David Simon Speech
Before going hear David Simon talk I didn’t know much about him. I had seen his show, The Wire, a few times but didn’t know what type of person David would be. I learned real fast. I thought the talk would be about the social wrongs in most American inner cities, and how we could improve them. But what David talked about was growing up while in Baltimore and the experiences he had acquired. He uses these experiences to write his show and to inform others about American cities.
David Simon started off his speech very direct and abrupt. He seemed almost angered but was very pleased there were so many people there. The first topic he talked about was his show, The Wire. The media exalts wealth, but in The Wire David wanted to show the "other America". Other shows have people who are funnier, prettier, and cooler people, but this show has real life everyday people. He has received a lot of feedback from all sorts of viewers ever since the show started. Some people said it was so realistic and truly depicted issues that not only occur in Baltimore but in many cities. Other critics said the show is completely dramatized. These critics were mostly elected officials who run these chaotic cities. Having grown up in Baltimore, David has an inside view of life can be lke. He said "the show addresses the city’s problems in reality while keeping the show dramatic." The stories in his show do happen. We do have problem with drugs, violence, and murder. They are realistic because they have happened in one way or another. After he described the authenticity of the show he began to tell the listeners about the social injustices in our country.
"I haven’t always been a pessimist, but the things I’ve seen have made me become one." This statement really says a lot to the listeners. It makes you think he is very knowledgeable in what is going on in these cities. It was clear he was a pessimist when he said, "we are doomed". He compared our cities to third world countries, and said how ridiculous it was that the wealthiest and most powerful countries can’t solve these issues. There are two different "worlds". There are the gated communities who turn their backs on the social injustices because they aren’t put upon. Then there are the city people who have to live in their situations; who in most cases can’t do anything because of financial reasons or the odds are simply against them. Throughout the speech David Simon gave several of his political opinions. He was against out election process and said, " 60% of our government body represents 40% of our country". He said, "we have the no child left behind act…haha it’s more like all are left behind." He also talked about what he hoped the future would hold. He wants to see a better education system in which everyone receives the same equal education. He hopes many aspects of cities improve, but says the outlook looks doubtful.
David Simon’s speech was short, but was powerful. He made several important points about the social problems that our cities have. Even though he was very pessimistic he sounded realistic. We do have tons of issues we need to correct. Most people are unaware of these problems, and its things like The Wire that opens peoples eyes to some of the problems.