I really like the idea of making a film or show stop action in order to look more closely at certain aspects. Bringing up Hitchcock is the best example ever for this because there is so much in Hitchcock’s works. He makes a story with only black and white that manage to chill me more than any scary movie today. I liked the quick list of directions and what they imply in film and intend to use them to help analyze in my “Look, Listen, Analyze” exercise. “Anything and everything,” writes Ebert and I will keep that in mind when analyzing.

“Look, Listen, Analyze” in the Wire

Season 3, episode 8-53:20-56:20

I chose this scene because it is where we finally get a confrontation between the new businessman Stringer and the just out of jail Avon. The “game” has changed because Stringer made it and Avon is not comfortable with it. There differences come out in the ensuing minutes.

1. Analyze the camera work: Clearly Avon and Stringer are talking. Stringer stands while Avon sits and they talk with their hand at each other. Then Avon stands up and slowly walks toward Stringer as he talks. Everything in the scene suggests a confrontation and opposition. Stringer is dressed in a nice suit and does not fit in the crappy hovel they stand in. Avon has on a white tank top in contrast to Stringer’s nice black suit. Then the camera moves to a side view and we see the different body language. Stringer stands still and we see his exasperated eyes, as opposed to Avon who is talking and pointing a hand at Stringer. Avon then moves away and Stringer turns toward him and the men talk from across the room. We get a side-long glace at Stringer from behind Avon’s back, which I thought was an odd viewpoint and then it is repeated from Stringer’s side. This over the shoulder view goes back and forth as the men get closer to each other. Anger is visible on Avon’s face before he tackles Stringer, who easily beats him down. Stringer’s face declares anger and frustration with sweat and scrunched brows. He moves his head back and forth and yelling, while Avon lays crumpled on the ground in pain. Stringer gives up and lets his prey loose.

2. Analyze the audio track: Stringer opens up the conversation with a line pulled from “The Godfather.” He says Avon is going straight to the mattresses, that he is going to war in other words. Avon returns by saying they have become Trump brothers, or that Stringer is trying to turn them into a business. Stringer tells Avon that everything “we” built will be ended, but the irony is that Stringer has been building the new system without Avon. Avon returns with a great line, saying, “I bleed red, you bleed green.” This points out the new change in Stringer who is concerned about business and money, while Avon worries about pride. Avon tells Stringer he is a man without a country, that he is not hard enough for the criminal life and not smart enough for the high up political/business world. But Stringer rebuttals by saying he is smart and therefore needs more than just the typical drug dealer criminal life. The conversation turns sour as Stringer starts blaming the murder of D’Angelo on Avon so he doesn’t get in trouble. If Stringer gets Avon out of the way, then he can keep his business going. There is a pause before the sounds of grappling occur in the audio. Their fight is loud and intense. You can hear the anger behind Stringer’s voice, basically calling Avon selfish and hypocritical. Avon is clearly in pain by the way he gets up and then breathes deeply to get his calm back. The breathing also calms down the scene and brings everything back into focus.

3. Put it all together: This scene is the culmination of the frustrations felt by both Stringer and Avon. Stringer took over the business and changed the game while Avon was away and now the two leaders don’t mesh anymore. The most important part about this for me is the audio and visual sense of separation and opposition. The clothes show the difference Avon discusses in their character: He bleeds red, while Stringer bleeds green. Avon wears a cheap tank top and is literally bleeding underneath, while Stringer wears and expensive suit. There is also the coloring of black and white that sets the two apart. In another sense, Avon tells Stringer that he is in two worlds, but doesn’t really belong in either. He cannot fit as a criminal anymore because he is too smart and not strong enough, but he also cannot fit into the business world because he is still a gangster, try as he might, and his education cannot jump him up the class ladder that high. Therefore, he is between worlds, yet not in either. This is shown in the audio with the discussion, but also the video as he looks the businessman, but acts the gangster in easily taking Avon down to the ground. Their little tussle represents some sort of end in this relationship, or at least a major shift, and therefore I thought this scene was very important to analyze.

4. Overall: Looking at the actual scene and then hearing just the audio brought in the sort of stop-action analyzing that Ebert discussed in his article. Looking at color and light in my scene was made easier after reading his article. I could zoom in on just the type of media I wanted when I separated the video from audio and vice versa. I really looked at “anything and everything” in trying to analyze both sides of the clip separately, and then more so when I both listened and watched. This scene had so much going on and I think it was important to analyze because so much in Stringer’s and Avon’s relationship led up to this moment because of pent up frustrations. Stringer and Avon are trying to play different games and that is exposed in this scene.