Friday, June 07, 2013

'The Wire' wasn't that great

David Simon, creator of the American television series, The Wire:
  • Opposes marijuana legalization because he says it will only help rich white kids, which isn't true.
  • Opposes the free dissemination of information, encouraging major media companies to form a cartel aimed at ensuring only rich people like him can afford to read the news.
  • Supports intellectual property laws that guarantee people like him are overpaid, arguing that "journalism, literature, film, music -- these endeavors need people operating at the highest professional level," by which he means: I like living in a big house (ask yourself: does the best journalism, literature, film and music tend to be produced by the really rich or those that don't much care for money?)
  • Supports Barack Obama's dragnet PRISM program, which collects data on all phone calls placed in the United States, on the look how much I know basis that the government has done stuff like this before, the only thing different being "the scale." Yes, David. And LOL
All of which is to say: The Wire had its moments, but it was still just a cop show and as a one-time straight news reporter I found the last season to be unwatchable. Newspapers always sucked and I hope the next gig David Simon is up for is given to a blogger.

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for this brief but cogent takedown of David Simon. I still think The Wire's great but since discovering Simon's blog I have a much lower opinion of its creator.

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  2. Devastated to read that he's so oblivious to the lessons from his own shows : murderous war on drugs, empire in decline, corrupt management, capture of the judiciary, etc.

    I guess he's preparing his future.

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  3. The Wire is, in my opinion, the greatest TV show of all time. I agree Season 5 was tough to get through. Season 4 was incredible.

    Simon having some shitty politics is totally separate from the quality of his work. I can hate what I hate about him and love what I love about him.

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    1. Look, I threw in the dig at The Wire mostly for giggles, but it just never grabbed me. I watched all but the last season and while it was certainly much smarter than most TV, and included some serious questioning of the drug war, I still saw it as: Oh, look, the detectives who fight the drug war are good, honest people like you and me just trying to do their best! Meh.

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  4. Anonymous7:48 PM

    Charles, don't think you are giving a fair construction to Simon's comments here. He "opposes" marijuana legalization for the same reason I oppose Obamacare... not because I'm against universal coverage... but because it's putting lipstick on the horrible status quo pig.

    Couldn't agree more that his blog post on Prism was fucking moronic... but I still loved The Wire and think he gets it when it comes to drugs. (even if reasonable minds can disagree on whether or not marijuana decriminalization/Obamacare should count as a 'victory')

    -Jay

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