Fuuuuuuuuuck
February 13, 2018 9:22 AM   Subscribe

 
Fuck
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 9:36 AM on February 13, 2018 [1 favorite]


Fuck.
posted by RobotHero at 9:37 AM on February 13, 2018 [1 favorite]


fuck me.
posted by dismas at 9:39 AM on February 13, 2018 [1 favorite]


Fuck.
posted by secret about box at 9:39 AM on February 13, 2018 [1 favorite]


Funk.
posted by saladin at 9:40 AM on February 13, 2018 [3 favorites]


It's the fuckingest fucking fuck of fucking stunt writing and still fucking brilliant...

I remember watching it cold and it slowly dawning on me what was going and I was.... fuck!
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 9:40 AM on February 13, 2018 [6 favorites]


Goddammit.
posted by saladin at 9:40 AM on February 13, 2018 [1 favorite]


Fuck. Okay.
posted by ourobouros at 9:40 AM on February 13, 2018 [1 favorite]


Sheeeeeee-it?
posted by Atom Eyes at 9:40 AM on February 13, 2018 [19 favorites]


I remember watching it cold and it slowly dawning on me what was going and I was.... fuck!

I was more fucking shook than when Wee Bay learned shortie Little Man shot was a cop
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 9:46 AM on February 13, 2018 [4 favorites]


Much as I love The Wire, I wish they hadn't bothered with this scene. It always struck me as one of the few mis-steps pulling us out of the show's rock solid reality into something artificial and rather mannered.

I'm sure the real cops swore very frequently and very inventively, but filling the whole scene with variations of a single word never rang true to me. I see it as a writers' conceit which they indulged in at the price of damaging the wider show.

I will now RTFA.
posted by Paul Slade at 9:53 AM on February 13, 2018 [12 favorites]


Feck?
posted by RandomInconsistencies at 10:01 AM on February 13, 2018 [1 favorite]


It's fuckin' jake by me.
posted by bleep at 10:06 AM on February 13, 2018 [1 favorite]


Fuckity fuck
posted by not_the_water at 10:11 AM on February 13, 2018 [1 favorite]




fuuuuuck
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 10:21 AM on February 13, 2018


fork!
posted by numaner at 10:21 AM on February 13, 2018 [3 favorites]


That scene always reminded me of an anecdote in Paul Fussell’s Wartime, which has a whole chapter on the versatility of “fuck”:
Once, on a misty Scottish airfield, an airman was changing the magneto on the engine of a Wellington bomber. Suddenly his wrench slipped and he flung it on the grass and snarled, “Fuck! The fucking fucker’s fucked.” The bystanders were all quite well aware that he had stripped a bolt and skinned his knuckles.
posted by mph at 10:21 AM on February 13, 2018 [10 favorites]


Yeah, it felt kind of gimmicky, like, they could have just done the scene in complete silence, just some nods and raised eyebrows, and it could have been even more powerful. But what the fuck do I know.
posted by gwint at 10:25 AM on February 13, 2018 [1 favorite]


the story behind the making of this scene is pretty awesome. I do find fuck to be one of the most versatile and useful words in the english language.
posted by supermedusa at 10:25 AM on February 13, 2018


BUNK: *makes slurping crab meat eating noises*
posted by Fizz at 10:26 AM on February 13, 2018 [4 favorites]


That was perfect visual storytelling.

I mean, fuuuuuuuuccccccckkkkkkkk.
posted by zippy at 10:34 AM on February 13, 2018 [2 favorites]


Join Metafilter

Note: this username is already taken, please choose another.
Username: fuck



Fuck.
posted by bondcliff at 10:35 AM on February 13, 2018 [3 favorites]


Of course Omar never swears
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 10:46 AM on February 13, 2018 [5 favorites]


I'm with the "it was perfect" camp; I don't think the utter silence version would have given as vivid an impression of the inner-world-of-contradictions that the Baltimore City detectives were portrayed to have in the show. Remember, this was in a very early episode, and it was an astoundingly efficient way of character intro and building. They are serious about their job, they are meticulous and good at it, and sincerely want to do a good job, but they are also impossibly cynical and world-weary at the same time, because of the sea they swim in. No, a silent scene wouldn't have gotten all of that across, but only the first half of it.
posted by seyirci at 10:50 AM on February 13, 2018 [22 favorites]


I don't know what this says about me or The Wire, but: I finally started watching The Wire last year after spending the better part of a decade hearing about it from everybody basically. Dramatic procedurals are kind of a hard sell for me, and the heavy subject matter tends to stress me out, but I went in really wanting to give it a good shot. So I watched the pilot (which took me a couple of attempts, because I dozed off the first time through), and then watched the next few over the course of about a week.

