|
immediate family. He grew up in East Baltimore (but moved to the burbs in early teen years), but is like 15-20 years younger than Dan Hersl. He’s one of my closest friends and I immediately got in contact with him after the 1st show. He’s obviously embarrassed, but he’s so far removed the situation. He doesn’t live in Baltimore either so it’s not like there’s a stigma associated with his last name where he currently resides. I can assure you though, he’s the complete opposite and abhors the shit his cousin did.
I only watched a few episodes of Treme so I can’t comment too much on that series. I love David Simon’s work, but I’ve only watched the Corner and the Wire in it’s entirety. I first watched the Corner way back in my senior year of high school (20+years ago). That series cuts the deepest. There’s a level of sincerity and rawness that’s hard to replicate. I like to revisit that one now and then. I recently rewatched all seasons of the Wire with my wife recently too, but I digress. I’d say this show is more like a documentary made for tv. Kind of like the OJ Simpson series from a few years ago, but less concerned with ratings.. It uses real people and events, but obviously has some creative license.
The show, as others mentioned, is very on the nose. The events are still pretty fresh. And although Hersl and others eventually were exposed and ridiculed by the media, it’s sickening how long and to what extent the abuse of power went unchecked. Sadly it took a bunch of white people OD’ing in the burbs to accidentally stumble on this particular case.
I went to college in the Baltimore area (early 2000s) and worked in downtown Baltimore for a few years. I remember there being mixed feelings on the show at the time. HBO wasn’t as readily accessible back then and I don’t believe the ratings were ever that high, but obviously a lot of people knew about it. Side note , but my wife’s best friend actually lived in the same condo as Snoop for awhile (post Wire days). My wife’s brother and his family, along with my father in law live in the city, so we visit often. I love Bmore and would love to see a resurgence, but don’t see it happening. I definitely think progress can be made, bud I don’t see Baltimore restoring its once dominant foothold among major US cities.
If you recall from the Wire, a central theme was the failure of institutions to protect the people they’re designed to serve. Baltimore still suffers from dysfunctional leadership. The former mayor (Catherine Pugh) committed fraud and is currently serving a 3 year bud. The district attorney, Marilyn Mosby, who was once seen as a rising star with major ambition, is under federal investigation and awaiting trial. Just look at the judicial system in it’s entirety. It’s hard to pin it on any one thing, but Baltimore is plagued by poor leadership.
I would do some research along with watching the series. It’s wild how much these cops got away with and the degree to which their actions were kept away from public scrutiny.
|