Feel like there's no definite answer to whether the show endorses these things or simply presents them to the audience because shit like that actually happens.
I’m not saying there specifically, although boiling the seasons down to a blurb counts for what I’m talking about
Why not? The Wire shouts its politics louder than almost any other show. We also know from various interviews and meltdowns that David Simon is a Vote Blue No Matter Who Democrat. The fundamental message of The Wire is that institutions are corrupt, but more often than not the people who go into these institutions do so with good intentions until they are ultimately corrupted. Mayor Carcetti goes through the complete arc; he genuinely wants to help when he is elected and starts to do some positive things, but his desire to be Governor forces him to turn down the aid money which leads to the city becoming worse than before. We see the likes of McNulty, Bunk, Kima, Sydnor, Daniels, and Freamon all being stymied by their superiors, but you can see how people like Rawls and Burrell were merely performing the positions as prescribed to them by their position. Is this what we believe, or do we believe that the job itself attracts a certain type of person with less-than-modern opinions on law and order, race relations, and brutality?
I completely agree with your thoughts on the theme. The whole show is about systemic corruption. But I'm not convinced it’s intended for the audience to have a purely positive reaction to those scenes with Bird that you’re referencing.
I've been listening to the Pod Yourself The Wire rewatch pod. They make a couple points they make that I really like. Delaney Williams who plays Jay Landsman does such an incredible job of nailing those very David Simon-esque lines where he has call someone a "fuckwaffle" or something like that that would sound cringe as hell if most other actors read them. Very underrated character and actor. Getting into this show is way easier if you go into pretending that you're watching a high fantasy show with tons of lore. If you go into it thinking you're watching a cop show you're going to get lost.
This thread had me watching season one again. Just put it on in the background since I have seen in like a dozen times. I am still catching things I have never caught before. When Jimmy is talking to Fitz at the FBI office Fitz is talking about the drug case he is working on and tells Jimmy "this should be a career case but my bosses don't give a shit". Foreshadowing the rest of the season.
Finished 4 episodes so far, it hasnt happened yet but i definitely didnt know this show was the basis for this all time gif
Feels too early to say after just 1 season but, Omar Stringer Bodie and Greggs, i obviously dont want spoilers but Bubbles feels too dangerous to get emotionally attached to, hes got tragic ending written all over him.
Re-watching this and on season 4 now. The word "dense" used to get thrown around a lot when discussing this show, and I felt it on my first watch. Even though I loved it, it wasn't easy to get through. Maybe it's the decade of "prestige" television since then that's increased my tolerance, but I've been flying through it this time and want to just keep going after an episode ends. I cannot for the life of me remember what happens in the last season though, and I'm not even positive I've seen it. Going to start The Shield next for the first time.