The Wire and Stereotypes

Stereotypes in The Wire

            HBO series, The Wire, has caught the eyes of many viewers from all around the country.  This television series is shot from inner city Baltimore Maryland, or “Bodymore Murdaland” as some people like to call it.  It’s a show based on the inequalities of the inner city, the drug scene, and it’s mostly shown through the eyes of the drug dealers and law enforcement.  I’m a new viewer to The Wire, even though the first season was aired in 2002, however, I have already begun to pick up on some potential stereotypes within the show.  These stereotypes range from the tv series being filmed in Baltimore, a crime known city, to “welfare queens” to “drug dealing thugs” and the characters living in poor urban black neighborhoods with little educational background.

            Schools like the University of Iowa and even Harvard are teaching a course on The Wire for students to have a better understanding of urban inequalities and social conditions in inner cities in America (Chaddha, Wilson, 2010).  For students at Harvard, they don’t necessarily understand the inner city life because they are generally white people with money (or is that a stereotype?).  Some people are trying to argue that teaching The Wire to Harvard students is going to create more stereotypes because the students are only seeing how “ratchet” the inner city life LOOKS on The Wire and aren’t actually getting a real “in-person” experience of how it really IS.  While this could be some what true, others think its very educational because of the way it displays the inequalities that some families truly do go through living in the inner city black neighborhoods that maybe white people from good homes don’t quite understand. 

            The Wire focuses a lot on the drug trade industry which is making a lot of people upset because it’s stereotyping the black drug dealers, and they don’t understand why the show couldn’t have used something less stereotypical such as a gun dealer selling guns illegally, and maybe have the dealers not all be black. (Singal, 2010).  This show does what no educational book can do.  The Wire teaches students (especially ones whom are unfamiliar) about the inequalities, bad schools, job losses, drugs, imprisonment, and shows just how much the actual situation continues to feed off of itself (Chaddha, Wilson, 2010).  People that are in these living situations generally continue to repeat the cycle because they have no other options.  The situation continues to feed off itself because they have to get money somehow, even though it’s drug dealing, because a lot more comes with getting a job that people don’t necessarily understand.  You have to have transportation to get there, clothes to wear, steady schedule, etc.  Another important point the show tries to show is the struggle of all the ex-convicts trying to find jobs.  More and more people are going in and out of jail, which obviously makes it harder for them to find jobs—making it hard to support their families.  This is generally the reason the “drug dealers” stay drug dealing, even after jail, because its really their only way of income to support their families since no where will hire them for a steady job. 

            A big reason way The Wire is considered so “real” is because the problems in the show always go unsolved, just like in real life.  Stereotypical drug dealers, lazy people, welfare queens, thugs, etc. are always going to be around, no matter where you go, and the show to me does a nice job of unraveling the stereotypes.  The show displays WHY the drug dealers are drug dealing (needing money to support their family) and why there are welfare queens (jobs are very hard to find and a lot goes beyond just getting the job) etc.  You can’t exactly get a job if you can’t shower because you don’t have running water or clothes/shoes to wear.  Basically, The Wire just does a very nice job of showing the cycle and why it always, and will continue to always, repeat itself over and over.  Although the drug trade happens elsewhere as well and not just in the inner cities, and drug use is increasing in white people, Baltimore becomes a character in the show itself because it is the primary distribution center for illicit drugs in Maryland (Singal, 2010). This is making things more realistic once you know the background of the city the show is being shot in.  This show would look ridiculous if it were to be shot in Iowa City, Iowa…that’s why it was shot in inner city Baltimore, where things like this are actually a huge concern.

            Because I love TV shows like “NCIS” “Law and Order” etc, I absolutely love the show The Wire. The Wire is similar to those shows in a way, only it’s better because it’s more realistic, as the crimes often go unsolved and the cycles repeat.  The show is purely shot out of the eyes of the drug dealers themselves and law enforcement, so you tend to get more connected to the characters within the show.  Showing the inequalities of urban black neighborhoods in a realistic TV show ultimately gives students at Harvard, and even the University of Iowa, a more realistic view of the lives these people are actually living, and how good we really do have it in comparison.  The Wire isn’t stereotyping certain people or ideas, but actually is trying to do the opposite by showcasing why the stereotypes are created, and why the cycles will always continue to repeat themselves.

Works Cited

Chaddha, Anmol, and William Wilson. "Why We're Teaching 'The Wire' at Harvard." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 12 Sept. 2010. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/10/AR2010091002676.html>.

Signal, Jesse. "Is 'The Wire' Racist?" Boston.com. N.p., 30 Sept. 2010. Web. <http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/blogs/the_angle/2010/09/is_the_wire_rac.html>.