Living Life on THE WIRE
08/17/2006 14:03 Filed in: Faith & Reason
Guest commentary by Andrew Wells
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind
The Wire in the broadest sense is the story of cops trying to build cases against drug dealers in Baltimore, but that hardly does it justice. It's the most realistic cop show ever--dealing with the politics and grunt work of being a policeman, the social economics and realities of lower-class and minority Americans, the long-term implications of the drug and crime culture and the war upon it, and much, much more. It has crème-de-la-crème credentials: the people who create and produce the show did Homicide, another television milestone, and have actually lived and experienced life in Baltimore. They are not making this up, because they've seen it firsthand. The show has attracted some incredible, actual writers: George Pecalanos, Richard Price, and Dennis Lehane, among others. I’ve never heard or read a bad word about The Wire. I’ve watched part of the first season on DVD, and it really draws you in, like you’re reading a good book (an oft-heard comparison).
And oh yeah: it's filthy. Maybe not Deadwood or Sopranos filthy (I’ve never had HBO; I've watched all of 15 minutes of Sopranos in a hotel room, so I don’t have a good comparison), but filthy enough that I couldn’t in good conscience watch the rest of the first season, and I haven’t even tried to crack open seasons two and three.
To be sure, and I'm not boasting about this; I’ve seen plenty of movies and television, read plenty of books, and listened to a lot of music with violence, language, sexuality and so on. And our society tends to group things poorly: the movie Almost Famous is a pretty tame R-rated movie compared to Kill Bill; Stephen King will never be mistaken for F. Scott Fitzgerald.
But that’s not my problem. No, my problem is that The Wire is a great artistically satisfying work, yet it also appalls me. And it sums up my issue: can artistic interests and Christianity exist at all?
I sort of touched on this problem in my piece concerning the current state of Christian music. I said more or less that the music industry doesn’t really do a good job of allowing Christian artists to explore musical (and even lyrical) avenues. But I think the problem can be seen all over the place. We have Frank Peretti, but where’s a Christian James Joyce? We have Thomas Kincaid, but where’s a Christian Picasso? We have the Left Behind series, but where’s a Christian Martin Scorcese?
No, those names were not picked randomly. Each one pushed boundaries in some way. They’ve explored life, religion, values, and many other related issues. And I don’t see the current mainstream Christian culture developing in this area. Yes, I know there are many "fringe" and "alternative" Christian artists of all genres, but there are a great many people unaware or unable to locate them, and that is who I’m thinking of. I know there are creative energies in the Christian community, but it could be so much more.
The flipside of the problem is that it seems all the creativity in the secular culture seems to be encased in material designed to be as shocking and/or perverse as possible. Granted, The Wire is a very real, tragic and involving story, but do we need to hear a four-letter word in every sentence? More importantly, is it wise to expose ourselves to this kind of secularism, no matter how much it appeals to us aesthetically? Can I listen to the Drive-By Truckers, a very good Southern rock band that write unbelievably intelligent and beautiful songs, but write about murder, drugs, drink, failed marriages and the like, because I can’t find anything remotely as satisfying in the Christian arena? Is it easier to be fulfilled by what ultimately will destroy you than by what will uplift you? And how does all this affect our relationship with Christ, our testimony, our lives?
I’m sure some people have simple answers--"Just walk away from temptation" and "Fill up on the Word of God" and so on. While those are good answers, I find they are not satisfying ones, because how we handle the world--and how we handle the aesthetic capacity God has given us--is a complex question.
What do you think?
Andrew Wells can be reached at arwell012002@yahoo.com.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind
--Romans 12:2, NASB
It's easier to pull the trigger than play the guitar. Easier to destroy than create.
--El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) in Desperado
We ain’t never gonna change / We ain’t doin’ nothin’ wrong / We ain’t never gonna change / So shut your mouth and play along.
--"Never Gonna Change" by The Drive-By Truckers, on The Dirty South
The following is something I've wanted to talk about for a while, but had difficulty approaching. I thought about a multi-part series, I thought about a rant, but nothing seemed to work. And then I found out The Wire was starting its fourth season on HBO, and the third season is out now on DVD. And I had my opening.
And oh yeah: it's filthy. Maybe not Deadwood or Sopranos filthy (I’ve never had HBO; I've watched all of 15 minutes of Sopranos in a hotel room, so I don’t have a good comparison), but filthy enough that I couldn’t in good conscience watch the rest of the first season, and I haven’t even tried to crack open seasons two and three.
To be sure, and I'm not boasting about this; I’ve seen plenty of movies and television, read plenty of books, and listened to a lot of music with violence, language, sexuality and so on. And our society tends to group things poorly: the movie Almost Famous is a pretty tame R-rated movie compared to Kill Bill; Stephen King will never be mistaken for F. Scott Fitzgerald.
But that’s not my problem. No, my problem is that The Wire is a great artistically satisfying work, yet it also appalls me. And it sums up my issue: can artistic interests and Christianity exist at all?
I sort of touched on this problem in my piece concerning the current state of Christian music. I said more or less that the music industry doesn’t really do a good job of allowing Christian artists to explore musical (and even lyrical) avenues. But I think the problem can be seen all over the place. We have Frank Peretti, but where’s a Christian James Joyce? We have Thomas Kincaid, but where’s a Christian Picasso? We have the Left Behind series, but where’s a Christian Martin Scorcese?
No, those names were not picked randomly. Each one pushed boundaries in some way. They’ve explored life, religion, values, and many other related issues. And I don’t see the current mainstream Christian culture developing in this area. Yes, I know there are many "fringe" and "alternative" Christian artists of all genres, but there are a great many people unaware or unable to locate them, and that is who I’m thinking of. I know there are creative energies in the Christian community, but it could be so much more.
The flipside of the problem is that it seems all the creativity in the secular culture seems to be encased in material designed to be as shocking and/or perverse as possible. Granted, The Wire is a very real, tragic and involving story, but do we need to hear a four-letter word in every sentence? More importantly, is it wise to expose ourselves to this kind of secularism, no matter how much it appeals to us aesthetically? Can I listen to the Drive-By Truckers, a very good Southern rock band that write unbelievably intelligent and beautiful songs, but write about murder, drugs, drink, failed marriages and the like, because I can’t find anything remotely as satisfying in the Christian arena? Is it easier to be fulfilled by what ultimately will destroy you than by what will uplift you? And how does all this affect our relationship with Christ, our testimony, our lives?
I’m sure some people have simple answers--"Just walk away from temptation" and "Fill up on the Word of God" and so on. While those are good answers, I find they are not satisfying ones, because how we handle the world--and how we handle the aesthetic capacity God has given us--is a complex question.
What do you think?
Andrew Wells can be reached at arwell012002@yahoo.com.