Examining The Wire Authenticity and Curated Realism

This book examines The Wire’s authenticity and its establishment of the series realism. Along with tracing creator David Simon’s onscreen critique of numerous failed American institutions, the book focuses on the connection between authenticity and realism in three distinct areas: language, character, and location. While it is shown that The Wire is indeed authentic, the study examines occasions where the language, characters, and even the location are ‘curated’. Yet, while we can witness these moments of curation, it is The Wire’s unflinching focus on authentic dialogue, authentic characterisation, and an authentic location that makes the series the most realistic, and arguably the best, television show of all time.   

1. Curated Realism: The Wire’s Authenticity.- Authenticity & Realism.- Complex Television.- Authentic… for who?.- 2. 'Listen Carefully’: The Authentic Language of The Wire.- The Importance of Language.- Season One: Acronyms and Baltimore Police Profanity.- Season Two & Three: The Docks and the ‘War on Drugs’.- Drug Terminology, Baltimorean Accents, and ‘Motherfuckers’.- Season Four & Five: Education, Politics, and Print Journalism.- 3. Superheroes, Dickens, and Uncertain Endings: The Wire’s Authentic Characters.- Real-Life, Doppelgängers, Actors.- Dickensian?.- Bubbles’ Uncertain Ending.- Omar Little, Robin Hood, and Spiderman.- Curated Character Realism.- 4. ‘Dante’s Hell’: The Wire and the Authentic Representation of Baltimore.- David Simon’s Cities.- Sounds of the City.- Visual Realism.- Historical Fiction, Unrealistic Plots, and the Baltimore Streets.- The Real Baltimore.- 5. The Wire: The Legacy of On-Screen Authenticity

Dr Ryan Twomey is a senior lecturer in the Department of English at Macquarie University where he teaches on intersections between literature and visual narrative. He has published various articles and book chapters on television series such as Fargo, Stranger Things, Mad Men, and True Detective.