a solitary rap line vs a whole character in a TV show
― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, March 9, 2011 3:45 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
wtf dude its just a parallel example of dramatic license
― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:49 (thirteen years ago) link
im trying to explain what ppl mean by 'realism' w/r/t the wire is similar to 'realism' in rap music
its not a 'stretch' its an 'example you are already familiar with that might help you approach it with the expectations of fiction'
― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:50 (thirteen years ago) link
i really like the mcnulty/bunk murder-reconstruction scene. the "fuck" part is pretty irrelevant: it's several minutes of guys doing a job, which is both interesting and rare on TV, and there's this whole other additional enjoyable layer where we have in fact had this murder described to us, earlier, by an unreliable narrator, and so there's two layers of crosspollinating suspense: 1) will mcnulty/bunk succeed in reconstructing the murder; 2) will mcnulty/bunk's reconstruction of the murder reveal to us inaccuracies in the description of the murder already presented w/ implications about the character, priorities, and concerns of the guy who described it? pretty elegant scene. dunno what else people want from fiction.
― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:50 (thirteen years ago) link
the repetition of fuck kind of just sets off how absorbed they are in their work
― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:51 (thirteen years ago) link
they say it sort of meditatively
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10fHQS2tvKg&eurl=
― I just want to give a shout-out to Buzzy Beetles (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:52 (thirteen years ago) link
oh yeah plus it's funny. i just meant it's not the detail i would choose as synecdoche for the scene.
xp
― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:52 (thirteen years ago) link
considering how often the wire is described as 'operatic' im a lil confused why ppl get so stuck on 'realism'
― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:54 (thirteen years ago) link
every time i open this thread its people talking about whether it's "real." someone should seriously send this to HRO
― gawka flocka flamewar (Whiney G. Weingarten), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:54 (thirteen years ago) link
mean, an openly gay rebel gangster (who just so happens to find tons of other gay gangsters to be his boyfriend AND partner in crime) that can steal hundreds of thousands worth of drugs just by showing up and walks around in a trench coat as kids flee the streets and go "oh my god it's omar" -- it's just really fantastical nonsense at times -- and i ALWAYS resented how this superhuman character was not able to kill avon from point blank range in the beginning of season one, which sorta undercuts the whole notion of the character
^^^totally agree with this (sorry I'm late to this thread). silly as fuck
― You hurt me deeply. You hurt me deeply in my heart. (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:57 (thirteen years ago) link
you!
― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:57 (thirteen years ago) link
j0rdan mo collier
― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:58 (thirteen years ago) link
u have a v pessimistic view of ppl's motives & its impugning your ability to be rational while critiquing this show imo
also lol hmm this reminds me of somebody who could it be...
― You hurt me deeply. You hurt me deeply in my heart. (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:02 (thirteen years ago) link
I wasn't particularly fond of the opening scene. seemed contrived and writerly, and if you're striving for street realism, do you really think a gangbanger is going to be seen chilling out in public with a police detective at a murder scene?
^ my first post itt, what's funny is I really dig the omar character, I guess I will forgive a lack of realism if it's done with style
didn't really like the "fuck" scene either, seemed like some tv screenwriter watercooler shit
― I love priest but I've chosen maiden (Edward III), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:03 (thirteen years ago) link
Churchy Mo Lady
― gawka flocka flamewar (Whiney G. Weingarten), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:03 (thirteen years ago) link
also agree that Bunk was the best/most well acted character in this show
― You hurt me deeply. You hurt me deeply in my heart. (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:04 (thirteen years ago) link
it's not really a lack of realism! it's what realist fiction is made of! like have you ever read a dickens death scene? i always end up sounding like that awful baltimore sun editor from season 5 on wire threads.
― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:04 (thirteen years ago) link
this really isnt that unrealistic. they never say hes a gangbanger, just a dude shooting dice, & ppl do talk to the cops all the time
― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:07 (thirteen years ago) link
that scene's just not very well acted.
― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:08 (thirteen years ago) link
also they keep making mcnulty like re-describe the scenario every time he asks for more details and it starts to feel weirdly like it's being done for people who can't understand what the guy he's talking to is saying. which is unfortunate because mcnulty's own accent in that scene is kind of a trainwreck.
― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:10 (thirteen years ago) link
i'm glad whiney could swing by
― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:12 (thirteen years ago) link
scenes that I think are overrated - chess explanation and "you want it to be one way"
― boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:19 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah his myth is played up a lot but it is treated as myth, not truth
― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:20 (thirteen years ago) link
― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, March 9, 2011 4:08 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
yeah this is true. there are moment w/in esp the first season that scream 'im acting'
― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:21 (thirteen years ago) link
Anyone wanting 100% realism from this show is insane, it's all about the cartoonish excesses of the characters, that includes the cops as much as the ridiculous and massively enjoyable standoff between Omar and Brother Mousone. Should've had more Brother Mousone actually.
― Matt DC, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:39 (thirteen years ago) link
Actually what I'm saying is that the realism makes the show but without the occasional cartoonish excess you miss out on either the heightened drama, the comedy, or both. How many dudes like Stringer Bell do you think there are around?
― Matt DC, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:40 (thirteen years ago) link
7
― I just want to give a shout-out to Buzzy Beetles (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:45 (thirteen years ago) link
― gawka flocka flamewar (Whiney G. Weingarten), Wednesday, March 9, 2011 4:54 PM (48 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
haha otm
― max, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:49 (thirteen years ago) link
In case these interviews with David Simon haven't been linked to already:
http://www.wnyc.org/people/david-simon/
― A Very Small Bag of Phrases (Eazy), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:53 (thirteen years ago) link
― deej, Wednesday, March 9, 2011 1:49 PM (1 hour ago)
deej otm - Jordan, are you seriously that dense?
