Life Imitiating Art File: No Witnesses, No Case Edition

The NYTimes describes a real life defense attorney for the bad guys who gets pinned for murda one. Like Maurice Levy, played by Michael Kostroff, Paul Bergrin was a successful attorney, "hobnobbing with celebrities." The nut grafe:

According to court records, the conversation captured him telling his client’s cousin, one of Newark’s most powerful drug lords, the identity of a confidential witness: Deshawn McCray, known as Kemo. A few days later, the authorities say, Mr. Bergrin met with his client’s cousin again and told him “No Kemo, no case.”
Mr. McCray was shot to death three months later in a brutal ambush, forcing prosecutors to drop the charges against Mr. Bergrin’s client, William Baskerville.

File that story under life imitating art.

New York Times Wire

Via Unfogged, NYTimes Modern Love does The Wire. I guess it's a pretty good show on which to meditate about Life and Death; Love and War... I can also conclude that there are some bigger fans of the show than I am as I probably wouldn't choose to watch episodes of The Wire on my deathbed.

The NYTimes also published a brief story on moving the NYC cop beat reporter's office from Police Headquarters to an offsite location. While this doesn't theoretically damage the quality of reporting, it's just more evidence of the diminishing position of the media in places were it's needed most, local government. David Simon agrees. Besides the potentially diminished oversight capability (clearly reporters cover institutions better in closer proximity or they wouldn't always desire such conditions), closing the "The Shack" will destroy a lot of history for an ambiguous "command center."

It wasn't that good back then

One issue I've had with The Wire (and The Corner) is the sense of nostalgia about a past urban golden age in which jobs were plentiful, drugs were just business, people settled fights without murder, and neighborhoods supported each other.

Various historical texts have supported my thoughts. In the defacto and dejure segregated ghettos, life was different from today's urban environment, but life was plenty hard. The Times has an interesting article about a man shot in fifties who recently died. He became the oldest reclassified murder in NYC history. Just something I like to point out when various characters try to describe a brighter, shinier past.

Gay Stick Up Artist Invades Britain

Hopefully this makes up for that time you sent us The Beatles and we sent you Elvis.

First off, a big welcome to those viewers from across the pond! On Monday, the BBC-2 will begin playing all five seasons of The Wire at "a late time slot." In light of this development, the British media has done some sporadic features with David Simon, Ed Burns, and other Wire related personalities.

The Guardian has a very nice interview with Simon this week (H/T: Baltimore Crime comments section). The interview primary focuses on Simon's (well known) distaste for the current media environment and laments that bloggers won't fill the hole left by collapsing corporate media empires. While Simon's thoughts, nor the article's retread of various media arguments and ideas about micropayments are particularly new, it's quite readable. So I'll give The Guardian some daps for this, and some daps for a series they did on Roanoke, Virginia back during the 2008 Presidential Election (Roanoke is my other obsession).

Also noted briefly this week, The Wire's music producer resurfaces at his excellent blog, Ten Thousand Things. Blake Leyh hits us with a preview of what "Treme" might sound like by covering one of the all time greatest Nawlins tunes, St. James Infirmary. Treme is Simon's next project based on post-Katrina musicians in New Orleans. New British fans of The Wire will come to love Leyh's choice of diegetic music (all music in The Wire comes from sources located in the scene, except for the season ending montages). As a composer, Leyh succeeds wildly with the closing credits music which still echoes in my head. The posted version of St. James Infirmary is equally baaad. A tune that's so slow, yet burns so hot.


Photo courtesy of H-Bomb on Flickr (CC)

Life Imitates Art Folder

We've had quite a bit of life imitating art imitating life recently. First, Aaron Sorkin models his West Wing character "Josh Lymon" off of Rahm Emanuel, a political fire eater in the Clinton White House. Then the West Wing's Matt Santos (modeled off Barack Obama) "wins" the next election over "western state centrist Republican (aka John McCain)" Arnie Vinnick. Santos appoints Lymon as his Chief of Staff. Who does Obama appoint a couple years after The West Wing has been canceled? Rahm Emanuel, of course.

