The Wholesome Photo of the Month Thu May 09, 2024 11:01 | Anti-Empire
In 3 War Years Russia Will Have Spent $3... Thu May 09, 2024 02:17 | Anti-Empire
UK Sending Missiles to Be Fired Into Rus... Tue May 07, 2024 14:17 | Marko Marjanović
US Gives Weapons to Taiwan for Free, The... Fri May 03, 2024 03:55 | Anti-Empire
Russia Has 17 Percent More Defense Jobs ... Tue Apr 30, 2024 11:56 | Marko Marjanović Anti-Empire >>
A bird's eye view of the vineyard
Alternative Copy of thesaker.is site is available Thu May 25, 2023 14:38 | Ice-Saker-V6bKu3nz Alternative site: https://thesaker.si/saker-a... Site was created using the downloads provided Regards Herb
The Saker blog is now frozen Tue Feb 28, 2023 23:55 | The Saker Dear friends As I have previously announced, we are now “freezing” the blog. We are also making archives of the blog available for free download in various formats (see below).
What do you make of the Russia and China Partnership? Tue Feb 28, 2023 16:26 | The Saker by Mr. Allen for the Saker blog Over the last few years, we hear leaders from both Russia and China pronouncing that they have formed a relationship where there are
Moveable Feast Cafe 2023/02/27 ? Open Thread Mon Feb 27, 2023 19:00 | cafe-uploader 2023/02/27 19:00:02Welcome to the ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’. The ‘Moveable Feast’ is an open thread where readers can post wide ranging observations, articles, rants, off topic and have animate discussions of
The stage is set for Hybrid World War III Mon Feb 27, 2023 15:50 | The Saker Pepe Escobar for the Saker blog A powerful feeling rhythms your skin and drums up your soul as you?re immersed in a long walk under persistent snow flurries, pinpointed by The Saker >>
Labour?s VAT Plan for Private Schools Flunks Revenue Test Sun Jul 28, 2024 19:00 | Richard Eldred New analysis suggests Labour's tax on private schools could bring in less than half the expected amount because of the extra cost of adding more students to the state system.
The post Labour?s VAT Plan for Private Schools Flunks Revenue Test appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Far-Left Group Claim Responsibility for Paris Arson Attacks Sun Jul 28, 2024 17:00 | Richard Eldred A far-Left group has claimed responsibility for crippling Paris's rail network with arson attacks, stranding 800,000 passengers, just before the Olympic opening ceremony.
The post Far-Left Group Claim Responsibility for Paris Arson Attacks appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
DESNZ Has Net Zero Competence Sun Jul 28, 2024 15:00 | David Turver David Turver casts a critical eye over the new crop of ministers at the Department of Energy and Net Zero, revealing a batch of public sector lifers with no commercial savvy and zero energy know-how.
The post DESNZ Has Net Zero Competence appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Hate Cleric Raises £3 Million to Create Islamic Homeland on Scottish Island Sun Jul 28, 2024 13:01 | Richard Eldred A radical cleric has raised over £3 million to transform a remote Scottish island into a self-governing Islamic state with its own army, justice system, school and hospital.
The post Hate Cleric Raises £3 Million to Create Islamic Homeland on Scottish Island appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Why I Fear What Labour Will Do to the Education System Sun Jul 28, 2024 11:00 | Stephen Curran We are facing a radical agenda set by the progressive wing of the educational establishment, says Dr Stephen Curran. We should build on the past 14 years' foundation, not tear it down.
The post Why I Fear What Labour Will Do to the Education System appeared first on The Daily Sceptic. Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
Netanyahu soon to appear before the US Congress? It will be decisive for the suc... Thu Jul 04, 2024 04:44 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N°93 Fri Jun 28, 2024 14:49 | en
Will Israel succeed in attacking Lebanon and pushing the United States to nuke I... Fri Jun 28, 2024 14:40 | en
Will Netanyahu launch tactical nuclear bombs (sic) against Hezbollah, with US su... Thu Jun 27, 2024 12:09 | en
Will Israel provoke a cataclysm?, by Thierry Meyssan Tue Jun 25, 2024 06:59 | en Voltaire Network >>
|
The Wire, Season Two: Working-Class Sentiments
A compelling exploration of declining industry in contemporary America
Season two of The Wire, aired in 2003, explores working-class promises being broken in east-coast urban America. The series looks at the declining industry of Baltimore's docklands, and the implications for many working-class men, who are suffering the consequences of 21st capitalism. Whoever has seen The Wire knows, without doubt, that this television series stands alone amongst some of America's drama-crime giants. The Wire's not just another American cop drama, where the battle between good and evil involves copious bullets and explosions, and in the end, good always triumphs. The Wire portrays, in great detail, the lived experiences of the citizens of Baltimore, Maryland, and the intricacies of inner-city urban life where poverty, drug abuse, and crime are rampant.
