Wire and America’s Dark Corners
Regular price
€27.50
The Wire (2002-2008) was a searing exploration of post-9/11 America. It detailed the struggles of those living in America's disintegrating industrial heartlands and drug-ravaged neighborhoods, as well as those striving against the odds in its schools, hospitals and legal system. In the shadow of 9/11, while all eyes were turned towards Afghanistan and Iraq, The Wire was one of the few attempts to show the realities of America's dark corners.
Dostoevsky and Tolstoy have been evoked in discussions of The Wire, its compelling storylines and memorable cast of characters creating a level of detail previously unseen in television series. However, while the show's scope and ambition garnered critical praise and a loyal following, a discussion of its political aspects, and in particular of the commentary it provided on Bush-era America, is overdue.
The essays in this book examine The Wire in these terms, encompassing the unforseen consequences of the War on Drugs, the division of America's cities, the surveillance state, and the meaning of citizenship. In sum, this book provides new insights into how The Wire shone a light on the hidden realities of post-9/11 America.
Dostoevsky and Tolstoy have been evoked in discussions of The Wire, its compelling storylines and memorable cast of characters creating a level of detail previously unseen in television series. However, while the show's scope and ambition garnered critical praise and a loyal following, a discussion of its political aspects, and in particular of the commentary it provided on Bush-era America, is overdue.
The essays in this book examine The Wire in these terms, encompassing the unforseen consequences of the War on Drugs, the division of America's cities, the surveillance state, and the meaning of citizenship. In sum, this book provides new insights into how The Wire shone a light on the hidden realities of post-9/11 America.
Arin Keeble is a teaching assistant at Newcastle University, UK and a visiting lecturer in English at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln, UK. He has published three peer-reviewed articles on the literary and cultural representation of 9/11, is co-editor of a new collection of essays on David Simon’s television series The Wire and is currently working on the cultural representation of Hurricane Katrina. He lives in the United Kingdom.
Ivan Stacy is a lecturer in English at Royal Thimphu College in Bhutan. He specializes in contemporary fiction, and his research interests include complicity and the ethics of witnessing and testimony. He lives in Korea.
Ivan Stacy is a lecturer in English at Royal Thimphu College in Bhutan. He specializes in contemporary fiction, and his research interests include complicity and the ethics of witnessing and testimony. He lives in Korea.