HBO’s The Wire as the Great American Novel
The great American novel is a TV series.
The final season of HBO’s The Wire is up in my Netflix queue. It’s a crying shame that this series was not more recognized in its time.
There were no nominations for best drama and only a handful of acting and writing accolades. It’s one of those “the best show you are not watching” programs that even the people who are supposed to know better also skipped.
I’m a big proponent though, even without having seen the final season yet. I pitch it as the great American novel.
As the seasons progress, layers upon layers are added on and woven together to show the life of an American city—of an American society.
Like the epic works of Les Miserables and War and Peace, the scope of The Wire expands as we engage in it. Characters, organizations, settings, and themes continue to add to the symphony of this modern American portrait.
But the series doesn’t lose sight of the small. The viewer comes to know the hopes, dreams, and failings of each individual player. One of the classic themes of American literature—the individual versus society, the individual versus his environment—is always in play.
Other grand American subjects, such as money, democracy, labor, and the strive for personal achievement, also run through the narrative. It’s a series that loves America so much that it can hate America for all the things it does to betray our love. It’s a series that reflects the hate we have for ourselves for all the ways we let America down.
But as the characters continue to roll that rock uphill, so do we—because we can see those moments where change is possible. Even in the most flawed amongst us, there is value and hope.
[...] Previously, I wrote about the high regard in which I hold the television series The Wire. This week, I finished watching its final season. [...]
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