Discerning critics and avid fans have agreed that the five-season run of Ed Burns and David Simon’s The Wire was “the best TV show ever broadcast in America”—not the most popular but the best. The 60 hours that comprise this episodic series have been aptly been compared to Dickens, Balzac, Dreiser and Greek Tragedy. These comparisons attempt to get at the richly textured complexity of the work, its depth, its bleak tapestry of an American city and its diverse social stratifications. Yet none of these comparisons quite nails what it is that made this the most compelling “show” on TV and better than many of the best movies. This class will explore these comparisons, analyze episodes from the first, third, fourth and fifth seasons and try to discover what was and is so great about The Wire. We will screen as much of the series as we can during our mandatory screening sessions and approach it through the following lenses: the other writing of David Simon, including his journalism, an exemplary Greek Tragedy, Dickens’ Bleak House and/or parts of Balzac’s Human Comedy. We will also consider the formal tradition of episodic television. Please come to the first class having already viewed all of season one on your own. It is available at the MRC.

— What so great about The Wire?
Film 105
Instructor: Linda Williams
W: 3:00pm - 6:00pm, 226 Dwinelle
Enrollment limited to 20 [via]

I never get to take these ‘quirky’ and ‘timely’ courses. TOO BAD YOU REJECTED ME UC BERKELEY DON’T WORRY I AM NOT STILL IRRITATED ABOUT IT OR ANYTHING.

Then I could be taking this RIGHT NOW instead of reading Durkheim. All this semester I have been thinking “Hey, maybe instead of reading about protein energy malnutrition or whatever, I should just watch The Wire. Try incorporating that into anthropology already!” Clearly I am on the right page.

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   WANT TO TAKE THIS CLASS ALL CAPS NECESSARY

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