Wise Up: The Wire S4 Video Tribute

[falafel_musings]

Title: Wise Up
Song/Artist: 'Wise Up' by Aimee Mann.
Fandom: The Wire
Description: A tribute to the corner kids and the adults who tried to help them. 
Characters: Randy, Namond, Michael, Dukie, Bodie, Bubbles. 
Spoilers: For S4 Only.
Warnings: Violent and distressing scenes

The Wire S4 Meta: Because this shit is deep, yo...

I'm still knee-deep in working on my novel, but when I'm not writing/editing I've mostly been watching The Wire. I managed to finish my S4 tribute this morning. If you have not seen all of S4 yet, be warned this vid and meta is spoilery. If you have finished watching S4...did it break you emotionally? Because making this vid has been like therapy for me.

I was seriously worried about this song choice. Feel free to say if you think it's a bad choice. I can imagine getting slated on youtube by the wannabe gangster fans for using this sissy white girl music. Plus, the Wire theme is a Tom Waits song, so don't ask me why I missed my chance at usings a Waits song for this tribute too. But I just got Wise Up in my head and it wouldn't shift. I've always thought it was a very powerful song. I love the way it was used in the film Magnolia. I've noticed a pattern in my vidding song choices; that I like songs with repeating lyrics. The echoing line "It's not going to stop" was perfect for conveying the heartbreaking futility of The Wire.  

The main focus of this vid is the Corner Kids; primarily Randy, Namond, Michael and Dukie. I've done my best to weave together the trials and hardships the four boys suffer through the series - Dukie's struggle with poverty, Randy being branded a snitch, Michael being recruited by a ruthless drug gang, Namond being pressured into crime by his own mother. Really I felt gutted for all four of them over the course of the series. Even Namond who escapes in the end has to lose his real parents and his best friends in the process. I'm telling you, these kids make the four boys in 'Stand by Me' look like sheltered pampered little cherubs. 

This vid also features a lot of Bodie and Bubbles because I love them because I felt their S4 storylines were very relevant to my theme of the tragic corner kids. Bodie was the original corner boy from S1 and in S4 at age twenty he is feeling like an old man at the end of his career. I felt like Bodie's death in the final episode casts a big shadow over the series. It proves that when Namond was asked the question 'Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?' and he answered 'Dead' it was no joke. Bodie is one of those kids five years down the line. Bodie actually survived on the streets much longer than most of the Barksdale crew. Some people find Bodie's death heroic, but for me it was the ultimate expression of frustration and futility. Bodie was shot down defending his corner but it was those corners that sucked away his whole life along with the lives of hundreds of other Baltimore kids. I sooo didn't want Bodie to die, but storywise it is so perfect.

I felt Bubbles story was also important and worth featuring, because it was the story of an adult trying desperately to save a young corner kid and failing serverly when he becomes the accidental cause of Sherrod's death. I liked the theme in S4 of various adult characters trying to take a kid character under their wing; Prez with Dukie, Bunny with Namond, Carver with Randy, Cutty with Michael and even McNulty with Bodie. I tried to include as much as I could of all those relationships because they were all so beautiful and heartbreaking, for the adults as much as the kids. I gave Bubs the most focus, because his failure to save his kid had the most devastating impact on him. Man, I find it so sad that Bunny was the only one who was able to make a difference and even that was only a small difference, only helping one kid. 

Anyway, big thanks to anyone who takes the time to watch this.
 

Comments

[cinco-series.livejournal.com]

Oh I LOVED it ! You did an amazing job and i found myself crying by the end of your vid.

I think s4 was the most heartbreaking. It's not my favorite season (nothing can beat the awesomeness of s1 and s3). But i loved it and i felt so much for each character.

I think they should have stayed with the Corner Kids in s5. The journalitsts and the whole fake serial-killer storyline was disappointing and far from being as well written as the Hamsterdam storyline or the Sobotka plot. Though i concede that s5 has some great moments and the most shocking and amazing character's deaths (Prop Joe, Snoop, Omar,...).

