10 Things The Wire Fans Couldn’t Get Enough Of
8. Gangs, Goverment And Police
"It's all in the game". This sentiment is a running motif for the series and is used to demonstrate the profound similarities that plague our characters as they navigate the path in hopes of success and life progression.
The Wire shows us that the power structures within distinct organisations are profoundly similar, if not identical. Politicians must concern themselves with new candidates. Gangs fight for real estate and battle against new forces, just as Marlo eventually rises up to take over from Stringer and Avon. Even in the police force there's a battle as colleagues contend for promotions.
During the fight for power there's always someone who gets left by the wayside. It all serves to endorse the idea of the system as the villain, as there's no room for everyone to thrive.
The show is purposefully created with this in mind. Regularly we see an event take place within one of our core groups, followed by us seeing the supposed opposing force play out a similar scenario within their own ranks. In season one we see McNulty willing to slightly bend the rules only for the immediate next scene to show Avon adhere strictly to the rules his crew have laid out for themselves.
It makes for wonderful storytelling as it acts as a constant reminder that circumstance can often play a pivotal role in the world we see and the perspective we take. At the core, we are largely the same.