TV can be smart sometimes
HBO is known for putting out interesting shows with high production value and unconventional formats to critical acclaim and cult following (The Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Mr. Show, etc).
The show that has me hooked and rethinking the value of pop culture altogether, however, is suprisingly unknown. "The Wire" has just entered its fourth season of exploring the drug war in the city of Baltimore, portraying its complexity and ugliness, the city politics and individual struggles against larger disfunctional institutions, the economic underpinnings and legal ambiguities. What emerges from the three seasons I've devoured so far isn't just a critique of the current state of the urban drug war, but a look at the state of the individual amidst beaurocracy.
This is the best television of this kind I have ever seen. Pop culture has the ability to produce some truly worthwhile and unique works of art; this is one of the few. I don't particularly like cop shows, but "The Wire" is something different entirely.
Check it out if you get a chance. You won't regret it.
Alex Ross from the New Yorker blogs: "There has never been a TV show better than The Wire."
The San Francisco Chronicle writes: "It has tackled the drug war in this country as it simultaneously explores race, poverty and 'the death of the American working class,' the failure of political systems to help the people they serve and the tyranny of lost hope. Few series in the history of television have explored the plight of inner-city African Americans and none -- not one -- has done it as well... it's an astonishing display of writing, acting and storytelling that must be considered alongside the best literature and filmmaking in the modern era."
Bill Simmons (self-proclaimed TV junky) from ESPN takes a detour from sports to rave about the show as one of the best 5 shows he has ever seen.
The show that has me hooked and rethinking the value of pop culture altogether, however, is suprisingly unknown. "The Wire" has just entered its fourth season of exploring the drug war in the city of Baltimore, portraying its complexity and ugliness, the city politics and individual struggles against larger disfunctional institutions, the economic underpinnings and legal ambiguities. What emerges from the three seasons I've devoured so far isn't just a critique of the current state of the urban drug war, but a look at the state of the individual amidst beaurocracy.
This is the best television of this kind I have ever seen. Pop culture has the ability to produce some truly worthwhile and unique works of art; this is one of the few. I don't particularly like cop shows, but "The Wire" is something different entirely.
Check it out if you get a chance. You won't regret it.
Alex Ross from the New Yorker blogs: "There has never been a TV show better than The Wire."
The San Francisco Chronicle writes: "It has tackled the drug war in this country as it simultaneously explores race, poverty and 'the death of the American working class,' the failure of political systems to help the people they serve and the tyranny of lost hope. Few series in the history of television have explored the plight of inner-city African Americans and none -- not one -- has done it as well... it's an astonishing display of writing, acting and storytelling that must be considered alongside the best literature and filmmaking in the modern era."
Bill Simmons (self-proclaimed TV junky) from ESPN takes a detour from sports to rave about the show as one of the best 5 shows he has ever seen.
