedar Hill & DeSoto TX (DFW), parts of Houston, etc…and the list goes on-and-on. Unfortunately, the media (and hip-hop) only shows the “hood” so people get a biased/inaccurate perception. Most Black people in the USA DO NOT live in abandoned run-down slums and are not living in poverty!!! While it’s true there is a higher poverty rate amongst Black Americans than any other group (minus Native Americans), the average Black American is middle class.💯
If your Latino, the wire is the black, urban, and televised version of Cien años de soledad, the characters due to culture and the system around them are sucked into a cycle of drug dealing, murder, and jail time, even understanding the system is faulty doesn't save the last Buendia in the end, his people were always doomed to 100 years of solitude
I think Namond was more on track to becoming like Bunny or Bunk, someone who grew up in Baltimore around crime but quickly discovered that they weren't built for it I think Randy would've ended up like Bodie. Since he didn't have any real family to speak of, and in his last scene of the show you see him angry at the world, preying on people that are smaller/weaker than him. And he's extremely against snitching, since snitching is what ultimately upended his life, alienated his friends/community from him, ruined his caretaker's life and landed him in a group home where other kids fucked with him daily because he snitched. Donut probably would've ended up like either one of the many random dope dealers & stick-up kids in Baltimore, or like Snotboogie from the pilot episode. Because everyone knows he's good at stealing stuff and would most likely just rough him up if he ever stole from them, but because of the changing code of ethics on the streets, he'd probably be killed by someone he stole from. And Michael, Dukie & Kenard would've definitely became Omar, Bubbles & Marlo respectively
@gedbeat15 no it's common sense,There's nothing suggesting randy becomes bodie at all,y'all only saying that because he a snitch,Bodie wasn't snitching at Randy age nor grew up in several foster homes stop it 😂
I can honestly say The Wire is one of the only works of fiction that actually changed my view on some of its themes.
Super interesting man, love when art is able to do that for people. If I may ask, how old are you, when did you watch the show, where are you from and most importantly- what exactly changed?
@@michaelsilver253 I am 17, I watched the show last year, live in eastern France where a lot of the same issues apply, and I’d say it got me to understand how everything is connected and how you can’t solve one issue without stumbling on a thousand others a bit better. And I’m probably a bit less quick to judge some of the guys at school, particularly after season 4, which I’d say impacted me the most, some scenes being really close to things I’ve actually seen without having the full context and while I already did have some clues, I’d say getting things laid down in front of me helped to, let’s say organise thoughts I already had.
@@LucLB01 you are smarter at 17 than most people I know at 27.
This was great read. Thanks guys.
It's embarrassing to admit, but as a young man growing up in a mostly white country, I had some really negative ideas about black people and crime in America. The Wire showed me how wrong that type of mindset is. Now I know better.
Bodie…the soldier’s soldier. The only death scene on The Wire that makes me cry every single time.
He went out so true to himself. Stayed on his corner and fought til the end.
bodie’s death scene will forever haunt me. michael shot him in the back of the head. twice.
It was actually O dog, Chris said it should be someone the boy don't know for his first time
That shit was so whack getting him from behind too idc marlos a bitch for that he went out like a real g🐐Tony Montana style fr
For me that scene was when Dukie went to shoot up…you wanted to drag him back from going.
I kinda liked the finale of The Wire. Nothing too over the top. No need for a dramatic conclusion, it just ends the way life does. Corruptness and violence and children getting screwed over and over and over again. It just doesn't stop, it just continues as long as the Earth rotates.
It's very fitting, unlike most police shows where the bad guys are taken down for good, in the wire it just continues, new faces, same game the cycle continuing just like in real life its a brutal ending but also the best one it could have had
@@metalfan4u I will say, The Wire is probably the most realistic scripted show I have ever seen. I honestly could see it pass for a documentary.
I like it too. The last shot focuses on the city of Baltimore, which is really the main character in the show
@@M1lesJames You know, it really is.
Yeah its like, we've shown you everything there is to see and the wheels just keep rolling
One of my favorite things about the series is it's cyclical nature and how things don't really change (Dukie becoming Bubbles, Michael becoming Omar etc.)
The little boy who kills Omar maybe Will be a new Marlo,same psycho.Maybe Randy will be like Preston
Dukie is a intresting character , in that world he was always gonna end up at the bottom , however if he could have escaped he had the attributes to achieve in the real world. Guess it's hard to leave what u know without someone putting u on their shoulders , like Ervin Burrell did for the other kid.
