Viewing Baltimore

Winner of the “ASCAP Award” and Emmy nominated in the category of “Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series”, HBO’s hit TV series “The Wire” has been acclaimed as one of television’s hottest dramas of the new millennium. But, The Wire is much more than a fictional program on mainstream television. It is an authentic view into the incidents and affairs that plagues present day America and its communities. A huge fan of this show, I have seen every episode David Simon, the show’s creator, has aired. I refreshed my memory this semester by attending a viewing of season four, episodes dedicated to exposing the harsh truths of the insufficiency of education inner Baltimore schools have to offer.
The episodes viewed that night revolved around the eight grade characters introduced in the beginning of this season. Michael, a dominant young man among his clique, has male-trusting issues that arose from self experiences of child molestation. Naymond, an adolescent who talks the talk but fears the very environment he claims to be king of. Other characters tie to the constant drug sequence embedded in the fabrics of the ongoing plot. Marlo Stanfield is pronounced “King of the Streets” due to his tremendous profit off of the drugs he sells and the untarnished reputation he maintains, one that few will challenge at least. These characters are the tip of the iceberg as Simon gives us a descriptive outline in his fictional story. The police seem to be just as corrupt as the drug dealers. We see such details when Bubs, the lovable dope fiend, is battered and beaten by an adversary of the streets. As a policeman pulls up to help the distraught old man, the cop decides to rob the drug-addict of his possessions.
The main focus of this season reflects the classroom life of the youngsters of the Baltimore area. Prezbo, an ex-cop and present teacher in the Baltimore school district, finds his teaching methods useless in a school that does not promote adequate education. The school literally promotes students for their age and seldom for their merit. Prezbo uses techniques such as dice games to trick the children into learning; such techniques the children will apply to their street knowledge. “Trick em’ into thinking they’re not learning and they do.” We see this school system fall to pieces with little scars and splits in the structure. Such examples exist in the Truancy Laws, which states that the kids only have to come one day in September and October so the school can keep receiving funds. We also see the mathematics taught to the eight graders is actually as high as fifth grade arithmetic. An enjoyable yet pathetic moment in this season includes a math problem being placed on the board. A non-attentive student is asked by Prezbo to answer the problem, which he gets correct. Impressed with the child’s math skills, the teacher asks him to elaborate on his found answer. It is revealed that the child recognized the answer because Prezbo tapped on the answer too many times on the board. As the class laughs, viewers became disgusted with basic comprehension and arithmetic skills lacking overall.
The Wire’s ability to unveil the racism and boundaries is similar to that of McClusky’s “Lush life.” The boundaries the musicians have in this time period gives them a role to play in society, similar to the dope fiends and drug dealer’s roles in their environment. The boundaries of the school systems are also relevant through the children’s lack of education. Such boundaries are also apparent in Langston Hughes “Theme for English B.” The only difference is that the plagued plot of The Wire seems to never change for the better; however, Hughes speaks of expressing his emotions, saying the unexpected, and finding the togetherness rather than leaving the present boundaries.
Although The Wire expresses the negative aspects of Baltimore, one thing it always shows is the expression of character. The characters in this drama show their stripes through actions. Their actions and responses to their environments make them who they are. We see such powerful expression in Whitman’s “I sing the Body Electric.” Whitman shows how our body makes us who we are.
Alvarez’s “Queens, 1963” ties with The Wire and forms a key theme. Alvarez expresses her neighborhood’s form of racism towards each other, even though such racist action and viewpoints have touched the lives of those people. Simon expresses how “the crab in the barrel effect” influences the people of Baltimore. We fight each other to get to the top. To end such behavior is not only difficult, it seems impossible. This season has taken new strides towards further awareness of the ongoing struggle of not only Baltimore, but many communities in America. Simon has just given us a windows view of our own backyard. In the words of Councilman Carcetti: If you’re talented and black, why would you be in Baltimore?