[0:00] the wire sets itself apart from other
[0:02] cop shows in its first season but the
[0:04] way all five seasons work together to
[0:06] illustrate a broader message is what
[0:09] really sets the show apart from other TV
[0:12] shows altogether this video is sponsored
[0:14] by Nord bpn I think you need a lot of
[0:19] context to seriously examine anything
[0:21] each season of The Wire doesn't just
[0:24] continue the story but adds a new layer
[0:27] of context to the show's examination of
[0:30] Baltimore's institutions and characters
[0:32] season 1 sets up a problem the
[0:35] ineffectiveness of the war on drugs and
[0:38] seasons two through five show why the
[0:40] problem isn't being solved by economics
[0:43] politics education and the media and how
[0:47] each of these things contribute to
[0:49] keeping the systems in a cycle of
[0:51] failure the opening scene of each season
[0:54] serves to illustrate the thesis of that
[0:56] season the opener to season 1 serves as
[0:59] a thesis for both season 1 and the
[1:02] entire show officer McNulty sits with
[1:05] the witness of a recent murder the
[1:07] witness who never appears again on the
[1:09] show laments the unnecessary death of
[1:12] snotboogie who kills not it's not been
[1:15] doing the same since all know how long
[1:17] kill a man over some bullish miss Napoli
[1:21] always stole the money why'd you let him
[1:23] play
[1:25] got this America man America indeed the
[1:30] game is the game and anyone is free to
[1:32] play it but that doesn't keep it from
[1:34] being rigged corrupt or having severe
[1:37] consequences season one is one of my
[1:40] favorites it works so well as a
[1:42] contained a story some by snapping
[1:45] pictures they got the whole damn thing
[1:47] someone snapping pictures got the whole
[1:48] deal nicely done it's circular nature
[1:51] and the book ending of the beginning and
[1:54] end of the season was what originally
[1:55] convinced me of the wires brilliance
[1:57] lester done but this isn't just clever
[2:00] story structure it serves to illustrate
[2:02] how everything in the world of the wire
[2:05] sits in a kind of stasis how cyclical
[2:08] and resistant to change
[2:10] everything is the ending of season 1
[2:12] provides no significant catharsis
[2:15] mirroring how the show will end while a
[2:18] bond is caught stringer bell goes by
[2:20] without a charge catch you later
[2:22] kima is shot which prompts an early
[2:25] shutdown of the case before it can bring
[2:27] in all its targets those we've been
[2:29] rooting for all season get punished by
[2:31] their respective institutions D'Angelo
[2:34] fails to successfully reform and doesn't
[2:36] flip and the death of Wallace one of the
[2:39] most vulnerable and lovable characters
[2:41] in season 1 sets the tone for the entire
[2:43] show no character is safe and includes
[2:46] us into the fact that the wire is going
[2:48] to go to some dark places in the process
[2:51] of exploring its themes no meaningful
[2:54] change occurs within the institutions
[2:57] only a few individuals change for the
[3:00] better and some of them change for the
[3:02] worse the second season of the show is
[3:06] one of the most controversial the story
[3:09] makes a hard right turn from the
[3:10] characters and primary narrative
[3:12] followed in season 1 and spends a lot of
[3:14] its time focused on a new set of
[3:17] dockworkers TV viewers are more used to
[3:19] this kind of maneuver in a show these
[3:21] days many of us have watched anthology
[3:23] shows or shows that evolved extensively
[3:25] from one season to the next but season
[3:28] two at the time of the wires release was
[3:31] startling to audiences it is however a
[3:33] vital season for two reasons first what
[3:36] the departure from the primary
[3:38] narrative signals to the audience about
[3:40] the show the departure from the main
[3:42] storyline is uncomfortable audiences
[3:44] want to spend time with the characters
[3:45] they already know and love but that
[3:47] shift signals that the story being told
[3:50] is about more than just the characters
[3:53] we met in season one while much of the
[3:56] show will continue to revolve around
[3:57] those characters storylines season 2
[4:00] marks the show's first expansion adding
[4:02] one of those additional layers of
[4:04] Baltimore to the scope of the show the
[4:06] second reason why season two is
[4:08] important is that it's the first step in
[4:10] illustrating part of why people move
[4:12] into the illicit drug trade in the first
[4:14] place I'm done I'm out I don't need
[4:17] nothing more to do it you people I don't
[4:19] need the trouble or the money I got a
[4:20] union a run it illustrates how the
[4:22] failing economy incentivizes people to
[4:25] find alternative sources of income they
[4:28] used to make steel then Oh
[4:35] smoke from the stacks
[4:38] but inside and importantly it shows that
[4:41] the institutional and systemic failure
[4:44] isn't just a race issue it's also a
[4:46] class issue the opening scene again sets
[4:49] up the thesis how they used to work
[4:51] there that steel and the shipyards there
[4:54] yeah and it uncle who was a supervisor
[4:55] there got laid off in 78 though
[4:59] 73 from my dad the images of the
[5:02] decaying ports are shown in contrast to
[5:04] the image of a Baltimore police boat
