The Wire: Update
July 5, 2011, 7:29 am
Posted by Cathleen Kaveny
I’ve finished season one–about the projects in Baltimore, and am now on to season two–about the port. Each season, apparently, the theme song, the spiritual “Way Down in the Hole,” receives a different rendition. I found this one jarringly beautiful and menacing at the same time:
“jarringly beautiful and menacing”
That’s Tom Waits. Good actor, too. Highly recommend “Down By Law,” or the segment with Iggy Pop in “Coffee and Cigarettes.” Both by Jim Jarmusch.
When I was a senior at a Diocesan high school in a wealthy suburb of Philadelphia, we had a dozen or more days where, for the sake of meeting state-mandated minimums re: days of attendance, we ended up watching movies or cleaning chalkboards. Some of the movies, to the credit of those teachers, were educational… historical documentaries about the events leading up to World War II or BBC productions of Shakespeare. Many, however, were not (The Lion King comes to mind).
High school seniors could do a great deal worse than to watch a season of ‘The Wire’ by way of educating them about some of the issues facing the country and its citizens. (Certainly none would complain that it was “boring,” or “irrelevant.”) Parents who were uncomfortable with the idea could have their children opt out and go to study hall or scrape gum off of lockers.
Disclaimer: I didn’t watch the series till I was several years into grad school, so perhaps it’s inappropriate for high school seniors?