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March 28, 2011
"The Wire" Seen as Dickens Redux
For one thing, The Wire's treatment of the class system is far more nuanced than that of Dickens. Who could forget "Bubbles" the lovable drifter, Stringer Bell -- the bourgeois merchant with pretentions to aristocracy, or Bodie -- who, despite lack of education or Victorian "good breeding", is seen reading and enjoying the likes of Jane Austen? Yet these portrayals of the "criminal element" always maintain a certain realism. We never descend into the divisions of "lovable rogues" and truly evil villains of which Dickens makes such effective use. Odgen's Bodie, an adult who uses children to perpetrate criminal activity, is not a caricature of an ethnic minority in the mode of Dickens' Fagin the Jew.
Just one part of a fascinating series and discussion on "The Wire" @ The Hooded Utilitarian. Highly recommended as a series and a site.
Posted by Vanderleun at March 28, 2011 11:39 AM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.
Your Say
“Omar comin’! It be Omar!”
Thank you for pointing out this wonderously well-written, delight-to-read.
Posted by: MizzE at March 28, 2011 1:13 PM
After all the hype, we tried to watch "The Wire". They're are NO likable characters. Hell, I'm easy, I liked all the main characters in Deadwood and the Sopranos. The wire, noone.
Posted by: ck at March 28, 2011 4:52 PM
Bless your heart for recommending us. Thanks!
Posted by: Noah Berlatsky at March 29, 2011 10:27 AM