[lbo-talk] They're teaching The Wire at Harvard

[Mark Bennett]

"The Game" is what the Wire is all about:  the dog eat dog world we actually
live in, where cunning, corruption, ruthlessness and violence are the only
virtues that actually matter.  The Game as it played on the streets of
B'More by the warring drug crews is simply the most basic version, with its
structure laid bare.  As you move up the ladder, the ugliness of the The
Game becomes concealed and stylized, but the essential elements remain the
same.  Doug touched upon this long ago when he described the epiphany he had
riding an elevator with a cop to, I believe, the trading floor at brokerage
when he briefly worked, and realized that ultimately, the whole operation
was based upon violence or the threat of violence (I may have a few of the
details wrong; if so, I apologize Doug).  Omar's confrontation with Levy
during his testimony in Bird's trial is one of the pivotal moments in the
series where Simon, et al, hit the viewer over the head with the theme; they
are usually more subtle or ironic.  The very first scene of the series, when
McNulty is talking to the witness in Snot Boogie's murder is another.  This
was personal favorite:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kQLgWw9aRw

On Tue, Sep 14, 2010 at 8:25 AM, <123hop at comcast.net> wrote:


>
> Mark:
>
> "I thought Harvard has been teaching "The Game" for well over 300 years."
>
> What's that?
>
> Joanna
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>