[elliotsmelliot.livejournal.com]

Your meta made me curious enough to watch. And there's nothing like a good kick in the gut on a Sunday morning.

The music was an interesting contrast - very soft, which allowed the scenes to take centre stage - rather than the music.

I think including Bubs was important because one imagines he fell into the streets as a young man. He despite the odds, he managed to stay alive and live to be an adult. In S5 I feel his path is contrasted with Dukie's in terms of options.

Good job!

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Very powerful video!

[nolivingman.livejournal.com]

Oh, this made me cry. I get your hesitation about the music, but I thought the soft slow song was perfect for this vid; I liked the repetition and how it really hammered home the cyclical nature of violence and loss.

Very touching vid, thank you for sharing it with us.

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! S4 is definitely the most heartbreaking. I cried my eyes out over the last two episodes. It's my personal favourite season, but S1 and S3 are outstanding too. S2 is great too even though the shift to the dock is a bit jolting.

I haven't seen S5 yet (waiting on DVD order from my library) but I already know it focuses on the media and that Omar dies *big sniff* I hear Michael is still a player in S5, but Randy and Nay only appear once.

Thanks again for watching!

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Oh wow. Thanks for watching even though you're not a vid fan!

Yeah, the good thing about soft music with repeating lyrics is it doesn't demand your attention, so all the attention can go to the clips. I didn't want to water down the emotion.

I've heard a lot of the fans seeing shades of the main street characters in the kids; I do think Dukie could be the next generations Bubbles. I'm trying to remember if I've heard much of Bubbles backstory. I remember he had a sister in S1, but do we find out how he became an addict?

I'd love to do a Bubbles centric vid. Maybe use a Tom Waits song for that one.

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Thanks!!

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Thank you for watching and your reassurance over the song choice. Thinking about it they sometimes use rather soft songs for the end of season montages.

[elliotsmelliot.livejournal.com]

You get more of Bub's backstory in S5 and the parallels between him and Dukie are all too there. Michael's path also echoes another character, one that might surprise you.

[cinco-series.livejournal.com]

Oh god i'm so sorry for all the spoilers ! I thought you already watched s5. *slapes her face*

Anyway, i think you already know that any season of The Wire is 100 better than any other thing on TV. So even if s5 wasn't as perfect as the 4 previous seasons IMO, it still was very very good.

Oh and did you watch the HBO mini-series "Generation Kill" ? It's from the The Wire's creators and it's 7 hours of pure perfection.

[sol-se.livejournal.com]

This is great. I love it.

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Thanks!!

[lexiesloan.livejournal.com]

I think this video is beyond amazing and the song is just perfect for the storylines involving all of those characters. Bodie was always my favorite and his death in S4 was particularly hard - especially after what he says to McNulty when they are sitting in the arboretum. S3 is my favorite season but S4 is the most heartwrenching and your video definitely shows that. Amazing job and thank you for making this!

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for your lovely comment. Bodie was my favourite too. That scene with McNulty/Bodie was one of the most memorable of the whole show. I love S3 and S4, but the latter made me cry the most. Thanks again!

[brennanspeaks.livejournal.com]

Darn you and your awesome vids for making me curious!

I'd never seen The Wire before, but after watching your vid, I found season four and watched all the episodes over . . . less than a week. ;) You're right about those kids and their stories being devastating. Even though I'd read your meta and was forewarned, I was rooting for these kids, and they broke my heart in the last episode.

So, I finally finished drying my eyes after the finale, and thought I'd come back and check out the vid again (now that I know who everyone is). Ouch. It's beautiful and hurty. I love it. You picked just the right moments to include, and I love the parallels you've drawn between the characters. I agree with the above comments; the music you chose is perfect.