The game was never letting a kid like micheal leave, in the same way a private school wouldn't let their star student leave education.
It’s not cyclical, it’s survival.
@@Treeps1055 Lenard is going to jail.
@@Treeps1055I forgot who was Preston the fat boy?
I saw the Wire for the first time in 2011; totally blew my mind at how amazing it was. Literally my favorite show of all time
I started seeing it after hearing of Michael K. Williams' death.
Not sure why "literally" was necessary here but it's easily my favorite show of all time. I don't think any other show comes close. Everybody should watch this show.
I can’t get past season 2 it’s insanely boring
@@powertrip8676 I've never heard anybody who got past episode 3 of the first season call this show boring. My only guess is that maybe a lot of what's going on is getting past you. You have to really pay attention closely and look at all the details. There's a ton going on and they don't spoon feed you. It is by far the best show ever but it's not meant to be mindlessly entertaining. It's meant to be elite story telling and world building.
@@isaiahayers1550 it isn't literally my favorite show of all time. I used 'literally' in a figurative sense
I recently rewatched the Wire, still one of the best drama out there. Season 3 and the way the writers brought systematic issues full circle to viewers was incredible.
The show (and this essay) is an insightful portrayal of how much of our lives are socially-determined. The ways that we understand the world, our place in it, all of the choices we make - everything emerges through our social context. The drug trade has consumed everybody that you have bonds with: your caregivers, your community, every source of love that you've ever known. To not play the game, to go to school and become (e.g.) a pay lawyer, is as distant and ludicrous as being an astronaut.
If you're a easily influenced moron who doesn't independently think for themselves then maybe. Everyone has agency over their life, and their lot in life is mostly the result of their actions. These guys could have moved out at anytime, could have focused on school, learned a trade, made a living that way. Many don't want to put in the work, so they are in this situation in most cases because its the easiest way to make a living and even greater if they progress enough.
Culture does play a role though, and I see these issues as mainly American cultural vs institutional. Certain cultures are more practical and better than others. Asian culture for instance encourages good grades, music, discipline, goal oriented, TWO parents with the kid. Family values. You need a framework for your life to live it properly and progress yourself.
Change needs to come from within that culture, an acknowledgement how some of it is toxic and produces people like what we see in the wire in the US...
@@thepunisherxxx6804 Just curious - when you watch Season 4, do you come away thinking that the kids' failure to escape the drug war is because they lack independent thought or are unfocused at school?
Rugged individualism as a solution to these problems is facile. It ignores how humans actually work.
Yep. Hence why those with a kind of "free will", "anyone can be a billionaire", conservative or neoliberal types will never get this show, assuming they would even give it a chance. It is too realistic and cuts through the arguments of the right, without being preachy in any kind of political way. It is basically a sociological drama.
@@osman732 Keep coming up with excuses. Its fucking fiction, he didn't do anything to get out to service the story.
@@the_local_bigamist Plenty of people who got out of the hood and made it big. Stop treating yourself like a victim and things are out of your control. Hell some of them just stay in because its easier and a life they know. They don't care about breaking the law.
Its not white peoples fault, its not the governments, its yours. take accountability for your lot in life and stop blaming others. Its pathetic.
This is really beautiful and does such a wonderful job of putting to words one of the big themes of the Wire. You did a great job on this.
This was really good. This is the ultimate point of the wire as David Simon shows in the last montage. Different players, same game.
Being from Baltimore and being there while they were filming when I was a teenager was truly a privilege time of doing best with what u have.
This series was a masterpiece. The ending left me feeling a bit broken. I definitely need to watch it again. Last time I watched was in 2015. Thanks for another great video.
Ending perfectly sums up what violence does to you…Marlo might be alive but he is as good as dead
I just finished it again for the 10th time last night. I forget how good the show is .