― sarahel, Thursday, 10 March 2011 00:04 (thirteen years ago) link
xposts but
that it's a bit odd to have a character like omar that is so unrealistic & practically superhuman
he’s not superhuman
(who just so happens to find tons of other gay gangsters to be his boyfriend AND partner in crime)
tons = 2?
and i ALWAYS resented how this superhuman character was not able to kill avon from point blank range in the beginning of season one
a) he’s not superhumanb) why WOULD he kill avon in the beginning of season one? how would this benefit him?
but maybe they shouldn't have had him survive a six story fall off of a balcony, is all i'm saying
people schooling you on this is at least the third time it has been brought up in this very thread already, c'mon
― blvd money (sic), Thursday, 10 March 2011 00:38 (thirteen years ago) link
― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, March 9, 2011 4:50 PM (4 hours ago)
yeah the point of this scene i think is that it's pretty obvious to anyone with a brain what's going on, so dialog telling you exactly what bunk's & mcnulty's thought processes are would be kind of redundant and pointless - the "fuck" repetition is just a funny sort of device to hold the place of explanatory dialog here imo, you still get the idea of what's going on
― kl0p's son (k3vin k.), Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:38 (thirteen years ago) link
not that anyone cares but i think i'm sort of applying roger ebert's analysis of the motel scene in "pulp fiction", which i always really liked, to this scene as i was thinking about it
anyway the "fuck" scene is awesome, omar is awesome, & local garda is british. keep that in mind
― kl0p's son (k3vin k.), Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:40 (thirteen years ago) link
jordan here's the "fuck scene" fwiw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQbsnSVM1zM
― kl0p's son (k3vin k.), Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:41 (thirteen years ago) link
― sarahel, Wednesday, March 9, 2011 7:04 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark
uh, you know, there are varying levels of artistic license
― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:51 (thirteen years ago) link
oh lil wayne says "pistol off in my boxers" BUT DO WE KNOW IF LIL WAYNE ACTUALLY WEARS BOXERS??
― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:53 (thirteen years ago) link
what an immaculate example of artistic license that we can use as a parallel for all other uses of artistic license
― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:54 (thirteen years ago) link
It also highlights the Bunk/McNulty partnership - they know each other and their working methods so well, they don't really have to communicate beyond single syllables.
― boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:58 (thirteen years ago) link
lol jordan
― JaySeanLilWayne (some dude), Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:58 (thirteen years ago) link
the "fuck" repetition is just a funny sort of device to hold the place of explanatory dialog here imo, you still get the idea of what's going on
― kl0p's son (k3vin k.), Wednesday, March 9, 2011 9:38 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
yeah if you wanted to stretch it you could say theyre clowning the typical over explainy police procedural - the whole 'fuck' aspect is p interesting from their tone at the beginning of the scene you think its moral indignation over the loss of innocent life but then as it progresses its more that theres a mystery that needs solving, the presence of a mystery causes them great disgust and so they must destroy it - amazing virtuoso scene, anyone not feeling it is wildly out of line, same goes for the stevedores of the great season 2
― ice cr?m, Thursday, 10 March 2011 04:30 (thirteen years ago) link
that scene is great, yes
― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 10 March 2011 04:31 (thirteen years ago) link
― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, March 9, 2011 8:54 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
the prodigy example makes perfect sense though. it would counterintuitive to setting up your scene as 'realistic' using a rusty gun, but it sounds badass. it would be counterintuitive to set up your scene as 'realistic' with a lone gunman, but it would be badass
i dont see what exactly is the stretch here
― deej, Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:29 (thirteen years ago) link
like, neither is impossible, they're just examples of dramatic license giving something more punch while working w/in the parameters of 'reality' despite not being the most realistic choices
i mean, that said of course, both are entirely POSSIBLE ... just ilke, as it turns out, jumping out of a six story window & surviving is, in fact, real
― deej, Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:30 (thirteen years ago) link
well yeah it would be badass if prodigy rapped about killing his enemies with a flamethrower while perched in the middle of queens on top of a purple elephant but i'm not sure if i would call it "working within the parameters of 'reality'"
― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:39 (thirteen years ago) link
horseshoe, difficult listening hour otm
― ℳℴℯ ❤\(◕‿◕✿ (Princess TamTam), Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:39 (thirteen years ago) link
just like plenty of scenes involving omar go past what i can tolerate in terms of the violation of the parameters of reality
― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:41 (thirteen years ago) link
i love pretty much every scene that everyone hates and i never understand any of the criticisms
― ℳℴℯ ❤\(◕‿◕✿ (Princess TamTam), Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:46 (thirteen years ago) link
i'll relent slightly on the balcony thing but i still don't think it really matters seeing as 99% of the ppl who've watched the show (and any who thought the whole thing was bullshit) probably will not see those quotes from simon
― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:47 (thirteen years ago) link
tamtam: i never really knew you well enough in your former guise to have an opinion on you one way or the other, but i think you are an a+ poster no homo.
― jaymc, Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:56 (thirteen years ago) link
― horseshoe, Wednesday, March 9, 2011 5:04 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark
this is very otm to me - it seems hyper-literal and a little lunkheaded to complain about this stuff imo.
― ℳℴℯ ❤\(◕‿◕✿ (Princess TamTam), Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:57 (thirteen years ago) link