The very last episode I watched was the one with the "fuck" scene. I thought it was kind of brilliant, and playful in a way that did not seem to be in evidence with the rest of the show I had seen up to that point. And so I guess I figured that I could just stop there, because I haven't watched any more of The Wire since that one.
posted by Strange Interlude at 10:54 AM on February 13, 2018


I can't remember where I read it now but apparently the tommies in world war one swore so much to the extent that in order to add emphasis officers or sergeants would deliberately speak an order without swearing to let you know that things were really fucked up this time.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 10:57 AM on February 13, 2018 [13 favorites]


Of course Omar never swears

A quick derail: I was reading a HackerNews post the other day (probably about bitcoin or some shit) and someone used an apt Omar quote in a comment (I think: You come at the king you best not miss) and the someone FREAKED OUT in the a reply that one of their "obscure" and "niche" TV shows would get well known enough to show up on a HN comment. It was a 100% sincere comment.

I honestly couldn't believe it. Omar was the favorite TV character of the Leader of the Free World. About every "Best TV Shows of All Time" list had The Wire at #1 or #2 depending on how the author felt about The Sopranos. I couldn't believe it.

So, there are apparently people out there who are culturally aware enough to have watched The Wire, but not aware enough to not believe they are only people who have seen it and loved it.
posted by sideshow at 11:02 AM on February 13, 2018 [4 favorites]


Strange Interlude, it took me the better part of 8 years to watch the whole series. I stopped right around the point you did and thought, meh, I don't need to watch more.

I was wrong. I was so fucking wrong. And I'm so fucking glad I finished the whole series last summer after, like, seven years away from it.
posted by palomar at 11:04 AM on February 13, 2018 [10 favorites]


I do find fuck to be one of the most versatile and useful words in the english language.

Indeed. Also, What the fuck.
posted by sapagan at 11:08 AM on February 13, 2018


"It always struck me as one of the few mis-steps pulling us out of the show's rock solid reality into something artificial and rather mannered"

Agree, it's absolutely mannered. But for me, it works as kind of a foil, to illustrate just how well they had the rest of it down. I'm willing to grant one scene of writerly mannerism in exchange for the hyperrealism of the rest of the show.
posted by kevinbelt at 11:21 AM on February 13, 2018


Sometimes that's what the fuck life is - one vile fucking oral history after another
posted by thelonius at 11:21 AM on February 13, 2018 [3 favorites]


"I thought it was kind of brilliant, and playful in a way that did not seem to be in evidence with the rest of the show I had seen up to that point."

"Playful" is a good word for the show. I find Tarantino very hard to watch because the violence itself is presented as funny. That isn't the case here. I don't feel that tragic events are made light of. But there's still a sense of fun throughout.

(I'm not much farther through it myself, though.)
posted by floppyroofing at 11:29 AM on February 13, 2018 [3 favorites]


Frack.
posted by Splunge at 11:29 AM on February 13, 2018 [3 favorites]


Now do the Mr. Wu/Swearingen “cocksucker” scene from Deadwood.
posted by middleclasstool at 11:36 AM on February 13, 2018 [8 favorites]


Farging icehole.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:57 AM on February 13, 2018 [2 favorites]


Fuck........?
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:00 PM on February 13, 2018 [1 favorite]


Now do the Mr. Wu/Swearingen “cocksucker” scene from Deadwood....

!!!!

I never knew I wanted a Deadwood/The Wire crossover so badly.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:05 PM on February 13, 2018 [4 favorites]


I've worked in workplaces where we could conduct a whole meeting of "fucks." Why wouldn't the guys in Baltimore be the same? It's gallows humor and supportive. You need it if you're going to survive that kind of environment.
posted by amanda at 12:39 PM on February 13, 2018 [6 favorites]


Mother fucker.
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 12:52 PM on February 13, 2018 [1 favorite]


Huh. I'd forgotten about that.
posted by DesbaratsDays at 1:03 PM on February 13, 2018


"Much as I love The Wire, I wish they hadn't bothered with this scene. It always struck me as one of the few mis-steps pulling us out of the show's rock solid reality into something artificial and rather mannered. "

I couldn't agree more, it rips me out of the immersive reality of the show, every time.
posted by Mechashiva at 1:21 PM on February 13, 2018


Dude
posted by exogenous at 1:36 PM on February 13, 2018 [1 favorite]


Fuckin' fuck, that's a great scene.
posted by Making You Bored For Science at 2:02 PM on February 13, 2018


Yeah, it felt kind of gimmicky...

Agreed, I prefer Burns' take. It feels at some points like they're saying it just to say it, or at least using the wrong "fuck" for the context. Plus the whole scene shows a complete lack of understanding of fridge door construction, which always takes me out of a movie or show.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 2:02 PM on February 13, 2018 [1 favorite]


Actual conversation between GCU Sweet and Full of Grace and I while watching The Wire the first time through years ago on Netflix DVD-by-mail:

Me: Let's watch another episode of The Wire!
GCUSAFOG: There are no more.
Me: Fuck!