I just finished it , might be a few yrs before my Mrs puts up with it again 😅... Best show ever
There were too many holes and characters who didn’t get a send off in the final season. Terrible ending in my eyes
Probably the best video on The Wire on TH-cam. Love how you explained the life path by using different characters to showcase it, and I loved those cut images of which characters "became" the "next" Marlo or Omar!
the images suggest michael is the next omar.... and that the kid who shot omar was the next marlo.. interesting selections
Damn good job, sir. Such an incredible show and it needs this type of appreciation and analysis
Bodie to Michael- "What you wanna be when you graduate? A astronaut?" 🤣🤣😂😂
Early in the show when he went to juvenil judge and got Back to the hood he mention a few careers and laugh about it. About having the potential being a doctor or a lawyer ir some other good shit 😂
What a great video, it captured perfectly the essence of The Wire, the way the enviroment plays a great role in the life of everyone in the game. Some get lucky, some get caught, or some get killed, and they cant choose, they just can roll the dice.
Was waiting to see this show on your channel. One of the best crime dramas ever made.
"One of the best crime dramas ever made."
Bruh... It's literally *the best* . It is to crime dramas -- and television as a whole -- what Lionel Messi is to football.
The best*
@@SUPERRRSAIYANNNNN this and the sopranos. Most shows take this shows approach too story telling while at the same time basing their MC around tony soprano
@@BlackHippy313 that’s true!
@@SUPERRRSAIYANNNNN for sure lad💯
Wow. I just finished watching the Wire after 20 years of putting off watching it😂 Your explanation of the show and how it applies to the gamble of life is spot on.
The Wire is a master class in how to make a good tv show; it is also a great conversation starter. It’s, at its core, Shakespearean.
No bro, it’s Dickensian. They literally call itself that in season 5.
Also the director himself says it’s more like the stories of Ancient Greek tragedians.
@@binatreides8203 season 2 though, is a Shakespearean family tragedy.
You did a great job with this thanks. Often as a black person of middle class income I get into conversations trying to explain the reality of people in this situation. It’s tough trying to humanize your ethnicity in another eyes but this video is a Succinct resource to help.
Specially when dumbass middle class don't know about sociology and keep acting like poor people everywhere from every race(mexico, brazil, italy, england, east europe..) don't make poor decisions, like every ethnicity and races in usa didn't have their gangs (irish, italian, greek, jewish, chinese, latin etc)
One fun racial fact about the show is, first season had less audience than the second because there were white actors..the second season clearly shows that crime is related to poverty not race...but people don't care about sociology it's easier to use stereotypes right?
You probably shouldn't be hanging around people that you have to humanize your ethnicity to it's weird as hell
@@pinkii6132 If I don't, then who will?
In higher education or while meeting people from other countries some of these people I meet have never met a black person before myself. So in these specific scenarios, I try to help someone understand what being black is and what it is like. Before I met that person the only catalyst for these people to render a concept of a black person is through what they see on the news, social media, movies, etc.
Of course, that begs the question of what they see.
They see black people characterized as creatives and athletes but at the same time, we have also been characterized as not trustworthy, dangerous, violent, intellectually incompetent, and hedonistic heathens.
these are our stereotypes. I find stereotypes often turn into generalizations that people who lack knowledge or experience use to satiate their need for understanding.
it can be annoying at times but we have to tell others our story because even if they have met a black person before just meeting someone tells you almost nothing of how the world is through their shoes.
and if we don't do it no one will.
I get what you're saying bro
@@ALEX-eh6qk Agree. But on the other hand, gaining understanding isn’t a one way street.
If we engaged in real heart to heart dialogue with others and listened to each other, we’d find we are more alike than we assume, and our world would be a better place. We may not agree and that’s ok, but at least we would have a better understanding.
Appreciate your POV.
One of the restaurants carcetti goes to in dc in the later seasons was being cleaned by my dad at the time! He also met a lot of people who worked on the show in west Baltimore
Lucky!
Tight tight tight!!
In a strange way, Marlo did win the game. He didn’t go to prison, he survived all the threats, sold the plug for millions and flipped legit. But based on that last scene, seemed like Marlo won’t be able stay walking the straight & narrow. He loved the game and thrived off the competition and drama.
Marlo is the biggest loser. He crossed the finish line but turned around and ran backwards. Everyone else could not even finish and if they had they may have never looked back.
Marlo didn't win according to him, he won according to you.
He went back to the hood to prove that he was still a winner to his block but found the corners empty; he was proving himself to no one but himself.
He wanted to be on top of the game b, but he was on top of nothing.
He wasn't invited to the meet where Slim came out on top of the game, but he wasn't.
He didn't want what Stringer wanted and achieved it so easily.
You want to, I'm sure, secure a future for yourself.
I think you're talking more about you.