[5:07] pulling a boat from Washington named
[5:09] capital gains you told us somewhere out
[5:12] of the way
[5:12] band plays aren't a lot longer
[5:14] throughout the season we'll see how the
[5:16] police department is used by people and
[5:18] power for their own personal gain
[5:20] while the investigation in season one
[5:22] was sparked by McNulty's plea to a judge
[5:25] for change in season two the
[5:27] investigation is motivated by major
[5:30] valchek's desire for petty revenge
[5:31] against Frank Sobotka need a detail CID
[5:36] people mostly though I could spare some
[5:38] bodies out of my district to what for I
[5:40] got some guys in the southeast that are
[5:42] showing a lot of money
[5:44] the seasons wiretap investigation will
[5:46] take a long time to get up and running
[5:48] the show subverts expectations for the
[5:51] storyline by actively resisting a the
[5:54] gangs back together type of moment
[5:56] carvers in Southeast now he's got second
[6:00] a tool I mean it'd be great to have
[6:01] caught we're on this right it's what we
[6:05] don't even know what the hell was
[6:06] supposed to be chasing here since the
[6:07] wire is expecting that you've paid
[6:09] attention much of the details of running
[6:12] the wiretap are left out or abbreviated
[6:15] this season this trend will continue
[6:17] through the show each seasons wiretaps
[6:20] storyline becoming more condensed making
[6:22] room for other subjects another key
[6:25] element of season two is illustrating
[6:27] why characters stay in a bad situation
[6:29] maybe if I had listened your mother
[6:31] because she's the one always talking
[6:33] about you should do the community
[6:35] college like your brother
[6:36] pop-pop dumped mirroring Wallace's
[6:39] inability to leave the city for good in
[6:41] season 1 season 2 shows how the
[6:44] generational nature of the dockworkers
[6:46] fuels a desire to continue where they
[6:49] are even when that situation may not be
[6:51] the best for them the nature of what
[6:53] motivates Nick and Ziyi into crime is
[6:55] important as well as a mere stringer
[6:58] Bell and Avon Nick and stringers
[7:00] motivations are more purely economic be
[7:02] fun as a package a week I seen on the
[7:04] bank while Avon and Ziggy's have more to
[7:07] do with feeling empowered this is
[7:09] reminding me
[7:10] you a handle that business better to see
[7:13] we're making money
[7:14] Avon is obviously more successful and
[7:16] calculating than Zig ever is but both
[7:19] their motivations come not from wanting
[7:22] economic gain itself but from their
[7:24] desire for respect and to have control
[7:27] over the production of gain season 3
[7:30] sees the introduction of politics we've
[7:33] seen how economic dysfunction creates
[7:36] and propagates crime institutions in
[7:38] season 2 now we'll see why these aren't
[7:42] easily solved political issues and how
[7:44] the attempts to solve these problems can
[7:47] often backfire creating new unintended
[7:50] consequences the opening scene of the
[7:52] season acts as an image of the
[7:54] government caught in a cycle of creating
[7:57] solutions to problems it has helped
[7:59] create and then tearing down those
[8:01] solutions as a solution to the
[8:03] unintended issues created by their
[8:06] original solution we also see the
[8:09] citizens cheering for the destruction of
[8:11] an old solution and everyone being
[8:13] caught off guard by the side effects of
[8:15] the new solution season 3 again subverts
[8:19] expectations for the wiretap storyline
[8:21] by picking up on the investigation in
[8:23] full swing but it's struggling three
[8:26] months and we've yet to hear his voice
[8:29] the season also contains the wires
[8:33] closest thing to an explicit political
[8:35] argument the development of Hamsterdam
[8:38] major Colvin's attempt to solve the drug
[8:40] problem through unofficial regulated
[8:42] legalization might legalize drugs
[8:45] is the wired argument for legalization
[8:48] and regulation as a potential solution
[8:50] they arrested every dude out there for
[8:52] tipping back a high life there'd be no
[8:54] other time any other kind of pulleys but
[8:56] even here I think the wire handles the
[8:58] issue well the government showed it to
[9:00] good
[9:01] come on let me show you Doug showing
[9:03] with a great degree of nuance the
[9:06] difficulties involved with this approach
[9:08] even as it argues for it the dope fiend
[9:10] come down here cow bellows something an
[9:13] area so Haslam Chavez in police they
[9:17] just let him be it's a good thing
[9:28] understand this story line is where the
[9:32] season mirrors the irony found in the
[9:34] opening scene the image of the
[9:36] government proudly destroying public
[9:38] housing to solve a crime problem created
[9:41] in part by corrupt policing is seen in
[9:44] the destruction of Hamsterdam an
[9:46] unofficial solution to a problem the
[9:48] city helped to create season four in my
[9:53] opinion is one of the most important
[9:55] seasons of the wire seasons one through
[9:57] three examined the institution's on and
[9:59] above the street level that hold crime
[10:02] in place while season four examines an
[10:05] institution below the street level so to
[10:08] speak the season-opener subtly begins to
[10:11] probe the theme of education Snoop is
