The Wire - Season One Opening Scene

In which Detective Jimmy McNulty tries to discover who killed a young man named Snot Boogie. "This is America, man". (Season 1, Episode 1 "The Target")

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[eluap]

Snot fair, is it?

[channelcy]

Ive always interpreted " this America man" as like something encompassing all of the show's themes. Like Simon and the rest were basically spending 5 seasons trying to explain what that reply actually means. From the Corners to the Senate

[scdfndr]

Pure art. Nothing better on television ever.

[george sy]

guy dead on the floor snot look like tyler the creator

[Monscent]

interesting! It does really summarize alot of stuff..

[EricIsAwesome123]

a guy who got tired at snot

[zach frotten]

never thought of that, nice.

[vrk3315]

Someone just got tired of Snot Boogie

[wad0cash]

In asking the witness why the players all continued to harbor this trust after getting burned time after time, McNulty asks the rhetorical question that the whole show revolves around. Why do we continue to trust in systems that will always be vulnerable to corruption, greed, or simply sloth? And the line, “Got to… this America, man,” is such a sweet paradox to end the scene, acknowledging the rigid, oppressive bureaucracies that exist in a country founded on freedom.

[wad0cash]

Got this show is good. The scene's so simple yet so layered with depth at the same time. The guys rolling dice are all trusted to work within the rules of the game and let the chances of the crap game dictate their future winnings. The crime scene functions as a metaphor for the trust in "the game" that the dealers on the streets have as well as the trust in the sociopolitical/economic system that the politicians, police, teachers, blue collar workers and journalists buy into.

[TheBangkok101]

Aidan Gillen is Irish not Scottish

[dr20eamchaser]

Hey that's my boss