I just completed a hastily assembled list of the Top 31 movies of the decade and "The Wire" towers over any one of them and, as a 60-hour series, probably towers over the totality of my list of 31 movies. I didn't do a list of my favorite books of the decade, but rest-assured that "The Wire" ranks above any novel I've read in the decade, especially as a piece of cumulative storytelling. So, keeping things neat and simple, I have no trouble saying that "The Wire" is the decade's defining creative endeavor.Okay, New Year's Cultural Resolution: I guess I should finally start watching those Wire DVDs that I have at home ...
Soon you start expanding the circle, though. Is "The Wire" the best series ever produced for television? I'd say "Yes," while acknowledging that there's competition.
But looking more broadly still, if I'm teaching a college course on the United States of America and the American Dream -- it's a big topic, so it's probably an intro AmCiv class -- I'm putting "The Wire" on the syllabus next to "Citizen Kane" and "The Godfather II," alongside "Moby Dick," "The Jungle," The Great Gatsby," "Invisible Man" and "The Grapes of Wrath."
Thursday, December 31, 2009
COME AT THE KING, YOU BEST NOT MISS: Our Friend Dan Fienberg:
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I agree with Dan on all counts.
ReplyDeleteWell, duh. Keep a box of tissues near as the season get close to the end.
ReplyDeleteTried The Wire, couldn't get into it. Breaking Bad, on the other hand, grips from the get-go and never lets go. I wish it would see a little more love around here.
ReplyDeleteThat said, will definitely give The Wire another try.
Adam, have you seriously not yet watched The Wire?
ReplyDeleteBreaking Bad is awesome (and tops my list of the best TV in 2009), but The Wire may be an order of magnitude better. I can't agree enough with Feinberg's top 2 picks of the decade.
I'm sure I've said this before, but my one tip for getting into The Wire is to watch with the subtitles on. It really helped me to (1) understand the street patois and (2) get familiar with the characters' names so I could follow it all.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with Dan. The Wire is so good that it makes me question whether you can even tell a truly great story in a movie format anymore. It just raised the bar that much. My one piece of advice is to watch the first three or so episodes in a row. It's not like (any) other shows, it needs to train you to watch it. Living in Baltimore during the time it was filmed added a whole nother level for me (not in the Hey! I've been there! facet, so much as the little city-specific lines that get dropped and not explained, adding a level of reality). The Wire is about Baltimore as much as a piece of pop culture can be about anything.
ReplyDeleteI have season 1 collecting dust next to my TV. Looks like I will finally have to make the plunge; it just seems like so much work, especially when there are episodes of Cougar Town on the DVR.
ReplyDeleteAlex, you hit on something I almost wrote on Facebook the other day. When I evangelize re: The Wire, I get the sense that people often think I'm telling them to eat their vegetables: I.e., they say "I know I should watch it, but...." But the thing is, it's NOT vegetables. It definitely has the vitamins (a point of view and even an argument), but it is, first and foremost, entertainment of the highest and classiest order. Great acting, unparalleled writing, ithe deepest characters ever put on screen, and all that. And, most important, It's amazingly fun -- and funny -- even while being painful or bittersweet.
ReplyDeleteTotally can't get used to the new comment system here... Thanks for the link and I look forward to your reaction to the show, Adam. The point Russ makes it one I tried hard to make in my article: "The Wire" is not medicine. It's hilarious. It's heartbreaking. The characters are AWESOME. It just happens to also be amazingly smart and thoughtful.
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