The less obvious representation of black masculinity are the attention dwellers between the top drug dealers ( Avon and Stringer) and the black officers ( such as Carver). Mr. Williams believes each type of person is constantly fighting for the viewers attention. "What is ones persons's urban nightmare, is another mans fantasy" (p. 59). I found this quote quite intriguing. On the one hand you have Avon who grew up in the towers and knows nothing but them. The towers and drug dealing are his world. On the other hand you have Carver, the low level policemen. Two totally different men fight for the same attention to the viewer. In essence as the viewer you see Avon more powerful than Carter simply because of the level they posses within their individual societies. I really interesting aspect to The Wire.
Mr. Williams goes on and describes the different ways black males and everyone else are portrayed by camera angles. He believe whenever a "dominating" male black actor is present there is a sense of urgency with the camera. Specifically a play on the cameras focus and speed of the scrolling along with distance. One example that actually I could relate to was him talking about Stringer. Stringer always captures that superior male dominating role whenever on screen. Obviously him being high up in the business helps with this portrayal, but even when he is around Avon they seem pretty even to me.
Another way the camera dominates and provokes this black male masculinity portrayal is by the one on one scenes within The Wire. An obvious example of this is Omar and all of his boyfriends. Another example of this is Avon in jail. Numerous times the camera focuses in on Avon's one on ones, either with Stringer or even with Wee-bey just hanging out in jail eating chicken.
As a result Mr. Williams believes this portrayal of the black male does not help the so-called realistic aspect to the show. Whether or not the director purposely did these thing I have no idea. Without a doubt I would have to agree with Mr. Williams and say that people are definitely affected by certain tactics used by the director himself. How many people it affects and how often is up for debate in my book. All in all I believe it important to be aware of these devices the director employs and judge accordingly.
I think it's interesting how your article talked about how blacks are portrayed differently through the use of filming techniques. This wasn't something I really thought about before, but now that I am, that's a really good point. The director can really influence the audience's point of view without them even realizing it at times, and that's one of the reasons why visual media can be such a powerful tool. Even so, like you said, these media techniques can in fact affect people differently regardless of the director's original intentions.
ReplyDeleteI like how the author brought up the relationship between Stringer and Avon and their roles as powerful African Americans in the show. I actually think that Stringer is depicted as an even more powerful man in the way he can take the "back seat" to Avon yet still run the business. When he talks everyone listens, I really like the role he has taken on in season two where he is starting to make decisions on his own and not always listening to what Avon tells him. He seems like very intelligent man. I never really noticed the pairing of black and white characters in the Wire but now that it is mentioned it is very interesting to see how the pairs interact. Great Post!
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