[10:14] educated by the store clerk about the
[10:16] nail guns you might want to consider the
[10:18] powder-actuated tool the hill TDX 460 MX
[10:22] or the Simpson PTP
[10:24] he's two of my Cadillacs she's motivated
[10:26] to learn and is a fast learner when the
[10:29] subject is relevant to her and she
[10:32] learns by relating that knowledge to
[10:34] what she knows guns
[10:39] will see this play out repeatedly
[10:41] through season 4 with our band of kids
[10:45] the numbers you can calculate the odds
[10:47] Michael have four diamonds showily
[10:50] what about guys I mean those guys have
[10:54] eyes too because mostly that's what we
[10:57] play it's not that they're unable or
[10:59] unwilling to learn in fact they're quite
[11:02] sharp and adaptive it's that what
[11:04] they're learning in school has little
[11:07] relevance to the reality they live on
[11:09] the streets this theme is supported by
[11:12] the fact that major Colvin's project to
[11:15] seize success by meeting those kids
[11:17] where they are without season four we
[11:20] never see how the characters shown in
[11:22] seasons one through three ended up where
[11:24] they are we might be left to assume that
[11:27] those characters are in the position
[11:29] they're in just because of their own
[11:30] choices or fate season four however
[11:34] presents a more difficult and complex
[11:36] answer it's not so simple as a one
[11:39] individual's choice to enter a life of
[11:41] crime or become a corrupt police officer
[11:44] every influence around you acts as a
[11:46] magnet drawing you towards certain
[11:48] outcomes but it's also never as simple
[11:51] as mere fate and those magnetic
[11:53] influences come from institutions which
[11:56] are made up of the sum of all the
[11:59] choices of all the individuals within
[12:01] that institution the way season 4
[12:04] relates to the school system and the
[12:06] police department strengthens the
[12:08] argument that it's not just the
[12:09] Baltimore Police Department or mayor's
[12:11] office that has a problem it's the way
[12:14] institutions themselves are run and
[12:17] structured that can create negative
[12:19] incentives and again Colvin's project
[12:22] like Hamsterdam while it sees success is
[12:24] dismantled by an institution that's
[12:27] afraid of appearances but you wouldn't
[12:29] be teaching test curriculum here do
[12:31] these would be that children left behind
[12:32] so to speak
[12:34] but as it is I mean where we leave them
[12:37] all behind anyway we should someone did
[12:39] bid it season five gets a bad rap and I
[12:45] won't argue that it's the lowest quality
[12:46] season of The Wire the departure of Ed
[12:49] Burns from the writing staff weakened
[12:51] the writing team and it shows in an
[12:53] attention to detail and realism and
[12:55] storytelling that doesn't quite live up
[12:57] to the standard of past seasons that
[12:59] said season five is still a critical
[13:01] part of the narrative that the wire is
[13:03] constructing it shows why media when it
[13:06] looks at everything that the previous
[13:08] seasons examined also fails to create
[13:11] meaningful change in many ways I think
[13:14] the narrative of the newspaper in season
[13:16] five is a reflection of many of the
[13:18] struggles the wire itself faced here you
[13:21] have a TV show that is attempting to
[13:23] seriously examine real difficult themes
[13:26] and it's completely overlooked by the
[13:28] industry Awards in favor of more
[13:31] sensational content just like the
[13:34] stories that are being considered for
[13:36] awards in season five are the more
[13:39] sensational stories instead of the more
[13:41] important ones but it isn't just Awards
[13:44] before it became somewhat of a cult hit
[13:46] when the DVDs came out the wire
[13:48] struggled to keep viewership and
[13:50] repeatedly had to fight to get renewed
[13:52] McNulty's crazy scheme to invent a
[13:55] serial killer to get the attention of
[13:57] the press and by proxy readers in a way
[14:00] mirrors David Simon's frustration that
[14:02] more sensational shows got higher
[14:05] viewership while the wire went largely
[14:07] unnoticed as a serial killer but he only
[14:12] became an officer again the opening
[14:15] scene tips us off to the broader theme
[14:18] of the season deception and how it's
[14:20] used within institutions and by
[14:23] individuals to game those institutions
[14:25] being Adlai
[14:30] the story of each character and the
[14:32] stories within each season of the lier
[14:34] are important and significant but I
[14:37] think the most impressive aspect of the
[14:39] show is the way it all works together in
[14:41] concert to illustrate the city of
[14:44] Baltimore and its different institutions
[14:46] the show illustrates how incredibly
[14:49] complex the problems it talks about are
[14:51] and how difficult finding a solution for
[14:54] those problems is every season of The
[14:58] Wire helps strengthen its argument and
[15:00] adds details and context to that
[15:02] argument
[15:03] the seasons aren't just arbitrary chunks
[15:05] of the story to divide production time
[15:08] and distribution their parts in the book
[15:10] working together to do something no TV
[15:13] show had done before thank you so much
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