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"Hamsterdam"
This goes a bit against my New Criticism leanings, but this interview with George Pelecanos sheds some light on the 'message' of The Wire:
Washington, D.C.: The whole "Hamsterdam" storyline in the 3rd season of The Wire was fascinating, with the scene from the "Back Burners" episode where Bubbles visits Hamsterdam at night being especially terrifying. I found it truly believable that the police are under so much pressure from above that they would concoct a scheme like this. How did you guys come up with that idea?From a purely dramatic perspective, I'm very glad they did it that way rather than turning the experiment into a shining success didactic brief for drug legalization.George Pelecanos: It started with a big What If question. What if we legalized drugs in a small portion of the inner city? What would happen? Because many people feel that this is the answer. It was surprising, even to us, what we came up with. The result was not comforting or pretty.
August 1, 2006 | Permalink
Comments
"From a purely dramatic perspective, I'm very glad they did it that way rather than turning the experiment into a shining success didactic brief for drug legalization."
Quite true.
FWIW, it was Hamsterdam that drew me into The Wire. Intriguing stuff. I'd tried to watch previous seasons, and never been able to get into it. But after Hamsterdam, I was able to go back and enjoy the entire run.
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And semi-off topic: I regularly watch Entourage and somewhat enjoy it, but I'm always struck by how it's a show for stupid people.
It's no accident that the show is about the entourage, not about the principles. It's really Turtle and Drama's show, and they are both stupid, stupid folk. And the stupidity filters down into the show's entire worldview.
Recent developments in the show, and the characters' motivations are so entirely unbelievable - so unlike the dramatic reality of something like Hamsterdam - that it seems the show's creators have some serious contempt for the intelligence of their average viewer.
The show's milieu is interesting enough to make the show watchable, But it'd be a lot more watchable if it weren't so relentlessly geared toward stupid folk.
Posted by: Petey | Aug 1, 2006 5:40:14 PM
for those unfamiliar with them, the brilliant series of Harpur + Iles policing novels by Bill James deal, essentially, with the same matter: the impact of a de facto legalization of cocaine dealing in a mid-sized town outside of London.
Posted by: howard | Aug 1, 2006 6:10:19 PM
Speaking of Entourage, I believe Jim VandeHei is making news when he mentions that Rahm is no longer speaking to The Howard.
I'm with the ballerina.
Posted by: Petey | Aug 2, 2006 1:57:53 AM
I guess I thought Hamsterdam was a sucess. You saw scenes of the old ladies that didn't have dealers hanging out on their doorsteps anymore.
The fact that it looked horrifying was a good point, I thought. That if you swept all the drug crime together, this is what it would look like. It looks just the same when its spread out, you just can't see it.
To me, shutting down Hamsterdam was just like all our other "solutions" in the Drug War, which are cosmetic and designed to make people and politicians feel good about themselves, rather than actually solving any problems.
Posted by: witless chum | Aug 3, 2006 9:01:01 AM
Turtle seems to me to be of average intelligence.
Posted by: JP | Aug 4, 2006 10:33:19 AM
To me, shutting down Hamsterdam was just like all our other "solutions" in the Drug War, which are cosmetic and designed to make people and politicians feel good about themselves, rather than actually solving any problems.
Additionally, they never really got to implement any of the public health measures that might have curtailed some (but not nearly all or even most) of the worst aspects of Hampsterdam - they were just discussing those aspects when the plug got pulled.
(FWIW, The Wire is my favorite show on TV and it's not close - the subtle parrallelism between Herc & Carver and Bodie & Poot is a pretty wicked bit of fun.)
Posted by: Pooh | Aug 4, 2006 4:25:05 PM
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