Marlo was after a unachievable goal, he didn't want money or respect, he wanted everyone to fear him, but no matter who you are or where you are, not everyone will be scared, some won't even know who he is and therefore not even know why they should be scared
@@james4238 and marlo's name was forgotten..the kids on the corner he fought at the end, were talking about omar they didn't know who marlo was..he lost!
Slim Charles was the winner. Started from the bottom and made it to the top.
this is easily the greatest video of the wire on youtube, incredible work!
The best tv show and probably the best piece of fiction of all time. We need more Wire videos.
This series is a rollercoaster of EMOTIONS ❤️😭
Not really. Very overrated series.
@@Mrhorrible97 What are you smoking??
@@Mrhorrible97 Any arguments as to why?
Man, I love your takes on those movies and series, charakters, politics, ethics, everything. You're not doing good job. It's exceptional!
Thank you for watching!
This was great, it was like you were telling the story of 1 person yet it told the story of everyone in the series 💪
I'm a Sri Lankan- I left home in 2011 to go attend uni in the UK, a year after finishing high school. I was already someone that was very interested in this idea of 'fairness', and had isolated ideas of what was wrong with the world around me, esp. hot on the heels of what was going on in SL politically at the time, as well as certain feelings I had about Sri Lankan society.
I watched The Wire in 2013 or 2014, I think. Long after I'd watched the fan favourites: Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Deadwood etc. I watched this show for 5 seasons and came out someone that was finally able to connect those isolated ideas I had, developed and (imo) as near a complete picture as it was possible to get for me. It's why I will always rank this show as the greatest ever- those other shows are good, they're fucking great shows, but this- this has the power to change your entire worldview if you pay attention and follow close.
The Wire isn't just about Baltimore- a lot of people make the mistake of thinking it's about what's wrong with that one city or the US. Nope, it's pretty damn universal. It's about the human condition keeping societies locked in misery, as told through the POV of systems: failing institutions in Baltimore. Things like personal ambition, for instance, is the cause for a lot of problems in TW: but there's no true solution for this. This is why I always say this and The Sopranos are so much more than just drama: they both examine the human psyche- Sopranos from the individual level, and The Wire from a more collective/systemic view.
This is a pretty comprehensive highlight and summary of The Wire.
This should be studied in film and literature with its contemporary view and critique on American society in the city.
You guys are blowing my mind. Please keep making what you’re making. You are articulating everything that needs to be said.
Marlo was truly ahead of his time. No wonder he was the only one that “got out”. Thank you for the content!!
Did Marlo really get out tho? I wouldn't think so. He was almost out but if the show had continued, he'd be right back in the game if you go off how his arc ended
@@christopherwalker8397 He would end up in prison.
@@christopherwalker8397 season 5 was written as a finale so no, his ending would have been the same. You can take the man out of the game but you can’t take the game out of the man.
he only got out thanks to an illegal wire tap that his lawyer was lucky to catch with help of former criminal defense investigator who i bet levy had misgivings on hiring🤣🤣🤣🤣
sure marlo had certain qualities that got him ahead but other weaknesses that would have brought him down one day
Marlo may have “got out” but it seems like he suffered a fate worse than death, at least for him. Through the whole show, Marlo was cool and in control except for one scene: when he found out people were talking about how he was too scared to step up to Omar. That was the one time he lost his composure and showed anger and vulnerability (which by the way, superb acting) and I feel like that’s indicative that death and violence doesn’t scare Marlo- it’s losing power and respect that scares him. In his final scene, you hear everyone on the street talking about the legend of Omar. But the new kids on the corner don’t even know who marlo is and they try to jump him. The streets left Marlo behind and the finale ends by showing him as a man damned to forever be trapped between two worlds
Poot was the really lucky one in that he survived all these changing of bosses and was able to still make it out young. Where he could then build some life away from the street and the game.
Poot?
I think Poot's main trait was apathy. Not disloyal but completely non-ambitious, he didn't care about anything other than money and women. The truest pawn of them all. One way to survive in the game I guess.
@@norfnorf3819 my bad it autocorrected
Poot was a wise soldier unlike bodie who was too obtuse and fell in love with the lies of the game.
@@afrosamourai400 bodie wasn’t obtuse. he just only knew The Game as a way to make it so he played it loyally.
This sums up the essence of The Wire really good. Well done
This show is so good deserves all the praise it gets
This should be required viewing in many schools in urban areas to show kids how futile that path is. Adding another video for alternative options would go a long way to planting the seed on how choices can make our break your life plans.