I still don't know if I'll watch the other seasons--aside from the mentors on this vid, most of the adults on the show annoyed me--but I really enjoyed this. Thanks for sharing the obsession!

p.s. My cuddly icon is completely inappropriate to the show, but oh well;-)

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, I'm pleased to hear my vid inspired you to watch. The Wire S4 is unmissable in my opinion, even if you don't watch the other seasons. I finished it in under a week too! The kids really make S4 something special. I can't think of another show that has looked at how crime effects schools in such a deep truthful way.

The young street characters are my favourites too. There are certain adults I love like Bubbs, Prez and Carver (and Omar is always engaging) but it's the kids who are always the most heartbreaking for me. There's two other young characters called D'Angelo and Wallace (friends of Bodie) who feature mostly in S1. They are two more of my favs. Bodie is sixteen in S1 and quite different to how he is in S4 (Bodie was very angry and volitile as a young teenager). Also, Mike and Dukie's stories are continued in S5, though we only see little glimpses of Nay and Randy.

Each season of The Wire feels like an individual novel to me. There's some character continuity between seasons, but each one has its own seperate storyline and theme. S4 is my favourite by far, but I also loved S1 and S3. I wasn't as interested in the docks and media themes of S2 and S5 but the show keeps up a high standard throughout.

[cesperanza.livejournal.com]

Oh I really loved that. I did have a moment of hm! when I first heard the song choice, but you had me midway through, and your climaxes--all of them breaking down at the futilty--was really gold. You're right that the lyrical repetition really worked; I'd say that the contrast too between the gentleness of the music and the violence of the show (and also the lyrics: wise up, give up) works for the Wire.

[musesfool.livejournal.com]

This was fantastic and really encapsulated the heartbreak of the end of season 4.

[slodwick.livejournal.com]

UGH. That was brilliant, and it totally made me cry. That season wrecks me, still, and this was an excellent tribute. (I even sent a link to my mom, since she's the one who made me watch The Wire in the first place.)

[twoweevils.livejournal.com]

Beautiful!

[attempt-unique.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed that vid. I've watched it a few times since it was posted last week, and it really encapsulates season 4. (Which is possibly my favorite season of television ever.)

I'm really glad you focused on the Bubbles storyline (one of the most heartbreaking in a show full of them.) After reading the meta, I had originally felt including Bodie with the street kids was a bit out of place, but really, he had to be there.

In summation: this is amazing, and you are wonderful for making it.

[hishighnesshiko.livejournal.com]

That was... wow. I just finished watching season 4 so this is just what I *needed* to see. The song choice is heart-breakingly PERFECT (and is now making me do a weird The Wire/Magnolia crossover in my head... works, actually!) -- maybe I'm biased as a die-hard Aimee Mann fan, but the lyrics do speak to what was at the heart of this season in particular.

I still have yet to see season 5, but season 4 is so far my favourite for exactly the reasons you've captured with this vid -- it feels like the show came full circle in this season, embracing itself with a genuine affection for all of the characters created, be they "good" or "bad" or in the middle. Maybe the focus on the youngins is what helped bring out the feel-good, but it works.

Your vid is perfection. The interlude of hope starting at "cure" is especially powerful. I feel like if the actors and writers of this season ever watched this vid, they would just be... yes, exactly

[nicole-anell.livejournal.com]

Finally watched this and I love it! Broke my heart for these kids all over again. I love that you made Bodie such an important figure in this, alongside the corner kids -- I felt the same sad waste of innocence and life in his story. I enjoyed all your clip choices. The climax of the song/vid was really well done with the increasingly quick fades (Carver breaking down in his car! still kills me) culminating in Michael and the gun. Moving stuff!

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Wow! Thanks so much for your kind words and appreciation. I noticed you recced this on your own LJ. Thanks for that too. I've got a bunch of new comments so you really helped my vid gain viewers. Thank you!

Yeah, it was the lyrics that made me go for that song choice in the end. So glad it worked for you!

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I don't think I'll get over that S4 heartbreak.