David Simon in conversation with Bill Moyers about The Wire
April 21, 2009 1:01 PM Subscribe
Bill Moyers Journal, April 17, 2009 From crime beat reporter for the BALTIMORE SUN to award-winning screenwriter of HBO's critically-acclaimed The Wire, David Simon talks with Bill Moyers about inner-city crime and politics, storytelling and the future of journalism today.
Sorry for the one link post.
Ditto. One good link is all you need.
posted by ocherdraco at 1:11 PM on April 21, 2009
posted by ocherdraco at 1:11 PM on April 21, 2009
Bill Moyer's Journal is one of the best things on TV. Honest, heartfelt conversations about a variety of topics, nearly always illuminating even if I didn't think I was interested when the episodes starts.
This one is particular was outstanding. I've been tossing that link to friends since Friday night. So much was covered in just that one episode, all of which is pertinent and needs to be heard. Impossible to recap; best to just watch the hour. You won't be sorry.
posted by hippybear at 1:12 PM on April 21, 2009
This one is particular was outstanding. I've been tossing that link to friends since Friday night. So much was covered in just that one episode, all of which is pertinent and needs to be heard. Impossible to recap; best to just watch the hour. You won't be sorry.
posted by hippybear at 1:12 PM on April 21, 2009
I forgive you because I watched all my wire DVDs three times but I need MORE WIRE INFO omgomgomg
im serious
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:12 PM on April 21, 2009
im serious
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:12 PM on April 21, 2009
One good link is all you need. Please don't apologize!
posted by anastasiav at 1:13 PM on April 21, 2009
posted by anastasiav at 1:13 PM on April 21, 2009
Seriously I will accept David Simon's grocery list at this point. Can we force him by law to start producing it again?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:17 PM on April 21, 2009
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:17 PM on April 21, 2009
Bill Moyers should be bronzed.
posted by boo_radley at 1:22 PM on April 21, 2009
posted by boo_radley at 1:22 PM on April 21, 2009
For Potamoc Avenue
Interview with the Guardian on Writing
“MY STANDARD FOR VERISIMILITUDE IS SIMPLE AND I CAME TO IT WHEN I STARTED TO WRITE PROSE NARRATIVE: FUCK THE AVERAGE READER.” -- Interview with David Simon
posted by jadepearl at 1:35 PM on April 21, 2009 [1 favorite]
Interview with the Guardian on Writing
“MY STANDARD FOR VERISIMILITUDE IS SIMPLE AND I CAME TO IT WHEN I STARTED TO WRITE PROSE NARRATIVE: FUCK THE AVERAGE READER.” -- Interview with David Simon
posted by jadepearl at 1:35 PM on April 21, 2009 [1 favorite]
That was a fantastic interview. It should be required viewing for any lawmaker who hasn't seen The Wire.
posted by homunculus at 1:42 PM on April 21, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by homunculus at 1:42 PM on April 21, 2009 [1 favorite]
his bit on social equality was great. There was a quote on the blue recently, something like, "if you're poor, it's easier to have the promise of wealth than to confront your own poverty." I wish I could remember who said it.
posted by boo_radley at 1:47 PM on April 21, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by boo_radley at 1:47 PM on April 21, 2009 [1 favorite]
He's so damn smart and interesting, my only complaint is the interview isn't long enough.
posted by zardoz at 1:56 PM on April 21, 2009
posted by zardoz at 1:56 PM on April 21, 2009
Yes! Thanks for this. I'm a little more than halfway through season 2 of The Wire. This show really feels important, even without this excellent interview to highlight its cultural and political relevance.
