Ah, now this week was a lot easier to manage. With only 3 episodes of The Wire to watch, I felt a lot less pressed for time. Ironically, in the end I ended up watching 4 episodes and finishing the first season, and I’m currently starting the second. Man what an ending. Very bittersweet, and definitely more bitter with how things worked out. This is one of those few times with tv shows where as the credits rolled, I just had to sit there in silence and process everything that happened.
Spoilers:
Of course Avon Barksdale, the criminal mastermind behind the deaths of so many, gets a penalty of only seven years. And then D’Angelo, perhaps the most morally good character in the crew who regrets the bad decisions in his life and actually has a chance at rehabilitation, gets the maximum 20 years. To could also be a critique on the prison system of a America as a whole, where emphasis seems to be placed on punishment rather than reformation.
But this is what makes the show so good. It doesn’t pull any punches. It portrays a stark realism, and the good guys don’t always come out triumphant. The season ends with the drugs still flowing through the city, the investigation ended, and Stringer Bell leading the Barksdale crew now. The war on drugs barely accomplished anything. A new man is in charge, but the corruption continues, and the efforts of the small, underfunded department led by Daniels seems to be a lesson in futility. I can’t wait to see how the show continues in the upcoming seasons.
Aside from The Wire, I also spent some time with a few daily creates. Unfortunately I only completed 3 of the 4 required for the week, but I put a lot of thought and effort into each one nonetheless. They can be found below:
While some of the prompts were very difficult to work with, I appreciate the idea behind the daily create. It’s amazing how much better your creative side can become with daily conditioning. It’s nice to think of things from different angles as well. Hopefully I can be more diligent with future assignments.
I also made a site for Known, and made a few posts concerning my favorite posts. I like the idea of being able to easily see submissions from everyone else in the class. I was even able to easily share my GIF that I made for the weekly assignment. I go more in depth with my analysis in that post, but the important thing to keep in mind is that it’s imperative to keep track of everything that’s going on. Even in this class, every social media site, every comment, share, and submission matters to the “digital storytelling” we’re trying to achieve.
I try to play my part by leaving some comments on other people’s blog posts, like Quinntero’s unique daily create. Unfortunately, some of them have not been approved for moderation, so I can’t link to them yet. But I enjoy being able to see all the crazy, cool ideas that others can come up with.
Hopefully I can see more in the next week!
