"Hey, don't knock the G(r)eeks. They invented civilization."

Upon first reading Henry Jenkins' III essay "Star Trek Rerun, Reread, Rewritten: Fan Writing as Textual Poaching," I didn't for a second see a way that I would possibly relate it back to The Wire and thought I would definitely be using another essay for this blogpost. I was, however, wrong. When I think back to the time in my life before I had watched The Wire (my life is now Pre-Wire and Post-Wire, naturally), I remember all of my friends being extremely obsessed with this show. I mean, obsessed to the point of scaring me. I was excluded from conversations and treated with looks of downright shock and amazement when I admitted I had never watched the show. I imagine life would not have been all that different if my friends were die hard Star Trek fans, instead.

Perusing the internet, one is able to find a wealth of information regarding The Wire. There is really not a single stone left unturned. These are not only people writing about the show in a scholarly fashion (they are even offering classes on the show at some universities!), but EVERYONE. Every episode is picked apart and dissected and every quote is analyzed and reprinted. These people (including myself) are "fans," to say the least. Jenkins points to two articles that illustrate the opinion that "the fan constitutes a scandalous category in contemporary American culture, one that calls into question the logic by which others order their aesthetic experiences..." and that these fans generally are not respected by the academic world.

I, like Jenkins, disagree with this point of view. When die-hard fans produce their own texts (wholly different from mine, as this is not in the realm of "fan-fiction," but had I been asked...) it enters into something I believe Roland Barthes would be proud of. In his essay "Death of the Author," Barthes states that the notion of an “Author-God” with an irrefutable message is untrue and contends that writing is the destruction of “every voice” and “every point of origin.” He suggests that it is instead important for the reader to apply his/her own meaning to the text as it applies to them personally. In order to “overthrow the myth,” the “death of the author” and “birth of the reader” must occur. This act certainly occurs when viewers of a television show like The Wire or Star Trek go out and make the show their own. To pull from the ideas and narratives presented by the writers, directors, and actors and discuss them and make them your own is ultimately extremely important. In these cases, creativity gives rise to more creativity...no matter how geeky.