The Wire has spawned numerous life imitates art situations, most of which appear on the Baltimore Crime Blog. But Illinois Governor "Hot Rod" Blagojevich blatently stole from Simon's character Clay Davis today in a press conference in which he dramatically announced:

"I'm here to tell you right off the bat that I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing, that I intend to stay on the job, and I will fight this thing every step of the way. I will fight. I will fight. I will fight until I take my last breath."

Like the fictional Maryland Congressman, Blagojevich blamed "a political lynch mob" with all the insinuations that come with mentioning such a mob: hysteria, discrimination, and swift (in)justice without due process. Perhaps we would be more convinced if the "mob" wasn't made up of a well-respected Federal AG and the evidence wasn't a four year+ investigation, wiretap quotes, and corroborating testimony from Blago goons.

And remember Clay Davis reaching back to the past to appropriate some history and literature for his own uses. Carrying Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound into the courtroom, he explains the work by A-see-lee-us:

"It's an ancient play, of the oldest we have. It's about a simple man who was horrifically punished by the powers that be for the terrible crime of trying to bring light to the people."

Blago has his own version:

"Rudyard Kipling wrote, If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you; if you can trust yourself when all men doubt you and make allowance for their doubting, too; if you can wait and not be tired by waiting; or being lied about, don't deal in lies; or being hated, don't give way to hating.

Now, I know there are some powerful forces arrayed against me. It's kind of lonely right now.

But I have on my side the most powerful ally there is, and it's the truth."

Give that man an Oscar. And fifteen years in the federal pokey.

Update
Via New Package:

Melissa Harris-Lacewell recommends viewing The Wire to learn more about the current crisis. Cop the last minute on the video.

Season 1 Episode 1 - The Target

Scene opens with a pan up a trail of blood and flashing lights to a dead body.

This is the opening of what some have called the greatest drama of this decade, or the greatest television show ever, or the angriest show on television, or... you get the point. A lot of people who watched it, think it's pretty darn good.

The opening scene sets the up a show that definitely breaks the mold of "cop show." We get the story of snotboogie, a citizen of Baltimore who has a greed for money which ultimately kills him. It's a tragic tale which elicits more questions than answers for McNulty, the assigned homocide detective. How'd he get the name snot? Who killed him? Why'd they even let him play the weekend dice game, when he snatched pot every time it got big. Those assembled would customarily beat him up except this time. McNulty does find out why they let him play: "You got to. This is America."

The opening story sets up some of the show's ultimate themes, like the brutality of the city, "games," and the false opportunity of America's myths. These might be a bit pretentious for a cop show- but remember "It's not TV. It's HBO." The opening also provides a compelling (true) story about human life, and one which likely never made it into the paper. If Simon is a journalist, then this is the human interest story on A1 of the West Baltimore Sun. And the story is one of the many true tales which Simon and Ed Burns introduce from their experiences in the institutions of Baltimore.

The opening also never features into the overall narrative. At all. In TV world, the pilot (which this basically is) must provide all of the necessary backstory, introduce the main characters, and make an argument for filming episodes 2-13. Apparently snotboogie's story didn't help this because HBO initially declined to pick up The Wire. It later would authorize the show after Simon's begging letter convinced them.

"...when it's not your turn"

After the credits (also worth discussion on another day), we find ourselves in the courtroom. In the case of D'Angelo Barksdale, the jury found the defendant innocent even though he was guilty as sin. This was another example of witness intimidation by the Barksdale crew. But the interaction between String and McNulty shows that, no hard feelings, this is just business.

Back to an unidentified block and Kima, Herc, and Carver introduce themselves. Kima is cool, calm, and all business. Herc and Carver play the role of beat'em down, take no prisoners, "the Western District way" cops. This is a successful narcotics bust- reminiscent of typical cops shows, but fairly small time stuff.

Back to the Barksdale court room for the jury's decision- innocent. Then onto the Judge's chambers where McNulty begins discussing Barksdale, the real Barksdale, Avon. This is one place where the opening quote, "...when it ain't your turn" applies. McNulty could play dumb and not stir up trouble with Judge Phalen, but instead he tells him about Barksdale's power and success in the towers. If this were a Greek Tragedy, it would be that one act by the protagonist which leads the gods to strike him down in Act III. Later in the episode, we get another example of a small act with long term consequences. When McNulty tells Sargent Jay Landsman where he doesn't want to go, the boat, it surprises no one that McNulty eventually ends up here.

