Transitions
born corrupt or innocent?
2008-01-28
By DeAngelo Starnes

According to the Old Testament, mankind was doomed to corruption the moment Adam’s snake met Eve’s apple. But then an Immaculate Conception kicked off the New Testament. So, if the Bible rules your morality and/or how you live your life, the question begs, are we born because of corruption, or into innocence?

The tension between good and evil makes for great storytelling. The yin and yang that exists within all of us is the journey that defines our lives. And finding our respective paths is what that journey is all about.

Things are no different in The Wire’s Universe. If "Doing More with Less" has been the dominant tagline thus far, the corruption of innocence is the real underlying theme that dominates not only this season but the entire Wire collective.

As a carryover from last year, Michael’s corrupted innocence has been heartbreaking. Here is a kid who’s obviously very intelligent, has very little fear, and possesses strong leadership qualities. Yet some perverse sense of loyalty made him believe that he had to join Marlo’s crew. You direct his positive traits to a constructive path and what do you have? A Johnnie Cochran? A Spike Lee? A Barack Obama? (I know the first two examples made some white folks scream, "God no! We’d prefer he remain a thug.").

I wonder how many find his descent surprising? After all, the audience’s first encounter with him was his resistance to Marlo’s overtures to join his crew. We’ve heard and/or witnessed many tales of bruhs doing just that – resisting the temptations of the street then rising from the so-called ‘hood to a middle class life, if not riches. But, obviously, just as many brothas fall prey to dirty money and end up in prison or ball-and-chained by the criminal law system.

I hate to pick on Michael. This season Carcetti, McNulty, Templeton, and Lester embody corruption even though they think they’re doing good. It’s just that Michael symbolizes the point. He was born innocent and made an immature decision to go with corruption to do what he thinks is good for his little brother. Constructive guidance was missing in his life. Now, he has to grow up in rudderless corruption. I hope he re-discovers his innocence before Omar uses him to send a message to Marlo.

Recap time:

Opening scene: Guerilla warfare requires ingenuity. The brown paper bag full of s**t the police officer got. To me, that’s Simon’s way of symbolizing the merits of the War on Drugs.

I hate to see Burrell go down like he is. Before he became mayor, Carcetti used Burrell to stab Royce in the back. Then he sells his soul to slit Burrell’s throat. That’s when you know how deeply you’ve been corrupted - when you have to kill the corrupting influence to make yourself appear innocent.

As an aside, when Burrell walked behind Daniels with that putter, I thought we were about to revisit that scene from The Untouchables when DeNiro’s Capone used his baseball bat to send a message. I wouldn’t let someone who’s mad at me walk behind my back with a club and not turn around if I was delivering bad news.

One beef I have against The Wire: the portrayal of Black women. Black women have been stereotyped as nagging individuals who care nothing about their children or men. Name one positive Black woman on The Wire and not the one who’s sleeping with another woman. And even that character abandoned her lover when she had a baby.

I could be wrong but is the subliminal message that Black women don’t care for their kids? That Black women are responsible for Black thugs? That Black women are responsible for corrupt Black men? Is the following emblematic of how the writers feel about Black women and their kids: "I ain’t paying you to be my mother." Black women have never been paid to be mothers. They just do it – even when they have to raise kids that didn’t originate from their loins. Sure there are crack mothers, but they don’t represent the majority of sistas. Sistas don’t want the Street-Life for their kids. Believe that!

I hate when children become corrupted.. The child who witnessed the murder of his family comes to mind. "How do you come back from something like that?" When Kima took care of her girl’s boy, she noted he was coloring inside the lines. It’s when the child begins deliberately coloring outside the lines that (s)he becomes corrupted.

Marlo colors outside the lines, as does Cheese. His murdering Prop Joe will become his demise. The co-op will come after him and then he’s gotta deal with Omar. Ask Avon and Stringer Bell how that worked out.

Prop Joe deserves a eulogy. Great character. Marlo’s descent, that inevitably will result, is gonna take The Wire to a climax its fans will treasure. But Prop Joe’s demise was written in stone when Marlo met with Avon at the jail in the second episode.

A final note on corruption. Tear up the $600 check the government says it will send you as a tax rebate. They’re just gonna add that to your income next year anyway. Tear it up. Cuz it won’t pay for six months of filling your tank up with gas, let alone help you make a mortgage payment. Acceptance is corruption! $600 ain’t gonna lead us to innocence.

Unless you’re gonna spend it on HBO so you don’t have to go to your friend’s house to watch The Wire.

DeAngelo Starnes is a freelance writer and attorney who resides with his wife and son in Denver, CO. He welcomes direct constructive feedback at deangelo_starnes@hotmail.com.

Read DeAngelo on Episode 55: Antagonists 

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Read DeAngelo on Episode 54: Transitions 

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Read DeAngelo on Episode 51: More With Less