Life imitates art, or is it the other way around?
I'll admit it, my current #1 favorite show on TV is not South Park, is not Lost, it's not Dancing with Emmit Smith, and it's not Man vs Wild or Survivorman (although those two are quickly climbing the charts). Nope, my #1 favorite show at the moment is "The Wire" on HBO. If you haven't seen it then you have no idea what you are missing and I can't really take the time to talk about it here. For more information see this wonderful running commentary (currently twenty-six entries and counting) on Slate and check out HBO's web site. Or check your On Demand if it is available to you and start catching up. You won't regret it.
The current season of the show revolves around the lives of four middle school aged boys. Each boy comes from similar circumstances and much of the season has been spent examining the events that cause good people to become bad, bad people to become good, and what happens when seemingly insignificant decisions lead to bad things for everyone. For instance, one of the boys, Randy, begins the season as a cheerful outgoing type with an entrepreneurial spirit. He hustles candy bars to classmates at school and is always eager to make a buck. At one point a local drug dealer (Little Kevin) pays Randy to pass a message to a fellow drug dealer (Lex) to meet a girl at a local park. Unbeknownst to Randy, the message is a setup and Lex is subsequently murdered.
After getting caught with his hand out once again, this time being paid to stand lookout while three students have sex in the restroom in school, Randy gets caught in the net when the initially willing girl alleges rape and upon threats of criminal charges or expulsion Randy confesses to the school principal that he knows about Lex's murder. Randy's teacher, Mr Prez (a former police officer) gets Randy to talk with the police by contacting a detective that he trusts (Detective Carver) and having Carver promise that he will keep Randy's involvement quiet and keep Randy safe. When Carver gets other, less diligent, officers involved word gets out on the street that Randy is a snitch. Eventually Randy is beaten on the street in front of the school and police watch is stationed in front of Randy's house waiting for the whole issue to blow over while Randy stays at home and away from school. After the police watch on Randy's house is called away by a false call to dispatch, Randy's house is firebombed and in the last scene we of the most recent episode we see that Randy's foster mom is in the burn unit at the hospital and that Randy is in the waiting room alone. Detective Carver shows up (after many promises to keep Randy safe, all of which have failed) and what at the beginning of the season was the bright cheerful face of Randy is now sullen and full of rage.
Randy's life has now been destroyed because of seemingly insignificant decisions that he made but also by external forces that he had no control over. I fear for what will become of Randy in the next few episodes.
Yesterday in my life something significant and bad happened between some people I know. I am not going to comment on who or what, but just as Randy's life has been ruined by seemingly insignificant decisions that when combined with external forces suddenly cascaded into a heap of trouble, and although the causes for the people I know are a source of speculation and amateur psychology at my house I believe insignificant and bad decisions combined with external forces may be the case for the people I know. Also, last night it was raining, just the type of rain that if you saw it in a movie you would think something bad was going to happen. So you tell me. Does art imitate life? Or, does life imitate art?
As for what is going to happen with the people I know, the situation can only get better or worse from here on out. Fortunately for them that script has yet to be written, and they get to have a hand in how their life will be played out from this point on. I hope they will make the right decisions, for Randy's sake.
The current season of the show revolves around the lives of four middle school aged boys. Each boy comes from similar circumstances and much of the season has been spent examining the events that cause good people to become bad, bad people to become good, and what happens when seemingly insignificant decisions lead to bad things for everyone. For instance, one of the boys, Randy, begins the season as a cheerful outgoing type with an entrepreneurial spirit. He hustles candy bars to classmates at school and is always eager to make a buck. At one point a local drug dealer (Little Kevin) pays Randy to pass a message to a fellow drug dealer (Lex) to meet a girl at a local park. Unbeknownst to Randy, the message is a setup and Lex is subsequently murdered.
After getting caught with his hand out once again, this time being paid to stand lookout while three students have sex in the restroom in school, Randy gets caught in the net when the initially willing girl alleges rape and upon threats of criminal charges or expulsion Randy confesses to the school principal that he knows about Lex's murder. Randy's teacher, Mr Prez (a former police officer) gets Randy to talk with the police by contacting a detective that he trusts (Detective Carver) and having Carver promise that he will keep Randy's involvement quiet and keep Randy safe. When Carver gets other, less diligent, officers involved word gets out on the street that Randy is a snitch. Eventually Randy is beaten on the street in front of the school and police watch is stationed in front of Randy's house waiting for the whole issue to blow over while Randy stays at home and away from school. After the police watch on Randy's house is called away by a false call to dispatch, Randy's house is firebombed and in the last scene we of the most recent episode we see that Randy's foster mom is in the burn unit at the hospital and that Randy is in the waiting room alone. Detective Carver shows up (after many promises to keep Randy safe, all of which have failed) and what at the beginning of the season was the bright cheerful face of Randy is now sullen and full of rage.
Randy's life has now been destroyed because of seemingly insignificant decisions that he made but also by external forces that he had no control over. I fear for what will become of Randy in the next few episodes.
Yesterday in my life something significant and bad happened between some people I know. I am not going to comment on who or what, but just as Randy's life has been ruined by seemingly insignificant decisions that when combined with external forces suddenly cascaded into a heap of trouble, and although the causes for the people I know are a source of speculation and amateur psychology at my house I believe insignificant and bad decisions combined with external forces may be the case for the people I know. Also, last night it was raining, just the type of rain that if you saw it in a movie you would think something bad was going to happen. So you tell me. Does art imitate life? Or, does life imitate art?
As for what is going to happen with the people I know, the situation can only get better or worse from here on out. Fortunately for them that script has yet to be written, and they get to have a hand in how their life will be played out from this point on. I hope they will make the right decisions, for Randy's sake.
posted by Chris at 8:58 PM
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