the dangerous mind of david simon : tales of two cities

as a fan of david simon's work i happened to have the interesting opportunity to live in or at least near the cities he portrayed in his hbo series while they were in production. i have to admit to living near as i lived in washington dc, not baltimore, during the production of the wire though anyone with experience will tell you that living in one means knowledge of and (at least occasionally) frequenting the other.
for those who may not know, david simon worked the baltimore sun city desk for 12years during which time he wrote homicide: a year on the killing streets and co-wrote the corner: a year in the life of an inner city neigbourhood both of which had their own (mini)series and both of which certainly inspired the wire. after katrina, simon worked with part-time new orleans local, eric overmyer to create treme; the tale of nola's recovering historic musician's neighbourhood.
while both shows embodied their respective cities well my experience with both of them is certainly different. i was already living in new orleans when the creation of treme was announced and over the last five+ years i've gotten very intimate with this city. perhaps had i known baltimore in the same way my views of the wire would more closely resemble those of treme. that being said, i remember an excitement in new orleans when treme was initially announced. the producer of the wire was going to come tell a similar story of our beloved city in the aftermath of our abysmal near death experience; how could there not be excitement? simon had wrote some of the grittiest, true characters ever conceived for the wire, he'll surely do the same with his characters of new orleans. but after the first season, treme was getting mixed reviews from the nola natives. i heard critiques about the show's apparent slow pace or the lack of depth; that the characters didn't resonate with the locals though the events the characters experienced did. others, of course, enjoyed it immensely; glad to see simon capture more than simply gratuitous jazz+gluttony.
for me what differs between simon's stories of baltimore and new orleans is that while the wire told of individuals lives through exemplary character development, treme conversely showed how each character served as interactive piece of the greater whole (best embodied in the season 3 finale; tipitina). the main character in treme was the great city of new orleans. her hopes+dreams, her health+well-being, her trials+tribulations were lived out through her citizens; parts of a greater whole like the arteries+organs of her body - each action a felt though potentially not noticed reaction. the music was her heart, the food was her soul, the politics+crime; her brain. treme mirrored the way i've come to see the city over the years; thousands of interlocking pieces of diner+streetcar+bayou+sousaphone. in that way the show became a great success and i was thrilled that hbo allowed it to conclude... albeit rapidly.
.....
simon's work serves as a bitter look at an american reality all too often cast aside or hidden from plain sight by the media, the aristocrat, the government, and the ignorant which sadly includes... the majority. we are, after all, a country of complacency far too satisfied with our instant gratification.

this post was inspired after searching one of my new favorite websites: dangerous minds. i came across a talk david simon gave at australia's "festival of dangerous ideas" in the sydney opera house. his speech was appropriately titled "my country is a horror show." in it david simon proves himself a dangerous mind, and one worth listening to. check it out.

a few other intriguing dangerous minds links:
istvan orosz art
hitchcock's unseen holocaust documentary
houdini exposed
franz kafta's "it's a wonderful life" brought to you by the new doctor, peter capaldi
grant/hepburn : 5-minute version of charade

lord, help the poor+needy

earlier today i was heading down tchoupitoulas windows down, fresh cool air balancing the warmth of the sun and filled with the sounds of wwoz sunday. slightly lifted i used the particularly perfect blend of sensory stimulation to process+defragment+clear my mind until jessie mae hemphill got my complete attention with this song. simply soulful+hopeful+beautiful. i remained caught in oz's vibe as they went straight into old crow's motel in memphis and i suddenly realised they were praising dr. king. two terrific songs motivated me to want to remember the moment and the tracks to add to a playlist so as traffic backup and i come full stop i pull notebook+pen to jot song titles beneath the others. i drifted a bit closer to the highway before getting to put pen to paper and as i was writing the words "help the poor+needy" i noticed a man approaching with cupped hands outreached. he had no cardboard sign or catch phrase; just a pleasant smile and outreached hands. lord, help the poor+needy. i gave him the 5dollars i had on me and wished him no trouble and safe travels.

while i mention wwoz, it seems that this city's noise ordinance on live music as been postponed once again; if you weren't there the city council protest and mock hearing was pretty powerful on friday. a noise ordinance in the birthplace of jazz? it's as ridiculous as the premise of footloose. dance good while you can.