Was The Wire the most existential drama in the history of television?
Episode in and episode out, all those with dreams or standards, no matter which side of the law stood on, were brought low if not destroyed in a world in which cynicism, corruption and indifference governed human affairs the way gravity governs the physical universe. Again and again, The Wire emphasized that there is no escape, that whether you are trying to convert you narcotic millions into legitimate business, or trying to build a new container port, or trying to roll up an insidious drug ring and all its tentacles, or anything great and ultimate, you will be thwarted, if not by man’s corrupt institutions, than by man’s corrupt nature.
The only redemption that The Wire allows is individual, and the only enduring satisfaction is the quiet honor that can be taken by going out every day and stoically grinding out an honest day. There have been grimmer series on TV—Oz, for one—but none that so disdainfully dismissed our naive conceits about order, progress and virtue. All in all, the five seasons of this show constituted an incredible piece of art, but one that more than anything else makes me want to buy a gun.
RSS 2.0
Comments on this entry:
You don't need a gun, you're not in the game. Besides, you wouldn't know what to do with it.
Sad to see the best show ever come to an end.