Overdue Thoughts

Watch, dwell then read...

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I can number the scenes I knew were great the first time I saw them with my two hands. This was the first. I got the sense I would be back many times and the truth is I don't think I have strayed far from The Wire ever since. Not as self praise, of course - I got this scene right away, I knew exactly why I loved it and what it was saying. In that regard there was very little development. In my perhaps sixty times through the scene over the course of a year I've only found new tidbits of depth and truth, some of which I may not recall in organizing them in written form. Others I might not posses the written skills to put into words and thus they'll stay as muddled thoughts until a time when I revisit this. Regardless, I've known what to write about this scene for a long time but first a tiny bit of context.

Should my memory be correct, this scene floats in around twenty minutes through S01E05 and is proceeded by a completely ordinary scene and is followed by one excruciatingly the same. Thus is the beauty of The Wire but that is another topic, one that I have words on. The significance of the ordinary here furthers the importance of the scene as a whole. If the scene was raised up or glorified in some way it would detract from the plain realism of what Stringer says. The Wire almost speaks this scene with a shrug of its shoulders.

Now let's get into the meat of it. We first start with the context of the scene, "It's been a little hectic down here, right cous?" This anchors the content of the scene in canon of the story, gives reason for why this conversation is occurring. It also furthers a comment I believe Stringer makes in the previous episode, that he will take care of the problem in the pit. D'Anglo goes on to defend himself, in sorts, by explaining their side of the story, "them stick up boys..."

Second, we have a police patrol wander through the pit which ushers in Stringer's next comment on how things could be running better. He reaffirms the truth that the "stick up crews and the creepers that be..." are the ones that cause the majority of the operation's problems. This was illustrated in S01E03 where Omar and his fine gentlemen robbed D'Anglo's boys and by extension Stringer. Stringer then reveals the information he and Avon have come to, "...you're Uncle and me, we - we think you got a snitch up in the shop." As per his response, D'Anglo thinks otherwise, at least he is unsure of those prospects.

Now comes the good stuff, in my opinion the more magical stuff. Stringer proceeds to explain what he wants done. This both reveals a certain wisdom in Stringer Bell and shows a few traits of D'Anglo. When Stringer says there isn't going to be payday, D'Anglo is confused. Note, he already questions that there is a snitch. D'Anglo then presents the very real truth that if you don't pay someone they aren't going to work. Duh, obvious, nothing ground breaking there but I do believe it was written to segue into the reason for the scene. Stringer presents the truth of the situation, "You think a nigga's gonna get a job? You think these - these niggers gonna be like, fuck it let me - let me quit this game here and go to college?" Notice how while delivering the line Stringer is chuckling. I interpret this as what Stringer is saying is obvious to him. He is amused how D'Anglo doesn't see how blatantly trapped the boys and girl in the pit are. There is nowhere for them to go. There is no way any of them would leave drug dealing for a "real" job, it's all they have. What Stringer says here is undoubtedly true. It is my understanding that urban youth can be forced into the drug trade, not by will but by necessity and what Stringer says reflects this.

Still not quite done with Stringer's line as D'Anglo's response to it is quite important. Up to this point I have noted some hesitance in D'Anglo, in regards to what Stringer is telling him. Once Stringer explains that, "...They gonna buck a little, but they not gonna walk. And in the end you gonna get respect." In this, D'Anglo is given both assurances that he won't be screwed and far more importantly he is given a reason to short his guys on pay. Cynical or not, people are driven by self interest and it is as soon as Stringer shows D'Anglo how it will benefit him he is ready to do this disservice. Shortly after, D'Anglo informs his men that their wallets are going to be a little lite.

From here we fall back into more contextual comments from Stringer with a little less universal relevance. He suggests how to determine who are the best people to keep on D'Anglo's list. Ironically it is Stringer who later does the "striking off" but that would get into other content of the first season.

As an aside, note how the two watch what is going on in the pit more than who they are talking to. That is some what of a necessity while in certain urban environments such as the pit.

That's all I remember of my thoughts on the subject, just spilled out in the first wording thought of. Perhaps I will return here to these few moments should I remember anything else significant.