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Television

The Wire

Our film columnist Thomas Wartenberg talks about television for a change, as he stares down a cable at The Wire.

One striking feature of philosophers’ recent interest in popular culture is how wide a net they have cast. Although movies were the first pop-cultural form to attract the notice of philosophers, television has recently become a focus of discussion. Philosophers have become interested in the question of the distinctive character of TV as a medium as well as issues about its ability to pose and, perhaps, resolve philosophical questions.

Both of these topics arise in my own reflections on the recently ended HBO series The Wire. The series’ title refers to the electronic telephone surveillance that a small investigative unit of the Baltimore City Police is trying to use to monitor the phone calls of various drug dealers in West Baltimore.

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