GREAT IDEA!!!
This is what conservatives would call "critical race theory"
This episode gave me goosebumps. The observation makes so much sense. Thank you!
Bodie is definitely the face of this video, given the context.
True. I changed the thumbnail
@@JustanObservation That's awesome. Yeah, Bodie is the embodiment of the Blue-collar worker trying to do it all by all the rules, but is caught in a hamster wheel.
Great choice on featuring him a lot in this one.
That Marlo and Kennard comparison 😮🔥
Kenard isn't the new marlo,it's randy
"The game is rigged, but you cannot lose if you do not play." - Marla Daniels.
I think you missed the whole point of the video. *To play or not is a choice but it doesn’t feel like an option*
terrible quote
To be fair as someone already wrote “the choice to not play dis t seem clear.” There are reasons why the kids of Baltimore end up doing what they do.
But the show makes it clear that entering the game is a sunk cost fallacy. You may be on top in the drug war, but it’s only a matter of time before you fall. And it ain’t just the drug war-it’s all the institutions. The politicians play the game if being inefficient and corrupt jsut so the can get power. The cops use cronyism, racism, brutality to enchants their open power over the community-notice how mcnaulty DISNT actually make long term changes-he May be effective but he essentially got fired. The only one of the cops who truly shined was prezbo and that’s only because he RESIGNED after shooting A kid. Prez wasn’t this innocent; he was corrupted by the game but he left. And even then peez’s influence as a good teacher was limited-not because of anything he did but how the school system fails the kids.
@@treychambers4154 , it was a great quote for the context in which it was said. I don't know why the person posted it here.
I got bills to pay
All of the videos I've seen of yours are compelling takes on The Wire and its stories.
Also, I appreciate how you understand the correct time to use the word "an."
best vid you’ve done. well written and I can see other ppl agree
Great vid.
My humble opinion... i agree with the statement that circunstances dictates action, that is also stated by machiavelli's book, art of war. Soldier has 04 choices.
But even bjj has taught me that in disadvante position, while harder, can be inverted. All attacks opens defense for counter. And transitioning from position to position is how humans beat rigged games.
Such is the art of war by sun tzu also.
I believe in allingnment and convergence as method against games. Works in politics and game theory.
Godspeed. Tks and merry c.
This is one of the best videos i have ever watched. Incredible insight.
Thank you for care and empathy you displayed in this video!
We definitely need more The Wire content sir!
thanks for making sure the video is speaking your words consistently over the whole 13 minutes using the wire scenes. simple and effective!
Good analysis. I like the side by side portraits of the game repeating itself
Great breakdown. This series is almost educational with how it teaches people about generational poverty and gang culture.
This is one of the best observations I have ever seen of this show. I love the Wire, its my fav show ever and the one that the most close to my reality.
Spot on, even though I love the show it still surprises me how deeply layered and smart it is. Great vid👍
So excited to see a video on The Wire
I am so glad I found your channel. Every single video I've watched has been exquisite. I'm looking forward for future content.
Growing up in west Baltimore from 10 - 26 I can definitely say that The Wire is the best depiction of what Baltimore is. Definitely top 5 in my series list
What an awesome video!! And an absolute masterpiece of a series. The Wire is the best TV show of all time and it's not even close.
What a pity there's only 3 of these on The Wire, what a great observation!!!
Really good video. There were a lot of great things about The Wire that I liked. Even "the game" that the police/government were caught up in was presented in that show. I really liked at the end of the series, when that guy was shoot for the sake of "honour" rather than the gangs rallying around him as a new source of income. He was shot for the sake of revenge. It was a great way to communicate both "honour among thieves" and how the "unwritten rules" keep people in a perpetual cycle. You can parallel that moment with how capitalists/business people/politicians/etc. kept their mind capitalist-orientated and didn't have honour but neither did they have "beefs" to such an extent where violence was required because of that. All round great show, good video man.
This was the best vid Ive seen you do by far, so far...
Congrat man for this work of poetry
Wonderful prose dude
Man, you have really, really good analyses. Bravo.
Man this video is unbelievable 🔥🔥🔥
Man this broke down all the layers of the show, so well. Shoutout to Just an observation.
