Anthropology by the Wire
Natalie Demyan
ndemya2@students.towson.edu
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12
Jul
I have a lot of thoughts about ABW’s final presentations on Wednesday in terms of expansion into larger projects in the coming months. Here are some:
20
Jun
During Dr. D.’s lecture on visual anthropology, the conflict between film versus prose continuously crept under the surface. The question of whether one medium is superior to the other has obviously been a dilemma for practicing ethnographic filmmakers, but I wonder how useful this argument is in the contemporary era.
11
Jun
This year marked my first visit to Honfest in Hampden, and to be honest I had avoided it until now. Honfest has long represented everything I hate: festivals, heat, too many people, commodification of culture, and Bawlmer hons. Full disclosure: I grew up surrounded by hons, and there was nothing quaint or cute about them to me; they were often derided by my parents, so I quickly learned to never act or speak like them.
04
Jun
![Since not many of ABW’s participants have seen The Wire, I figured I’d link to two pieces about the show: the first, a post on the insightful anthropology blog Savage Minds singing its praises for the fact that “it dares to be about poor people and poverty”. The second, a more robust piece from The Atlantic concerning the personality of one of the show’s creators, David Simon, as well as the influence his experiences as a resident of the city and a reporter for the Baltimore Sun have had on The Wire.
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Doing a simple Google search on The Wire and its myriad of analyses will show that the show has definitely resonated with television audiences, but at what cost to residents of the city? In light of that daunting rhetorical question, I hope everyone who hasn’t seen the show is able to view it. That’s not only because it really is one of the best programs in television history, but also in order to have a straw man of sorts against which to compare their experiences in Baltimore. As someone who’s lost count of how many times I’ve re-watched the series, I’m still struck at times when I find parallels, contradictions, confirmations, and outright rebellions against arguably the most popular representation of the city.
I want to avoid calling The Wire “wrong”, because I don’t think it is; what I’d like to instead encourage is a viewing of the series through an anthropological, relativistic, reflexive lens. By comparing representation with experience, one can engage the limitations and capabilities of any media representation, and strategize ways to make his or her own productions more… well, productive to those who inhabit Baltimore in particular.
If anyone wants to (re-)watch the series, I’d be there in a heartbeat. With popcorn.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m54lm4hu2J1ql5t6eo1_400.jpg)
Since not many of ABW’s participants have seen The Wire, I figured I’d link to two pieces about the show: the first, a post on the insightful anthropology blog Savage Minds singing its praises for the fact that “it dares to be about poor people and poverty”. The second, a more robust piece from The Atlantic concerning the personality of one of the show’s creators, David Simon, as well as the influence his experiences as a resident of the city and a reporter for the Baltimore Sun have had on The Wire.