I particularly like some of the exchanges, including:

McNulty: Think about clearing the court?
Phalen: On what basis? It's an open court, a free nation of laws.
McNulty: I thought it was Baltimore.

This sets up a theme that Baltimore is not the same as "America," at least as America considers itself (which I've written on).

Later, the Bunk decides to answer his phone (even though it wasn't his turn) after hearing a body was found indoors- unfortunately it turns out to be a vacant. This little turn is an example of the realism that Simon tries to bring to the show. According to the DVD commentary, every detective in the country knows why Bunk prays for the indoor body because he has a much greater possibility of solving the case.

Up to this point the show has introduced four different cases in rapid fire, none of which have much importance (the Gant case being the exception). In the world of network procedurals, this would be a big no-no. But it soon becomes The Wire's bread and butter.



The episodes also introduces my blog's namesake, Bubbles. He's a happy
go lucky dope fiend with the skills to successfully hustle his daily
fix, but he's also a teacher. He's trying to "school" his new white
friend name Johnny. When Johnny fails at the fake money scam and gets
beaten within an inch of his life- Bubbles decides he will turn on the
Barksdale crew. This is another example of how "all the pieces matter."
A theme which will be discussed more in later episodes.

One other theme, that would achieve larger significance is how institutions function. AKA "shit rolls downhill." The narcotics crew makes note of this, but you don't get it in full until McNulty and Dee get reamed out by their respective bosses. Both McNulty and Dee get "punished" for their errors in judgement. we also learn about "chain of command" from Major Rawls, Burrell, and Lieutenant Daniels.

The episode closes with what will become a well known feature- Bunk and McNulty's drunken bullshit sessions by the railroad tracks. Bunk tells another true story, this one about Bunk shooting a mouse with his service nine. More importantly, McNulty almost gets run over by a train. A symbol that I have also discussed on numerous examples. This is an instance when the symbol, representing the institutions of Baltimore, comes closest to rolling over McNulty in reality. But in a symbolic sense, the episode shows how Baltimore's cop shop is slowly massing against him.

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In plot and theme, the show is a far cry from "the cop show," even at this early episode. But in the show's look and feel as well, it's a very different world. This episode, directed by Clark Johnson, used a very gritty and real style, favoring hand-held shots, wide angles, and footage from natural sources (like security camaras). As many have said, it's a world where we all are increasingly being listened to and watched. But in the show's music it also treads some fresh ground for TV. All music must come from natural sources- car stereos, boom boxes, etc. This is very different from network procedurals which use music to lead the viewer by indicating suspense, resolution, and conflict.

The show is different in its characterization as well. Simon introduced a whole trove of actors in the first show, most of whom will make further appearances. This includes- McNulty, Bunk, Landsman, D'Angelo, Avon, Orlando, Stringer, Wee Bey, Stinkum, Savino, Phalen, Bubbles, Johnny, Kima, Herc, Carver, Daniels, Freamon, Burrell, Poo, Bodie, Wallace, Coles, and about 20 more in addition. The only characters who seems to have a main role in bridging between the different worlds at this time is McNulty and Bubbles. The procedurals feature a small cast of notable detectives and a revolving list of crooks who float in and then float out after the police catch them and solve the cases.

----

To sum up, the first episode introduces some very big themes that later episodes and seasons will address. More importantly it introduces a style outside of the traditional cop show in plot, characters, visually, and even in sound. The Wire staked new ground on television with this episode and broke many conventions. But the show had greater aspirations than to be "not your average cop show" or "better than Homocide." These came out in later episodes which I'll keep discussing tomorrow.

The Wire as Muckraker?

