Most recent public comments by Maddy Mallory https://nowcomment.com/users/15313 https://nowcomment.com/documents/52798?scroll_to=505872 https://nowcomment.com/documents/52798?scroll_to=505872 I definitely see a parallel between seeing Jim Crow laws and current drug war/incarceration laws as both "natural." On a superficial level, to ordinary citizens who have probably not read this book or studied The Wire, it can seem "natural" that the people that did/dealt the drugs are therefore in jail. But upon more explication, that assumption is doing two things. First, it assumes that human institutions are without bias (when, as we see in The Wire and in this reading, they're definitely not). Second, it doesn't give enough respect and dignity to fellow human beings to consider their plight. Mon, 04 Apr 2016 19:59:49 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/52798?scroll_to=505869 https://nowcomment.com/documents/52798?scroll_to=505869 John, that's a great connection. I want to add on what struck me about an element of the On the Run reading that is not concentrated on in this reading. In On the Run, there was an emphasis on how cyclical drug and post-incarceration lifestyles and laws destroy these men's relationships. It makes sense that that would be focused on in the ethnography, while this reading has a much different purpose, but it shouldn't be forgotten how many elements of life this effects -- not just employments. Mon, 04 Apr 2016 19:39:08 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/52798?scroll_to=505767 https://nowcomment.com/documents/52798?scroll_to=505767 What is the practical dream solution to cultivate a media environment that justly treats stories, making sure to highlight the important ones and not blow others out of proportion? This specific case in the reading was special in its close tie to the Reagan administration, but there are so many other stories, as you reference here, T'Keyah, that just aren't getting picked up for a multitude of reasons. I'm in History of Media right now, and we are learning about two themes I find relevant here: the entrance of advertising into broadcast media and government censoring of radio broadcasts during WWII. Are either of these situations still relevant to today's media coverage? And where does the burgeoning concept of citizen journalism come into this? Today, it isn't just reporters who have all of the power in producing and blowing up a story ~ of course there are gatekeepers to citizen journalism, but oftentimes stories blow up because of the readers and contributors. Mon, 04 Apr 2016 15:01:03 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/52798?scroll_to=505764 https://nowcomment.com/documents/52798?scroll_to=505764 I am reminded of a lyric in one of my favorite Avett Brothers songs: "and your life doesn't change by the man that's elected." I bring this up here because, as we saw in season 3 of The Wire, politics just plays one small role in the greater theme of changing lives, especially those of people who are continually subjugated and discriminated against. As we've touched on a couple times in class, many supporters of Donald Trump consider themselves as members of these subjugated categories, and they are angry, thus lashing out with this one man. In thinking about what a reality of Trump as president could look like, would this man change lives with his election? Almost certainly. Tue, 05 Apr 2016 09:46:40 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/46407?scroll_to=455318 https://nowcomment.com/documents/46407?scroll_to=455318 What even is accuracy? We will never know the hearts and full intentions of those around us, from the police officers to the drug dealers. That being said, I am not sure how I feel about one show, with considerable influence in the media and academic worlds, so produced and controlled by one man. I believe that powerful people in the media world have a certain responsibility to portray life, humanity, and its joys and injustices in the most "accurate" way possible, but this responsibility is blurry in this scenario because of Simon's very frank prejudices against certain institutions and certain people. Wed, 03 Feb 2016 12:18:01 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/46407?scroll_to=455281 https://nowcomment.com/documents/46407?scroll_to=455281 This sentence is really interesting to me, especially since it is picked back up later in the following paragraph, but instead of "Art" as the subject, it is "Fiction." This sentence sneaks into this article, as if it is so obvious and indisputable that The Wire is art and/or that fiction is art. While I believe that The Wire is artful, especially in the small examples of its style like Professor Williams showed us in lecture yesterday with that shot of the closed factory, I would love to hear a more fleshed-out argument of The Wire as art. Wed, 03 Feb 2016 12:07:23 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/46407?scroll_to=455169 https://nowcomment.com/documents/46407?scroll_to=455169 Your point of audience self-reflection is absolutely important. By humanizing heroes and obstructionists alike, The Wire asks something of the viewership: to think critically of their own values and step outside of the boxes in which they place certain people and ideas. Sometimes I enjoy watching television and film that so clearly separates good and evil. It all seems so easy. I think that is a human thing to enjoy--to place things in their neat little boxes. But that is not real life, and that is why The Wire is simultaneously enjoyable yet challenging to watch. Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:28:30 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/46407?scroll_to=455112 https://nowcomment.com/documents/46407?scroll_to=455112 I can't speak to The Sopranos because I've never seen the show. However, I find it interesting that this paragraph seems to argue how commercial TV favors self-contained episodes, yet The Wire is the one being studied academically years later. These are two very different measures of the success of a media text ... instant popularity versus longevity. Is one more important than the other? Most likely not. Thu, 04 Feb 2016 00:07:16 -0500