Season two of The Wire provides us with a sobering reminder of the complexities of 21st century capitalism, and the evils of postmodern neoliberalism. Season two focuses on the declining industry of Baltimore’s docks, where the local workers, called ‘stevedores’, are seeing less and less days employment, some seeing 72 days in the year. This is due to less cargo traffic; more and more ships are docking upriver at different ports, land in and around the port area is being sold off to private developers, and the local councils are letting the Baltimore docklands dilapidate and fall apart. As this deindustrialization is happening at a not-so-subtle rate, some of the stevedores are shown a video of Rotterdam port, by a private firm, where the latest technology in cargo transportation is being employed, with a result of “robots” replacing port workers. The company representative who shows the men this “horror movie” justifies the loss of jobs, by referring to the drop in numbers of on-the-job casualties. A nice short clip to boost stevedore morale.
Frank Sobatka, a stevedore who’s been working on Baltimore’s docks for many years, is acting as president of the port workers’ local union, part of the International Brotherhood of Stevedores. We see Frank throughout the series struggling desperately to keep Baltimore's docks alive, to provide his men with the work they need to survive. In order to carry out his aims, Frank needs to provide local politicians, and other individuals with connections, with some 'incentives', in the hope that improvements in Baltimore's docks will materialize soon.
In order to obtain these 'incentives', Frank, his son, Ziggy, his nephew, Nick, and some fellow stevedores, are dealing with a global criminal enterprise based in Baltimore’s docks. This criminal organization, headed by a man only known as “The Greek” (who we find out isn’t actually Greek), deals in activities such as smuggling, racketeering, and prostitution. Frank, with the help of his inner circle of fellow stevedores, ‘disappears’ ship containers that are of considerable interest to the Greek, where, in return, the Greek pays Frank for his 'contribution' to the business. Frank uses this money for carrying out the union's aims.
Here we see a vicious circle, where working-class men are forced into criminal activities, that only add to the disintegration of their city. You’ll see why when you watch the series (and you must watch it!), as things are a bit more complex than this article can elaborate on. The Greek and his organization are providing several Baltimore drug kingpins with illegal drugs, “right of the boat”.
We see in season two of The Wire working-class promises being broken. A job on the docks was once thought of as a 'job for life', a steady job that payed well. Not only do we see the ills of contemporary capitalism, but how these ills are intimately linked to other urban problems: gangs running wild, destroying the city with drugs; a struggling police department with limited resources and manpower to handle complex cases; and how privatization is a threat to civil democracy. Also, at the end of the first episode, you'll see something that’ll make you think twice about humanity.
The Wire doesn’t sugar-coat reality, it tells reality's story seen through the eyes of the people of Baltimore, and the America that got left behind while the other America prospered at the expense of the working-class. The Wire is essential viewing for anyone who holds a sympathetic outlook on humanity. Not only do we fall in love with "good police" (Baltimore lingo) and concerned citizens, but we fall in love with criminals, and it actually has an effect on us when something happens to these thugs. That’s how powerful The Wire really is; it doesn't make us think that there's two sides to every story, it presents us with a complex reality seen through more than two different subjective lenses.
Omar Little, Barack Obama’s favourite character, is a man worth checking out. Check all five seasons out, it’ll be money well spent.
|
View Comments Titles Only
save preference
Comments (5 of 5)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5Thanks for this review - it is a good read and offers an interesting analysis.
Shame its for a TV series that first aired seven years ago and has already been written about extensively...
We've lived without TV for years, but this review and other praise we've heard would tempt us to hire 'The Wire' on DVD.
Thanks for the review.
I've just started watching the whole series lately. Pretty class.
All cities evolve and change .
Famously, upper class parts of London become the lower class areas in a few decades.
And vice versa.
"Donnybrook" is a word in the English language meaning a row among lower class rowdies in a lower class area.
Donnybrook Dublin 4 is now a posh address.
.
Thanks for the good comments - just thought I'd write what I thought about The Wire and see what other people thought. Just after finishing my degree (anthropology + sociology actually) and I'm trying to make a career in writing/reporting.