Stringer vs. Avon

I’m a fan of The Wire.  I didn’t join the bandwagon until the last season though.  As I sought to catch up on the seasons missed, I kept hearing about Stringer Bell, played by Idris Elba.  When I finally got to “meet” Stringer, I was not impressed.  Avon Barksdale, played by Wood Harris, was my guy.   Avon and Stringer were very different characters and they embody what I like don’t like in characters, whether on the screen or in books.

Why I liked Avon

Avon Barksdale was a straight up hoodlum drug dealer.  He’d shoot you as soon as look at you.  I could have watched a whole series about him.  What was it about Avon that won me over?  Avon was self-aware.  He understood thug life because it was the only life he knew.  He recognized and accepted its limitations and he never glorified the benefits he derived from it.  In some ways, he was a sad character, trapped in a life handed down to him by his forefathers.  There were so many possibiities in the characters that the writers failed to explore.  I would love to tell his story from his perspective.  Even though he didn’t recognize it himself, Avon had great potential for getting out of the business and making a difference in the world. I’m sad we never got to see much of that on screen.   I take that back. We saw a glimpse when he realized he’d have to give up Stringer.  He loved Stringer, but he also understood the rules of the life.

Why I didn’t like Stringer

Stringer got on my last nerve.  I hate to say this but I cheered when he got his “just rewards.”  My problem with Stringer was that he was not self-aware.  He was as much a thug as Avon but he wanted others to see him as something different, something better.  It was never clear to me that he wanted to *be* different or better, just that he wanted others to see him as such.  He wanted to compete on the legal side because he had already conquered the illegal side.  In my opinion, it was all about Stringer’s ego.  Therefore, I wasn’t surprised when he sold Avon out.  This was all about Stringer getting what he wanted.

Since we’re talking about The Wire

I didn’t much like Cheese, but I thought Method Man played him well. In fact, I think Method Man is a pretty good actor.  He, ‘Mos Def and Ludacris are my favorite “rap” actors.

I loved Slim Charles.  My favorite scene was when he put Cheese to rest.  Now that was funny!

I didn’t like McNulty, which made it difficult for me to enjoy re-watching the series.  I couldn’t do it.

I loved Bunk and Kima.

I could go on and on, but I’ll stop here.

My Kind of Characters

I like complex characters. These are characters that are not all good or all bad.  They’re not always right, but they always move with reason that can be tied back to who they are.  I may not like or appreciate the decisions they make, but I can understand why they made them.

I don’t like stupid characters.  I’m sorry but if a character continues to do stupid stuff, the character is stupid.

I don’t like self-righteous characters.  Nobody has the right answer all the time, and even if they do, they don’t always give it.

I don’t like hypocritical characters. These characters are usually not self-aware.  They go around doing the very thing they say they despise.  Now if the character has a moment of revelation and realizes their hypocrisy, that’s another story.  The character I’m talking about begin the book as a hypocrit and ends it as one.

Your Turn

What kind of characters turn you on and off?