Fans of HBO's The Wire have certainly come to appreciate the candor through which the series's creator, David Simon, has told his tale of Baltimore, the place he calls home. In the latest issue of Baltimore magazine, Simon offers a thank-you letter of sorts to the city that hosted him, his cast and crew, and the stories that have gone into five seasons of The Wire. In a 5,000-word essay, he sets out to answer, among other things, Why Baltimore?
Even before he answers those questions, he aims to answer an ever more basic questions: Why tell this story to begin with? He writes:
If indifferent to the calculations of real estate speculators, civic boosters and politicians looking toward higher office, we are nonetheless fascinated by the other America, the one that usually gets left behind in all the storytelling, never mind the usual political and economic abandonment. That fascination is, if not therapeutic ... then at least diagnostic. The impulse is not so much to entertain as to inform, and perhaps, to provoke an argument or two ...
Is it too much for the other America to see itself reflected in one television drama, to have—amid all the wealth and beauty and self-gratification—a single viewing experience to call their own, a solitary drama that addresses itself to their world? The Wire is the one continuing series set in the shadowland of the ghetto, in the America that we have discarded politically, economically, and emotionally. Are we saying, that for the sake of Baltimore's civic image, that it's one drama too many?
And what can the particular case of Baltimore say about that other America? As Simon tells it, focusing on a singular, real-city case study offers the rest of the country a clear lens through which to understand its own problems. "By choosing a real city," he writes, "we declare that the economic forces, the political dynamic, the class, cultural and racial boundaries are all that much more real, that they do exist in Baltimore and, therefore, they exist elsewhere in urban America."
One would expect a certain level of resistance from those whose darkest truths are being put before millions of viewers as a warning signal to others. And although Simon did encounter some naysayers along the way, largely from establishment forces that might have preferred a rosier lens, he reports that the hometown response to the show over the past five years has been overwhelmingly positive. And, in return, he offers his thanks:
Baltimore has been kind and generous to host our storytelling, more so than any other city might have dared. This city has proven, if nothing else, that it is open to the pursuit of problematic truths at a time when the country as a whole seems hellbent on avoiding such. As a local here, I share a secret pride in this.
To Simon's article, visit baltimoremagazine.net.
Two of the most memorable stars of the HBO series The Wire will be in Durham, North Carolina, this Friday to show their support and raise funds for the John Avery Boys & Girls Club there, reports the News & Observer. Andre Royo, who played Bubbles on the show, and Michael K. Williams, who played Omar Little, will discuss the important role the Club plays in the lives of so many young people.