This perfectly captured the entire essence of the show in exact detail. I feel like this show and Oz really did show how the game is just the game. Breaking Bad was a great show but it didn't really show reality. It was more like a just "Stuff happens" type of show, whereas The Wire was was more of a "This is the stuff that happens" type of show.
I loved this video, but there was one omission I feel could have been addressed - Bubbles. In the finale, the show closes with a montage of all the characters we have come to know continuing on with their lives, with a sense that the game continues on without our watching it. But then after the montage, we get a final scene with Bubbles being invited up out of his sister's basement to join her and her family for breakfast. I have to believe the decision to end on this note was intentional to show us that though the game goes on uninterrupted, people can and do escape it. Everything about the series tells us that the game will be there and there's no escaping it, however I believe that this decision to end on this positive note shows that there is hope for all the players seeking a way out. It is a long and difficult rode (few characters are jerked around by the game and the system more than Bubbles), but escape is possible
Exactly. It's hard and most people choose not to, but that doesn't mean that you have no choice but to take part. There are always ways out for someone who wants it bad enough. Bubbles found his way out, another good example is Dennis (Cutty). Not only does he make a honest living as a landscaper, but he devotes his spare time to running the boxing gym and being the positive influence many of the hoppers need to keep from going down the same path he did. Poot also eventually extracts himself and manages to find an honest living.
And although he gets killed by Stringer due to fear of him snitching, D'Angelo was also actively seeking to straighten himself out after getting disillusioned with the game when he saw what happened to Wallace. I believe he would've walked the straight and narrow path had he lived.
I think far too many people use poor circumstances as an excuse for bad behavior when it is absolutely not. We can simultaneously acknowledge that we should seek to remedy the circumstances that lead to cycles of violence while also acknowledging that those who "play the game" are the largest part of it. Their choice to carry on such a tarnished legacy is what ultimately keeps the cycle going, and while you can feel some sympathy for them growing up, they still knowingly subjected the next generation to the same thing, and that is not something that should be overlooked
This was very good. You hit the nail on the head. I don't think anyone could say it better then you.
Your videos never fail to entertain and educate!
_The Wire_ is not just unequivocally the greatest television show across any culture ever produced, nor is it just categorically the greatest work of modern North American art, but it is one of the greatest pieces of fiction ever concieved.
What are you smoking??
I agree, it’s simply one of the best pieces of art ever made
It definitely is the most realistic scripted show I have ever seen.
Easy there, cowboy. It's a pretty good show, but nowhere near the "greatest television show across any culture" lmao.
@@joaosantos5503 yikes lmfaoo 😂🤣🤡☠️
You are doing a very great job I must say. It would be interesting if you would do a take on James St.Patrick from The Power Universe.
Yes do James st Patrick from power
I'd love to see you do a series on the characters of the wire!
You broke that down to T I watched the series a plethora of times but this is genius
This show is still blowing my mind...rewatched last week and just realized Randy was Cheese's son 😳
When was that revealed?
@@FlickBrown it wasn't... I notice they're last names were the same... it's an easter egg.. google it.
@@FlickBrown They have the same surname. It could be a coincidence but The Wire isn't that kind of show.
Apparently they were gonna write it into season 5, but it got cut short
Wait.....what?😮
This is very, very well done.
“The tree that doesn’t bend, breaks Credric”. “Bend too far, and your already broken.”
Very thoughtful synopsis. Well done.
I would love to see JAO’s analysis of Bubbles’s story. In my opinion he has the true heroes journey arc
Bodie dying always gets me he had the most growth and could have done anything if he figured the game out quicker or had a better upbringing
Wow. Bravo. Excellent walkthrough of the most gripping story ever told on TV!
Yo your videos on the wire have all been dope af man keep doin your thing 👍
what a master piece of video you make.
It's really nice to see shows like The Wire getting some attention, it deserves it.
One other show that doesn't get the attention/love it deserves is The Shield with (not to be confused with the Marvel show).
Thank you for the videos, I just found this channel but imma watch the subsequent videos on The Wire.
Cheers from France! 🍻
we need more videos on this show, amazing vid on an amazing series
One of the best series
breaking bad, peaky blinders, sopranos, Narcos.
Imo the best
@@elsu1004 breaking bad is major cringe and sopranos is one of the shows of all time
@@elsu1004 the wire is better than all of these shows
@@elsu1004 no way you put peaky blinders on that list 😂🤣😂
Powerful description. Great vid.
