| Comment to Moyers blog re David Simon & "The Wire" |
[Apr. 20th, 2009|02:24 pm] |
'cuz, you know, my thoughts on teevee shows should be preserved forever
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2009/04/making_institutions_work.html#comment-188193
This comes so close to the first question I've always wanted to ask Mr. Simon!
For me, the best part of "The Wire" is how it looks at how institutions work, be they drug operations, the docks, the schools, etc. I'm sorry they never got around to looking at the Catholic church and its school system, or at the company with that big "Domino" sign.
So MY question to David Simon would be, "You've chronicled how many institutions function badly, but on the other hand, you've run one that has worked superbly: the company that produced 'The Wire.' What worked for you?"
But back to the way you (BMJ's blog) phrased it. "Can citizens force institutions to live up to their mission statements?" Mission statements? What mission statements? Who would have the nerve to write down what each institution is really for? I mean, is there anything in BPD's general orders that explicitly says, "Keep the drug violence away from the downtown tourist areas."?
Seriously, if drug gangs started holding their shootouts in the fancier hotels, things would change in a jiffy, no?
So institutions are largely doing their jobs; it's just that nobody's being honest about what their jobs actually are.
As far as making individual institutions work, Simon gives a few tips in this series. For one, an institution depends on its people communicating among themselves freely, but when it comes to dealing with the outside world, those same people can't be undercutting each other. For the first half of that, we're shown that the backbone of a shop is a place for its people to gossip, as in the Sun's back dock and the Western's parking lot (next to the roof with the beer can mountains.) For the second part, we have Carver as an example in the first season and Prop Joe's nephew in the third.
Another lesson is that, believe it or not, institutions can oversee themselves when things get bad enough. Best example of that is the very satisfying demise of Cheese.
And finally, institutions require stories to act as their memories -- stats aren't enough. Weirdly enough, the series "The Wire" may serve a bit in that capacity. I figure that after seeing that, no self-respecting Ballmore drug crew will make those same mistakes again. And I bet the show's mentioned in every election campaign that city has, these days.
(Now for me to find Simon's contact info or personal blog so's I can bug him with my showbiz notions.) |
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| Comments: |
I think that what made the company that produced 'The Wire" sucessful, would be: that the entire workforce was significantly overpaid, and somewhat under-worked, in stark contrast with most of society's income-earning structures !
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