I don't mean to derail this thread into a Wire love-fest, but this interview just makes me wonder again - how in the world did this show so adeptly address serious societal issues while still providing serious old-fashioned entertainment? How does he write in that ineffable way, where he can leave so much implied yet make it so crystal clear what the characters mean? I really don't think I'm being hyperbolic by claiming it's one of the great all-time achievements certainly in television, maybe even in storytelling in general. As mentioned above, this interview should be required reading for our legislators, if not the whole show required viewing as well. Hell, I wish it could be taught in schools!
posted by pziemba at 1:57 PM on April 21, 2009
I don't mean to derail this thread into a Wire love-fest, but this interview just makes me wonder again - how in the world did this show so adeptly address serious societal issues while still providing serious old-fashioned entertainment? How does he write in that ineffable way, where he can leave so much implied yet make it so crystal clear what the characters mean? I really don't think I'm being hyperbolic by claiming it's one of the great all-time achievements certainly in television, maybe even in storytelling in general. As mentioned above, this interview should be required reading for our legislators, if not the whole show required viewing as well. Hell, I wish it could be taught in schools!
posted by pziemba at 1:57 PM on April 21, 2009
is this something you would have to have watched the best show in the history of television shows ever of all time to understand?
posted by snofoam at 2:54 PM on April 21, 2009
posted by snofoam at 2:54 PM on April 21, 2009
snofoam: No. The interview stands on its own, and any clips from The Wire which are used in the service of informing the interview don't require being familiar with the show.
I have never watched The Wire, and found the hour well worth my time.
posted by hippybear at 3:03 PM on April 21, 2009
I have never watched The Wire, and found the hour well worth my time.
posted by hippybear at 3:03 PM on April 21, 2009
If you area really jonesing for more David Simon work try these:
- Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets his 1991 book which received the 1992 Edgar Award in the Best Fact Crime category
- The Corner, the HBO series created by David Simon in 2000. Here is a sample: The Corner - DeAndre and Prop Joe
Excellent post.
I'm sure it's been linked on one of the many Wire threads we've had in the past but for those who haven't seen it here's a lecture Simon gave at Loyola College a few years ago: part 1, part 2, part 3.
posted by inoculatedcities at 3:32 PM on April 21, 2009 [4 favorites]
I'm sure it's been linked on one of the many Wire threads we've had in the past but for those who haven't seen it here's a lecture Simon gave at Loyola College a few years ago: part 1, part 2, part 3.
posted by inoculatedcities at 3:32 PM on April 21, 2009 [4 favorites]
May I suggest some tags which are missing from this post: thewire, hbo, davidsimon and sheeeeeeit.
posted by ooga_booga at 4:12 PM on April 21, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by ooga_booga at 4:12 PM on April 21, 2009 [2 favorites]
Sorry for the one link post.
Links related to The Wire count as four.
posted by rokusan at 4:42 PM on April 21, 2009 [6 favorites]
Links related to The Wire count as four.
posted by rokusan at 4:42 PM on April 21, 2009 [6 favorites]
I caught this last Sunday. Though I'm not as enamored of The Wire as most here, this was a damn fine interview even by Moyer's sterling standards. Highly recommended.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:49 PM on April 21, 2009
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:49 PM on April 21, 2009
Here's a torrent for those of us who want to add this to their "give to friends after you've made them watch the entire series at gunpoint" disc. Not that I would do such a thing, of course. That would just be silly and pathetic.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:38 AM on April 22, 2009
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:38 AM on April 22, 2009
So, watching the speech by Simon posted here by inoculatedcities, I find myself wondering...
How much of the lack of buzz about The Wire was a result of this?
posted by hippybear at 10:02 PM on April 23, 2009
How much of the lack of buzz about The Wire was a result of this?
posted by hippybear at 10:02 PM on April 23, 2009
Testifying before a Senate hearing on the “Future of Journalism,” former Baltimore Sun reporter David Simon, best known as the creator of the award-winning HBO series The Wire, addresses the decline of the newspaper industry in the age of rabid media consolidation and the rise of the internet. Simon calls for a non-profit model in the newspaper industry, saying “raw unencumbered capitalism is never the answer when a public trust or public mission is at issue.”
posted by homunculus at 11:33 AM on May 7, 2009
posted by homunculus at 11:33 AM on May 7, 2009
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No one should feel the need to apologize for good one-link posts.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:10 PM on April 21, 2009 [9 favorites]