I've touched on the feelings of Nostalgia in some of my other posts, but here I'm thinking about an older style of journalism for which which David Simon yearns. Much of his critique of The Media revolves around its ambivalence toward "the stories that matter" (as highlighted in Simon's interview here). The subplots of plagiarism, capitalization, buyouts, etc. are not the main story as articulated by Simon. Rather the biggest journalistic crimes are:

"the corrupt mayor asking for cooked crime stats, the elementary school test scores spawned from students being taught the tests, the deaths of Prop Joe and Omar -- all indicators of the city's real problems that never appeared in the Sun's pages"

I would hasten to add the failures and successes of hamsterdam, social services, and witness protection to the list. In fact, in almost every character there is a story missed by Sun in some way. If the institutions of Baltimore run the characters' lives, why doesn't the Sun report on these issues/institutions in a substantive way?

This style of reporting, muckraking, has actually been around for a hundred of years. For Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, it's the meat-packing industry as a metaphor on the failure of capitalism's promises. In Jacob Riis' How the Other Half Lives, the reader gets an expose of the New York City slums through a photoessay (an experiment in new media of its day). The muckrakers were related to the Progressive movement, whose figurehead was Teddy Roosevelt. Busting trusts, fighting for those without a voice, and being masculine, Roosevelt and the Progressives were determined to halt capitalism's largest crimes against humanity (and participate in a few of their own). Although their targets were powerful people in powerful places, the muckrakers were very much a part of mainstream journalism.

One can trace a similar vein of journalism to the 1930s (well, sorta). The consumer movement, symbolized by Stuart Chase and F.J. Schlink's Consumer Research group also critiqued capitalism. Though outside mainstream journalism, CR's newsletter and later Consumer Union's newsletter, Consumer Reports (which broke off of CR after a strike and personality issues, just read this to learn more). One of the more famous books to come out of this movement was F.J. Schlink and Arthur Kallet's 10,000 Guinea Pigs.

In the 1960s, Consumer Reports became famous from a different writer, current Presidential candidate Ralph Nader. His work on automobile safety, and what became Unsafe at Any Speed also critiqued the institution of capitalism. Another journalist/writer of this period included Rachel Carson, who wrote Silent Spring, which described the dangers of pesticides and lead to the outlaw of DDT. Carson also contributed articles to the Baltimore Sun.

Though my examples may be a little ahistorical, (and all you Media Studies and Mass Comm. experts out there can right my wrongs on the history of the media) I do think Simon sees this style of investigative journalism disappearing as a result of "doing more with less." I also think one could place The Wire in the same category as fictional versions of muckraking (like Sinclair Lewis' Babbitt). In fact, I think one of the reasons why The Wire is so popular with those of a more academic persuasion (even though it pokes fun at academics in season 3&4), is because of its muckraker roots. There are many strains of social science but many of us try to examine the lives of those who do not have a voice (or who's voice has not been heard). It's a goal the muckrakers would recognize.

The Media Angle

Columbia Journalism Review has a great/expansive article on David Simon and The Wire. Some have criticized the current season for its portrayal of the media and particularly the portrayal of Baltimore Sun Executive Editor, "James Whiting" and Managing Editor, "Thomas Klebanow." These characters are virtual stand ins for the actual Sun editors during Simon's time, John Carroll and Bill Marimow. Carroll recently tried to fight layoffs at the LA Times and resigned himself. In an open email of sorts (couldn't find the link to it that I read a couple days ago), he shows himself to far from the corporate stooge Simon writes him as. Simon's criticisms of the bottom line ruining journalism is echoed by Carroll. The journalism community also holds Marimow in high regard. The main disagreement between them seems to be one of journalistic style. Marimow and Carroll have written some of their most successful stories on individual phenomena, which brought real substantive changes, issues "you could take a bite out of." Simon's most powerful work, like Homicide or The Corner paints in much broader strokes, or according to Simon “problems and people portrayed in all of their complexity and contrariness.”

Its a little disappointing that Simon's normally ambiguous writing has made such good-bad/right-wrong characters in the newsroom, but I don't want to pass judgement yet. Indeed, I think he had to go to the Sun in this season, and it certainly fits into his model of institutionalization and bureaucracy (hint: it's bad). And maybe the characters will achieve more complexity in the coming episodes. Maybe Scott Templeton will grow some conscience. Maybe Gus will be a little more evil. Maybe the editors will start doing more with more. Maybe the newsroom subplot won't turn into Simon settling a grudge with his bosses from ten years ago. Ok, probably not.