Go back to previous topic
Forum namePass The Popcorn
Topic subjectI think The Wire taps into a similar infatuation though
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=6&topic_id=436561&mesg_id=436716
436716, I think The Wire taps into a similar infatuation though
Posted by buckshot defunct, Wed Feb-25-09 07:11 PM
Not so much for anything the show did, but just by virtue of the fact that we are all infatuated to some degree with crime and violence. And for that reason I would also say that The Wire is very much escapism. Because the 'realer' a story feels, the easier it is to escape into. Not that you'd necessarily *want* to be there yourself, but anytime a story can draw you out of your own life and into new worlds, that's a kind of escapism.

I'm thinking this argument is wrongheaded from the beginning because the show obviously did find an audience. And a lot of the reasons being presented here don't hold up to much scrutiny. If The Wire failed to reach viewers because of race, realness, or just a bleak and cynical outlook on life in general, then how is it that hip hop is a billion dollar industry?