The Story of a Snitch

There is a superb article in this month's Atlantic Monthly. It's a real-life story of a snitch, or police informant, in Baltimore and all the tribulations and hardships endured by him. It's a sad story and it gives the reader a window into how the value system operates in this community. It really gets into the sociology behind why people in the community turn so much on those who cooperate with the police and is very complementary to Season Four and what Randy endures.

In a nutshell, the criminal element is so powerful and pervasive, and the reach and sway of the police so limited that law-and-order cannot really be enforced. It's vintage "Wire" in its cataloging of how institutions have failed and the unsavory characters that have filled its vacuum.

P.S. Here's a brief interview with Wendell Pierce (Bunk) from a Detroit paper.
Worth reading.

Burns and Simon to film mini-series on Iraq

Check out this article in the Baltimore Sun about "The Wire" team shifting to making a seven-episode series about the first days of the Iraq War.

Titled, "Generation Kill," after the book by the same name, Burns and Simon are going to be spending much of the summer in Africa filming it. They're also writing all the scripts along with "Kill" author Evan Wright.

Sounds like a perfect avenue for their talents. Nothing needs the hyper-realist eye of Burns-Simon more than the fiasco in Iraq.

The article says that Season Five of "The Wire" will wrap filming in August.