A Taste of Reality at Loyola.

Last Tuesday evening, I attended David Simon, creator of the hit HBO television series – “The Wire.” This talk was a part of the Humanities Symposium, and also was connected to Loyola’s “Year of the City” theme.

“The Wire” was made to give viewers a look at what really happens in Inner Baltimore. It attempts to realistically portray the violence, crime / homicide, drugs, and real-life situations, which the citizens of Baltimore face. The underlying theme is the “start and end of great American cities. He discussed his motives in making the show. He also told us how he sees humans as basically becoming obsolete – because they are no longer needed to generate wealth as much. Simon basically said that the end of the “American Empire.” He said that although Baltimore is one city – there are two aspects: “the gated communities” (the nice / wealthy are) and “the mainstream” – the so-called “2 Americas.” Simon’s attitude seemed to be cynical and depressing, yet he was basically telling the truth – if the people do not act soon, and get out of the “bubble” to search for solutions and make changes, it will be the beginning of the American demise. His hope is that the show will provoke Americans to “find their conscience.”

Simon brought up the fact that although Baltimore has a very high poverty rate, due to the large drug rate – there is little unrest from the marginalized (because everyone is “high.”) Young teenagers see drug selling as their only “career” option, because it is the “only job hiring [them].” As they see it – they have two options: to sell the viles, or get high. Also, many Americans are in a lower class than they should be. Finally, he brought up the usefulness of governmental programs – such as “No Child Left Behind” and “Just Say No” [to drugs.] These problems are not going away, America is just getting more and more brutal. This will continually progress in a downward slope, unless action is quickly taken.

In addition to closely tying in with Loyola’s “Year of the City,” David Simon’s discussion also connects more specifically with some of the themes discussed in class. For example, Simon’s ideas relate well with Jane Jacobs’ piece on borders within cities. One of Simon’s main points was about the boundaries within U.S. cities (particularly Baltimore), which are only getting larger. According to Simon, there are basically two parts of American cities, and before we know it, we will not even be leaving out "gated communities" - unless we have to renew our licenses.

Although for some, Simon's talk was extremely negative and pessimistic, especially when he did not mention any chance of home for progress, I felt that it was realistic. It definitely is an accurate view of what is going on, and it is definitely a strong urging for us to get out of our bubble, and make some changes.

In conclusion, this discussion was extremely interesting, and gave one man's real views on the downfalls of society today. I thought it gave some great insight, and also related well to my studies