Most recent public comments by James Swanson https://nowcomment.com/users/28313 https://nowcomment.com/documents/76206?scroll_to=735369 https://nowcomment.com/documents/76206?scroll_to=735369 This is a prime example of purposeful and highly strategic government manipulation once again. It's all for votes and it has extremely harmful consequences. Like the War on Drugs, this is a concentrated effort to perpetuate class divisions along racial lines. It'd be interesting to see exactly how the Nixon campaign and other political leaders used the media for these selfish political purposes and compare it to Reagan's use of television. Thu, 13 Apr 2017 09:26:04 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/76206?scroll_to=735336 https://nowcomment.com/documents/76206?scroll_to=735336 It all continues to be the same game described in The Wire, just on a larger scale. Stringer wanted to advance from the streets into local development and government. He thought the world was at his finger tips. Mayor Carcetti eventually started making decisions with the Governorship in mind. While The Wire stopped there, it goes on and on. It becomes a competition between countries (like Russia, the U.S. and China) because individuals try to use national identity and pride as leverage for more resources and the attainment of "greatness" in the eyes of human society. It's crazy how much someone will do to make their country look good from the outside, even when they know that it is decaying on the inside and they have the resources to do something about it. Wed, 12 Apr 2017 10:47:43 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/76206?scroll_to=735332 https://nowcomment.com/documents/76206?scroll_to=735332 It still baffles me that anything close to the white supremacist ideologies of the 18th century have continued for so long. We have progressed so far scientifically, yet socially humans remain stagnant. We have the ability to communicate audibly and visually in an instant. An entire generation has developed in an environment with SO much more access to information, yet many continue to believe in completely unfounded notions of supremacy. I think that says something extremely significant about human society (probably psychology, too). I'll have to get back to you when I figure out what that is though... Wed, 12 Apr 2017 10:40:08 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/76206?scroll_to=735331 https://nowcomment.com/documents/76206?scroll_to=735331 This is exactly what was described in "13th" as well as Goffman's "On the Run." From slavery, the ruling class had to evolve in order to maintain economic stability and, arguably more importantly, social control. These petty charges give the government the ability to continue the abuse of African Americans, all while vilifying them and perpetuating the senseless racism that undermines the prosperity of society. I find it very interesting that 1) institutions were able to react so quickly after the emancipation of slaves and social progress of African Americans and 2) little evolution has been necessary since the early 20th century, as these exact petty charges haunt impoverished black communities still. Thu, 13 Apr 2017 10:08:27 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/76206?scroll_to=735330 https://nowcomment.com/documents/76206?scroll_to=735330 It's even more unfortunate that the government can have so much influence over the media content. Reagan was a master manipulator of media, particularly television. He and other politicians could communicate so effectively to the masses, especially when it meant news stations can make multi-faceted, long-lasting and profitable stories. This makes for another layer of control for the state and another layer for reformers to break through when trying to challenge problematic ideas (e.g. racism). Wed, 12 Apr 2017 13:52:14 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/70146?scroll_to=668616 https://nowcomment.com/documents/70146?scroll_to=668616 I don't know how people can complain about something being too realistic. I suppose that's why reality TV exists-- because it offers an escape from some of realities addressed in the Wire, but sometimes people assume it's more real than it is. Wed, 01 Feb 2017 21:13:48 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/70146?scroll_to=668613 https://nowcomment.com/documents/70146?scroll_to=668613 Morality in The Wire is always so obscure and it's great. It feels like really broad commentary on how people, regardless of their position, often act in their own self interest. Wed, 01 Feb 2017 21:36:30 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/70146?scroll_to=668597 https://nowcomment.com/documents/70146?scroll_to=668597 This kind of shakes up some assumptions I've made about professional reporters. Now I'm reflecting on how vindictive Simon's writing really was when he put a lying reporter on a wild goose chase about a serial killer. It's also really funny because some of the newspaper execs used the word "Dickensian" to describe the lying reporter's style. Wed, 01 Feb 2017 20:51:26 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/70146?scroll_to=668594 https://nowcomment.com/documents/70146?scroll_to=668594 Something I've been missing in the series is how the younger officers like Daniels and Carver make rank relative to those who served before them. To me, they don't exhibit the same ambitious behaviors as some of the people in their future positions. In other words, I think Daniels and Carver are a lot more dedicated to real police work than Burrell and Rawls. Thu, 02 Feb 2017 01:16:13 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/70146?scroll_to=668504 https://nowcomment.com/documents/70146?scroll_to=668504 Personally, the parallelism between institutions is one of my favorite parts of the whole show. I think a common and really crucial part of every sphere the show explores is the emphasis on money. It is a motivator for individual officers to work overtime, for high-ranking officers to obey City Hall, for the "pawns" of gangs to obey their superiors, and for the leaders of the gangs. The only person not concerned with money is generally Omar, which is one reason his character is so great. Wed, 01 Feb 2017 19:36:39 -0500