Re: Is the Steve Zahn character on Treme...
Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 1:57 pm
Something really off about last night's episode. The show seems to have this chip on its shoulder about what's authentic New Orleans and since most of us have jobs, lives, families what have you, we don't spend our time trying to out New Orleans each other. But yet, this is what David Simon gives us, a bunch of characters trying to be the arbiter of what is authentic New Orleans, at least when comes to music but even then, when the non-musician characters are listening to the radio, they are all listening to WWOZ. Now, considering WWL was simulcasting talk across all 16 of its stations at the time, they may not be far off, but most people I know spent a good deal of time in December of 2005 listening to Spud as insufferable as he is. But yet, we still haven't seen anyone order a Sazerac or discuss the etymology of the Poor Boy sandwich.
The storyline that I love and I think rings the most true is the Albert Lambreaux thread. You can take what I know about the Mardi Gras Indians and put it in a thimble, so I am not going to comment on the authenticity of that but his sense of rebuilding, commitment to family and friends and traditions of New Orleans amidst the despair of Katrina is what rings true. His savage beating of the copper wire thief is something I think most folks could identify with in December of 2005. He doesn't bitch about the federal levees or FEMA money. He's going to get back to work and play. That type of story cuts across all lines and has some eternal truth to it, regardless of whether some details are fudged.
The rest, I think while it doesn't fail as miserably as the Big Easy or Kville is still off. The crime aspect of the show is utter horse crap. This is not to say people don't get jammed up on bull**** or that the New Orleans cops don't take some liberties with civil liberties so to speak. But the beating of the teacher on Bourbon Street in December 2005 which the Batiste beating was based on, involved more than the NOPD. Two FBI agents were involved and were found to be the cause in fact of the victims' injuries. But here we have NOPD acting as a goon squad. I say this to David Simon, if you want to get it right, get it right. Don't half ass it.
Furthermore, a stop such as the marijuana bust in week 2 or the Batiste beat down just would never happen. The police, even on patrol, don't randomly pull people over for nonsense. They usually use a seatbelt violation or a loitering charge as a pretext for stopping and searching people. The marijuana arrest outside of DBA in episode 2 would never happen like that. Ever.
As such, I feel like I recognize the background, the beat of the show. But the slow moving story is missing a little "ju ju" to give it any authenticity.
The storyline that I love and I think rings the most true is the Albert Lambreaux thread. You can take what I know about the Mardi Gras Indians and put it in a thimble, so I am not going to comment on the authenticity of that but his sense of rebuilding, commitment to family and friends and traditions of New Orleans amidst the despair of Katrina is what rings true. His savage beating of the copper wire thief is something I think most folks could identify with in December of 2005. He doesn't bitch about the federal levees or FEMA money. He's going to get back to work and play. That type of story cuts across all lines and has some eternal truth to it, regardless of whether some details are fudged.
The rest, I think while it doesn't fail as miserably as the Big Easy or Kville is still off. The crime aspect of the show is utter horse crap. This is not to say people don't get jammed up on bull**** or that the New Orleans cops don't take some liberties with civil liberties so to speak. But the beating of the teacher on Bourbon Street in December 2005 which the Batiste beating was based on, involved more than the NOPD. Two FBI agents were involved and were found to be the cause in fact of the victims' injuries. But here we have NOPD acting as a goon squad. I say this to David Simon, if you want to get it right, get it right. Don't half ass it.
Furthermore, a stop such as the marijuana bust in week 2 or the Batiste beat down just would never happen. The police, even on patrol, don't randomly pull people over for nonsense. They usually use a seatbelt violation or a loitering charge as a pretext for stopping and searching people. The marijuana arrest outside of DBA in episode 2 would never happen like that. Ever.
As such, I feel like I recognize the background, the beat of the show. But the slow moving story is missing a little "ju ju" to give it any authenticity.