The Wire: Omar. ***SPOILER INFO***

[Piobaire]

Again, if you have not seen it, SPOILER ALERT! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.






Thoughts on why not only Omar was killed off, but the way/the scene in which it happened.

 

[jpeirpont]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Again, if you have not seen it, SPOILER ALERT! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.






Thoughts on why not only Omar was killed off, but the way/the scene in which it happened.

Good question I never thought about it to be honest.

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by jpeirpont

Good question I never thought about it to be honest.

Thanks. He is by far, the most interesting character both for me and my wife. I could go lit crit/decon on him quite easily, he is such a sterling creation. Such as, does anyone else think his homosexuality is another manisfestation to represent his outsider status, given the rampant homophobia within the social setting he lived in?

Or what does his huge facial scar represent?

 

[Joffrey]

Omar was killed off the way he was because you can't leave B'more behind. If you try to B'more will kill your friend savagely and have one of its little, screwed-up, soon-to-be-Marlow-if-he-makes-it-to-he's-22, children shoot you in the face when you're buying cigarrettes upon your return to avenge savagely murdered friend.

 

[Piobaire]

Jay-sus, where are all you people that were so offended I found "No Country" to be less than "Citizen Kane" like? The Wire might be the best thing on television ever and IMO, Omar the most interesting character.

That scar? It's placement? No significance in regards to his personality and strict adherence to "code"?

 

[LA Guy]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Thanks. He is by far, the most interesting character both for me and my wife. I could go lit crit/decon on him quite easily, he is such a sterling creation. Such as, does anyone else think his homosexuality is another manisfestation to represent his outsider status, given the rampant homophobia within the social setting he lived in?

Or what does his huge facial scar represent?

There was a series of NPR segments on this, with the writers, and with the actor who plays Omar.

The answer to the first is yes. That was a deliberate choice on the writer's part made for that particular reason. The answer to the second is "read what you want into it" - the scar was not placed there on purpose. It is an actual scar from an accident the actor was in when he was young. The producers left it there.

 

[Fuuma]

I saw the killing as a succesful case of building a mythical personna and then crashing that very same myth down and bringing you back to reality.

 

[w.mj]

I read an interview with David Simon in which he claimed that the message of "The Wire" was that flawed institutions and official malaise can destroy a person and a society. In that context, Omar's death makes a lot of sense as a microcosm of the show. He was amoral in some respects, but had redeeming qualities. However, the system which he helped create inevitably destroyed him.

Simon also mentioned that he tried to fashion his characters as tragic heroes: each with hamartia. Omar's was pride. He obviously thought himself cleverer than anyone else but was eventually brought low by his least sophisticated enemy.

As an aside, I'm not as impressed with Omar's character as everyone else seems to be. He doesn't have any of the obligations that other characters do, nor do his motives extend beyond greed/survival. Given that, I think Stringer Bell is a much more compelling character. Arguments to the contrary are welcome.

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by LA Guy

There was a series of NPR segments on this, with the writers, and with the actor who plays Omar.

The answer to the first is yes. That was a deliberate choice on the writer's part made for that particular reason. The answer to the second is "read what you want into it" - the scar was not placed there on purpose. It is an actual scar from an accident the actor was in when he was young. The producers left it there.

Interesting. Thanks for the input LA. And the scar? Goes to show you can fall prey to your own criticisms. I always bagged on lit crit folks for reading **** into the "text" that the author never intended. Looks like I fell prey to that too

I guess I could make the case the choice of leaving the scar there has meaning though.

^^ I agree, Stringer was a very compelling character too. I am always engaged by people or fictional characters that attempt to sucessfully function in two or more worlds (probably because much of my life was spent doing this). Stringer, IMO, made the mistake I did for a time. At some point you have to leave the world of your origin or it will topple the world you have strived to enter. This is what happened, rather dramatically and terminally, to Stringer.

 

[Johnny Amiga]

I don't think I've further clever insight to offer on the subject of Omar's death, except that unless I remember totally wrong, it's worth noting that Omar is in the end killed by Kenard, who was one of the kids playing on the street after the big shootout in Season 3 (the failed stash house raid, where one of Omar's crew, Tosha, gets killed). Kenard is the little kid who's playing the part of Omar, as it's clear that the neighbourhood kids idolize Omar (which is referred in that brilliant dialogue between Omar and Bunk later on in the season). Then few seasons later when Kenard is in the game, he sees Omar limping along (after being crippled by the fall after a shootout with Marlo's crew) and no doubt sees himself an opportunity to become a player himself. Very Jesse James/Robert Ford-ish.

Funnily enough, the real-life Omar, Donnie Andrews actually got out of the game and is doing well these days. And as a somewhat OT note, to me Frank Sobotka was easily the most tragic and complex character in the series (actually, I loved all of the dock gang). Chris Bauer did an amazing performance as him. I can't call myself a blue-collar worker, but the characters at the docks were written so well, it was real easy to identify with alot of those issues, even if my background in physical labour is mostly limited to a few summers working in construction and road work. S2 was some heartbreaking stuff (even if S4 is the best season overall). One of my favorite montages from the series, still kinda difficult to watch. Frank Sobotka: We used to make **** in this country, build ****. Now we just put our hand in the next guy's pocket.

 

[LA Guy]

Originally Posted by Johnny Amiga

And as a somewhat OT note, to me Frank Sobotka was easily the most tragic and complex character in the series (actually, I loved all of the dock gang). Chris Bauer did an amazing performance as him. I can't call myself a blue-collar worker, but the characters at the docks were written so well, it was real easy to identify with alot of those issues, even if my background in physical labour is mostly limited to a few summers working in construction and road work. S2 was some heartbreaking stuff (even if S4 is the best season overall).

Frank Sobotka: We used to make **** in this country, build ****. Now we just put our hand in the next guy's pocket.

Season two was not nearly as tight as season 1 (which I felt was the best overall), but it had the most compelling character in Frank Sobotka. Unlike some of the other characters, there was nothing exagerrated or outsized about Frank. He was played perfectly as a decent guy who is not particularly greedy, not particularly mean, but has the fatal flaw of wanting things "the way they were", and "the way things were" in his corner of the world is not even that much - steady work, decent pay. That was it. He wasn't trying to get rich quick, or even get rich.

 

[Piobaire]

Not only did season too have the most sympathetic character in Frank, IMO it had the least sympathetic character in his son Ziggy. Did anyone else constantly expect him to come out with, "I'm not dumb, I'm SMAAHT. Maybe not like Mike, but I'm smaaht!"

 

[w.mj]

Burrell was also in Ziggy's category. The people who were only out for themselves are the least sympathetic in the show. Also, Marlo's people, especially compared with Barksdale's operation, were loathesome.

The more I think about it though, the more I think Marlo was written that way so the audience could see Barksdale for what he really was. Over the course of the first season, I grew sympathetic to the Barksdale people, but clearly they're only the more-polished version of Marlo's crew.

 

[Connemara]

Last night I watched the episode in which Omar is gunned down. Made me quite sad. First Stringer, then Prop Joe, now Omar...

 

[Supertarheel]

Dang i remember seeing it, but forgot what happened. Anywho i guess i should get back to the wire watching.