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Originally Posted by tigerlily
I watched. Treme is one of my favorites. I don't think there's too many characters. A lot of the actors are from The Wire, my all time favorite HBO drama. I'm sad they killed off Steve Earle. I've become a advocate of his music because of this show.
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I love Treme and it seems to have attracted a bit of a different audience than the Wire and I think it was really bold of David Simon to take the focus away from criminals and turned it more into a defiant depiction of a very charismatic New Orleans that is down but not it.
When they stand outside a bar and the Dutch musician praises the way everyone's enjoying the music and says "That's New Orleans right there" and Baptiste responds "That's New Orleans right there too" pointing to the police cars and the wailing sirens epitomises those little moments that really resonate. Another time when the two New Orleans friends meet up in a New Orleans bar in New York being another triumphant moment. It's these little moments that make the show for me.
The compassion and community spirit of the chracters is to the fore and despite the recurring storylines of violence, trragedy and the police wall of silence about the shooting it is in one of these moments where you see the resilience and joy of humanity overiding the lingering aspect of urban decay and gang violence that is a problem in the city (or any city, granted). What I kind of like about Treme is the way David Simon has chosen to give that lifestyle a backseat in this drama and focus on the everyday trials and tribulations of people rallying together to overcome the odds.
The music too is brilliant and I'm going to miss Steve Earle in Treme terribly. He really came into his own playing Harley Watt in this show and "After Mardi Gras" is a beautiful song and the way we're kind of seeing music evolve within a drama is another compelling component of the show. I guess shootings are a reality as are street musicians getting robbed. That is part of the impact of great drama I realise. But.....
One reservation I do have about Treme is David Simon's insistence on laying on the white middle class guilt just a little too thick. Davis McAlary the DJ I completely get and I have kind of grown to like his exuberant, rebellion charged hyperbole even if it is supplanted by a rich 'mom' and he belongs to an idle class of rich folk in New Orleans smoking dope and slumming it with the more authentic citizens of New orleans that give the place such a buzz like the great jazz musicians.
I just can't understand why all the white characters apart from the lawyer from Homocide or the police officers have to be such prissy, precious indulgent wannabes or brats? I can see the child acting out angle was entirely plausible, the restaurant characters are too but to watch this program leaves me as someone not too familiar with New Orleans with the prevailing sense that all white people who live in New Orleans are either rich, were once rich and dragged into the gig circuit by bumming around with addiction or have very middle-class jobs such as cordon bleu chefs in New York. Surely this cannot be true.
I love the show but when Harley Watt (Steve Earle) died displaying characteristic integrity in pleading to his attacker I just didn't see the necessity in feeling the need for his sister to come along afterwards and reveal that he was really from Washington and that he spoke and sang with a "phoney Texs twang". This to me felt a deep betrayal because it kind of led me to the conclusion that all that makes New Orleans 'real' are the brilliant black jazz musicians whilst all that makes New Orleans corrupt an phoney are the indulgent white people of New Orleans with bundles of money tagging along for the ride like hipsters who want to look hip in a cool location.
I really like Steve Earle and really had empathy for his character's morality, love of music and decency. I felt like I was growing as a man just listening to him speak. I can understand alot of these characters but as someone from a very Irish working-class background as much as I love the show (and honestly I do) I really can't relate to this phoney indulgent wannabe stuff because where I come from white people don't have to pretend to be poor it comes as naturall as it does to any other demographic.
I realise David Simon is probably excercising some of his own white-middle class guilt here and I think we get the point. I'm sure all the people who move in those social circles can relate to these characters too. I can understand them, but I cannot relate.
Don't misunderstand me, it doesn't detract from how much I enjoy the show but it does seem to protest a little much and a little too forcefully. But then I don't know, maybe white people really are all like this in New Orleans? You tell me...
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