Roush on The Wire
Question: I just read your
Dispatch about the 2008 SAG Awards (I didn't watch) and wonder if the powers that be of these awards shows will
ever lavish the cast and crew of
The Wire with anything resembling the worship showered upon
The Sopranos? While I understand that the subject matter of the former is a mirror that most Americans don't want to gaze into (hence the lackluster ratings), the work being done there is at a minimum as good as what we've enjoyed from the latter. The thing that perplexes me is that the writing, the acting, the casting, the locations — the
production — have turned this show into the greatest social commentary on TV and is as important a cultural television touch point as
Roots was in the '70s. While a bit surprised that the viewing public doesn't seem to care, it's shocking that the cast's own guild, which is supposed to celebrate the talent among its members, refuses to acknowledge this fine ensemble. It is a crime that their work — in particular, that of Michael K. Williams, Wendell Pierce, Jamie Hector and Dominic West — continues to go unrecognized (with the exception of a few critics like yourself). While I'm at it, David Simon and Ed Burns don't just deserve an Emmy; I'd nominate them for a Nobel Peace Prize!
— Brian, Olathe, Kans.
Matt Roush: There's the rub, isn't it? If a show like The Wire can't get love from the various guilds, especially the actors' guild, what does that say about the industry's priorities? It's one thing for the public at large to regard the show as too depressing, dense, confusing or whatever reason they have for not embracing it. But there's no excusing the industry for ignoring the show's qualities. I think some of this has to do with The Wire being produced in Baltimore, outside the Los Angeles-New York matrix (ditto for Friday Night Lights, which is produced in Texas). Out of sight, out of mind, or maybe they're just out of their minds.
