Alex Massie Alex Massie

Watching The Wire from the Left

At the Irish Left Review there’s an interesting analysis of The Wire written by Seannachie (a sometime commenter here) that views the show as, in some respects, an allegory of contemporary capitalism while also looking at how it can be seen to straddle the Bush and Obama eras. I wouldn’t agree with everything he says, but it’s an interesting read and a futher reminder that the show’s genius lies, like that of all great art, in the range of coherent yet conflicting interpretations that may be made of it.

This part, however, I do agree with:-

In fact it is interesting how much of the detail from the show’s depiction of West Baltimore is similar to Obama’s fine memoir Dreams from my Father; the area, like the southside Chicago of Obama’s book, is being crushed under the weight of unemployment, drugs and gun crime, with the only centres of civic support being provided by the local churches and quixotically benevolent individuals like ex-con boxing coach Cuttiey, cop-turned-teacher Roland Pryzbylewski and the former drug addict Walon, played by Steve Earle. The area is also experiencing the wave of ‘black flight’ where upwardly-mobile African-American families move to the suburbs escaping the crime and poverty, a phenomenon also noted by Obama in 1980s Chicago and a case of class trumping race, suggesting in turn that the former is by far the greater taboo in American society.

Taboo might be putting it too strongly but it is not difficult to imagine an American future in which class divisions prove increasingly,problematic even as race becomes, happily, a less divisive issue. That’s not to say that racial issues won’t be important in the future, merely that the problems of, say, West Virginia or the Ozarks overlap with those of West Baltimore more than either overlaps with suburban (and heavily African-American) Prince Georges and Montgomery County in Maryland or (whiter) Fairfax and Loudon Counties in Northern Virginia.

Unlock unlimited access, free for a month

then subscribe from as little as £1 a week after that
SUBSCRIBE

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in