“That’s market saturation”
There’s
a really, really boring term in economics called “labor hysteresis.” Now,
normally the term is used in debates about business cycles, recessions, etc.,
but its general point is that when you have a period of long-term unemployment,
one of the biggest harms is the atrophy of laborers. Statistically, if you get
into the workforce during a recession, you are less likely to be successful for
your whole life. Lost generations, in a sense of people, described by as
academic a term as one can find. I doubt David Simon, Ed Burns et al. were
concerned with the terminology, but when they came up with Nick Sobotka, they
came up with the best demonstration of it I can think of.
See,
Nick isn’t a dumb, or bad, worker, but in the field he’s in (dockwork), he’s
woefully young. As work vanishes, seniority dictates that the guys who have
just gotten into the industry will be the ones not working. Nick is at best a
part-time worker, and as time has gone on, he realizes he has less and less
solutions. He’s too old (has a kid) to start elsewhere, yet his lack of work
prevents him from, perversely enough, getting work. Sometimes, this just means
poverty: for Nicky, it means resorting to illicit activity.
The
clock is ticking on the careers a lot of the characters of “The Wire,” and most
of them know it. Daniels is probably the lucky amongst the screwed-over. He has
the experience, and the law degree, so he can put in two-weeks notice and start
again elsewhere. It’s an accurate assessment of the economy, especially in the
years that followed the show: those with an education are flexible, and can
respond to job losses, while people like Nick and Frank are stuck in dying
industries. McNulty and Greggs are trying to ride out their crap jobs (they can’t
be fired because their government. It’s good for them, but causes problems in
that unit that is so incompetent PREZ feels like he has to say something. So,
tradeoffs).
We see
our first real glimpse of D’Angelo’s prison stint here (surprising, because he
probably had the second-most screentime of any character in season one). He’s
not taking it well, snorting heroin and clearly depressed. Luckily, Avon
manages to sneak him the “wink wink, nudge nudge, I’m going to poison all the
heroin in the prison” hint, and tries to remind him of the estimation he holds
his family’s importance. For a show that deals in ironic commentary, it’s a
sort of double-twist that Avon may be the first crimelord in entertainment who
actually means what he says about family. He’s clearly ruthless, but he’s
willing to make exceptions for his nephew who took 20 years in prison. We all
need collective strength, and Avon puts his hope in the oldest form of it.
“What they need is a union” – Russell
Observations and What-Have-You’s
n
Stringer is particularly dolty in this episode.
Although the “cellphone market is saturated” idea was ironic even at the time,
it’s especially ridiculous now sent
from my iPhone. He also does the incredibly scummy thing of sleeping
with D’Angelo’s baby mama, which I’d feel angrier about if D didn’t have another
girlfriend during all of season one (another gender complaint, I know, I know)
n
McNulty’s
wife separates from him. I don’t care.
n
Ziggy is stupid, but he actually negotiates up
the price with a dealer of stolen goods.
n
Frank’s negotiations with the government
officials are entertaining, as he’s clearly a political guy but so far out of
his element. Senator Davis pops up again (he’s still scummy, but has he said “shiiiiiit”
yet?), hinting at how difficult it will be for Frank to bribe his way to the
changes he wants.
n
Why is Sean Paul’s music played two times in the
season’s first three episodes?
n
I didn’t talk about it, but the opening scene
where Bunk and Freamon interview the multilingual crew of the boat is
absolutely hysterical, and my favorite part of the episode.
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