mccarthyism

I’m posting a quote from David Simon (creator of The Wire), because I’m a lazy “blogger.” This quote is truly fantastic, though, from Scott Tobias’ interview with Simon for TV Club, and succinctly sums up some of the major themes of that show. If you haven’t seen The Wire, watch it, watch it, watch it. Not only is it a profound and honest look at many aspects of modern urban life and its institutions, it’s also one of the greatest works of fiction of the last decade…maybe I’m just raving because I’m fairly well-insulated from popular culture and didn’t know TV could be this good. But no, I think this show stacks up with the best novels/films or what have you of the modern era. So principled, so enlightening, and still utterly believable and real… God bless HBO for letting David Simon take his risks and do his thing. Anyway here’s the man himself.

“The Wire made the argument, from its first season, that the modern world is becoming increasingly indifferent to individual catharsis and individual dignity, and that human beings are worth less. That’s the triumph of capitalism. The money gets made, and the fewer people are needed to make that money… I come from a city where 47 percent of the African-American males are out of work. They're not needed. We've constructed an economic model that doesn't need a lot of human beings. It doesn't need as many as it once did for certain people to attain wealth. In a world like that, the old superstitions start to seem less superstitious. The idea that these massive institutions—school systems and police departments and drug trades and political entities and newspapers—might actually become utterly unfeeling to the people they're supposed to serve and the people who serve them seems to me to be the paradigm of the 20th century, and I think it's going to continue.”

By the way (Cameron), you shouldn’t read the entire interview with Simon until you’ve finished watching the show, because it does have numerous spoilers. After which, though, you should definitely read it. Simon has an incredible story, and he talks in full paragraphs, paragraphs that shed a lot of light on the show and on his own intentions for it. It's confirmation (if you still need it) of the wealth of first-hand experience and the extraordinary depth of thought that went into The Wire.

posted by ethan # 3/13/2012 04:14:00 PM

mccarthyism

3.13.2012

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