The Wire season 1

Hey all,

As I've expressed, I love this show, and I wanted to discuss the first season. The show is good, and I don't want to ruin anything, so I'll just let you find out for yourself. However, I did want to discuss the themes of the show and how it's changed my point of view.

Every season has an overall theme, and season one's theme is the war on drugs. David Simon who is the principle creator of the show feels that this is a war that will not be won with the current tactics. It also wants to show how much we are being watched. Cameras are everywhere. It also shows all sides to the story and not in the usual light. Characters are morally ambiguous. The drug dealers aren't evil, and they aren't stupid. The street level dealers are trying to make a living, and the top level players are criminal masterminds who wanted to make something of themselves. The cops are not the good guys either. This is what makes the show so good, but, overall, it has a tragic tone. Institutions and bureaucracies are displayed as ineffective, and they will ultimately fail unless they experience major reform. However, street level hoppers (drug dealers) receive a beating when they screw up, but cops receive pensions. These are some of the themes of season 1, but they are many more.

Finally, season one opened my eyes to the drug war and its enforcement in this country. It shows what the inner city is like which helps to explain why kids (yes, kids) turn to drug dealing to survive. Overall, it provides a humanizing aspect to its characters. I love this show.