I love the way you broke this down 💪🏾
I was taught the game is to be sold not told. Big ups to the makers of this series and the in-depth breakdown of it’s nuances. RESPECT
This video made me TEAR UP. This channel is too good and this show was revolutionary!
The Wire is classic “entertainment” for us living outside that world, but more importantly shows how the destructive cycle self perpetuates. The underlying cause: poverty and illegal drugs. IMO, the only solution is to legalize and regulate drugs to take the gang element out of it. We’re never going to be able to stop drug use, but perhaps it can be regulated in a way that does not result in such despair and death.
This was an awesome breakdown. Great job man!
What a brilliant video. Good work Sir.
This is a great description of our city and how we grew up
good video, im sure trinity will be very happy their student is producing content of this quality
Excellent video. Please make more on the Wire. Thanks!
the best video essay on the wire ever.
Just finished my rewatch of The Wire a couple of weeks ago. Vid came right on time!
My favourite TED talk of all time is Steven Levitt's comparing how corporate America, or McD, is run and crack cocaine gangs. At the end of it, he not subtly compare "the game" to corporate America corruption through asking gang leaders why they always get themselves paid even when business is tough. The gang leader replied that they can't look "weak and shit" when people are out there eyeing their job. It's just astounding how profound it is, and how much it reflects why things just can't change. The gang ladder and the corporate ladder are similar. It's the illusion of success that lured innocent souls in and let theirs be consumed by the race to the bottom. There's so many cold, hard economics that speaks to life in gangs: Why don't you just walk away? Sunk cost.
I think it was Slim Charles who said “The game ain’t changed,it’s just gotten more fierce”…..truer words are seldom spoken 😞🖤🥶y’all be safe
I've always told people new to The Wire to go watch the cold open from episode 1x04 (featured in the beginning of this vid), stop at the HBO logo, THEN start the series.
While I love The Wire and believe it’s one of the greatest shows ever made, my biggest concern I see here in the comments are the erroneous belief that West Baltimore is a microcosm of Black American communities. The Black community is NOT monolithic. It would be awesome if more videos or TV shows were created that went to middle-upper middle class predominantly Black areas such as, many sections of Prince George’s County & Charles County MD, suburbs of Baltimore, suburbs of Philly, suburbs of NYC, huge swathes of the Atlanta suburbs, parts of Raleigh-Durham, many neighborhoods in SE Queens NYC (Cambria Hts, Rosedale, etc), Baldwin Hills-LA, Southern suburbs of Chicago, Cedar Hill & DeSoto TX (DFW), parts of Houston, etc…and the list goes on-and-on.
Unfortunately, the media (and hip-hop) only shows the “hood” so people get a biased/inaccurate perception. Most Black people in the USA DO NOT live in abandoned run-down slums and are not living in poverty!!! While it’s true there is a higher poverty rate amongst Black Americans than any other group (minus Native Americans), the average Black American is middle class.💯
If your Latino, the wire is the black, urban, and televised version of Cien años de soledad, the characters due to culture and the system around them are sucked into a cycle of drug dealing, murder, and jail time, even understanding the system is faulty doesn't save the last Buendia in the end, his people were always doomed to 100 years of solitude
Goddammit.. Time for another The Wire binge.
I think Namond was more on track to becoming like Bunny or Bunk, someone who grew up in Baltimore around crime but quickly discovered that they weren't built for it
I think Randy would've ended up like Bodie. Since he didn't have any real family to speak of, and in his last scene of the show you see him angry at the world, preying on people that are smaller/weaker than him. And he's extremely against snitching, since snitching is what ultimately upended his life, alienated his friends/community from him, ruined his caretaker's life and landed him in a group home where other kids fucked with him daily because he snitched.
Donut probably would've ended up like either one of the many random dope dealers & stick-up kids in Baltimore, or like Snotboogie from the pilot episode. Because everyone knows he's good at stealing stuff and would most likely just rough him up if he ever stole from them, but because of the changing code of ethics on the streets, he'd probably be killed by someone he stole from.
And Michael, Dukie & Kenard would've definitely became Omar, Bubbles & Marlo respectively
Randy isn't the new bodie stop it
@@SupportGamin2025 to you...
@gedbeat15 no it's common sense,There's nothing suggesting randy becomes bodie at all,y'all only saying that because he a snitch,Bodie wasn't snitching at Randy age nor grew up in several foster homes stop it 😂
excellent vid my guy