I was not aware I was quoting.
posted by biscotti at 2:45 PM on February 13, 2018 [2 favorites]


MetaFilter: Fuck.
posted by automatronic at 3:37 PM on February 13, 2018 [1 favorite]


Plus the whole scene shows a complete lack of understanding of fridge door construction

Metafilter: fucking fucks know fuck-all about fuckity-fuck
posted by zippy at 3:39 PM on February 13, 2018 [2 favorites]


So, there are apparently people out there who are culturally aware enough to have watched The Wire, but not aware enough to not believe they are only people who have seen it and loved it.
There's something about The Wire -- and it's not unique to that show, but it's a great example -- that makes you feel protective of it and proud of it and like you're part of something neat for being a fan of it.

And while it certainly was a success, and certainly did get accolades out the wazoo, its pop culture presence wasn't on the order of, say, Friends or Seinfeld. Its Nielsen ratings were pretty awful at the time.
posted by uberchet at 3:50 PM on February 13, 2018 [2 favorites]


I hereby propose "Five Minute Fuck Scene" as the title of the next boy band.

All in favor, all opposed? Motion passed.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 5:10 PM on February 13, 2018 [3 favorites]


I'm sure the real cops swore very frequently and very inventively, but filling the whole scene with variations of a single word never rang true to me.

I read that scene as McNulty and Bunk putting on a little bit of a show for the guy from the apartment complex. They have an audience for their detectin' and by God they are going to milk it.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:18 PM on February 13, 2018 [7 favorites]


I've worked in workplaces where we could conduct a whole meeting of...

True, there are workplaces like that I've been in, it's not mannered or artificial, it's kinda like reality, in some places..
posted by ovvl at 5:31 PM on February 13, 2018


I just asked my dogs, Stringer and Avon, and they agree, it's a fucking masterpiece.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 5:39 PM on February 13, 2018 [5 favorites]


Really naming them Avon and D'Angelo BARKsdale would have been better imho.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:43 PM on February 13, 2018 [4 favorites]


I'm sure the real cops swore very frequently and very inventively, but filling the whole scene with variations of a single word never rang true to me.
You should've RTFA first.
DAVID SIMON (CREATOR): We’re standing at a crime scene. We’re staring, and cops are just cursing left and right. Somebody said something that was so profanity laden that Terry McLarney just started giggling and saying, “One day we’re going to get to the point where we’re all going to be able to just use the word fuck to communicate.” And it was just a throwaway line for Terry, but I remembered it. So, I came to Ed with it, and then Ed wrote that scene.
"Ed" of course being former Baltimore cop Ed Burns, who had worked the real-life murder that inspired the plotline and scene...
posted by uberchet at 7:09 PM on February 13, 2018 [1 favorite]


GCU Sweet and Full of Grace: How you gonna run with the wolves at night if you spend all day sparring with the puppies?

The really funny part is how like their namesakes they are... String is careful and anxious, Avon is full of action and attack. It's all a win in this player's game, dawg.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 7:52 PM on February 13, 2018 [1 favorite]


I guess this is where I should admit that I always thought "The Wire" was that talk show with Whoopi Goldberg and some other women, so I was really confused there for a while.
posted by yhbc at 8:06 PM on February 13, 2018


A Very Special episode of The View.
posted by Artw at 8:15 PM on February 13, 2018




Fuck.
posted by RobotHero at 8:16 PM on February 13, 2018


palomar: "Strange Interlude, it took me the better part of 8 years to watch the whole series. I stopped right around the point you did and thought, meh, I don't need to watch more.

I was wrong. I was so fucking wrong. And I'm so fucking glad I finished the whole series last summer after, like, seven years away from it.
"

I guess that I should try it again. I found the first season to be kind of a dreary slog and never got any farther but people keep telling me to give it another chance.
posted by octothorpe at 4:49 AM on February 14, 2018 [1 favorite]


I can't remember where I read it now but apparently the tommies in world war one swore so much to the extent that in order to add emphasis officers or sergeants would deliberately speak an order without swearing to let you know that things were really fucked up this time.

Fuck yeah, it was this fucking article.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 5:46 AM on February 14, 2018


I just asked my dogs, Stringer and Avon, and they agree, it's a fucking masterpiece.

Please name your next dog Gromit so you can ask him: Where the fuck is Wallace?
posted by middleclasstool at 8:08 AM on February 14, 2018 [3 favorites]


Bonus: We know where Wallace is.
posted by andreap at 9:35 AM on February 18, 2018 [2 favorites]


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