"I want what Wallace wanted. I want to start over. That's what I want."

In the documentary “The Merchants of Cool,” PBS follows market researchers and teens in order to have a deeper look into the teen world: what is “cool” to them? who decides that? when something goes mainstream, is it not “cool” anymore? Their world is “made of marketing” and the commercialization and commodification of their very lives is expected.

While watching this documentary, one point really stuck with me as related to this blog: are teens hyper sexualized and violent because of pop culture or is pop culture merely feeding back teen culture to them? Where does the influence stop and “real life” begin?

The teens on The Wire are all from low-income families in Baltimore (with the notable exception of Wee Bey’s son Namond, who is often criticized for his family’s wealth) and they all struggle to make money and maintain their roles as they advance in the drug trade.

The higher ups in the Barksdale crew (D’Angelo, Stringer, Avon, etc) take their clothing very seriously.

By all appearances, they are able to spend a lot of money on name brand street wear without being “flashy,” thereby garnering too much attention. Stringer’s dress progresses from what could only be described as “fine” to “fiiiiine” as he moves up the corporate ladder and begins to throw some of his wealth around while Avon is in jail.

This all to say: the teens are watching them. It is rare that Bodie does not have on new jerseys as his personal style expands from season to season (along with his rank), while the less street smart, less fortunate characters are often the most poorly dressed (see Duquan “Dukie” Weems who, ostensibly is the next Bubbles).

Perhaps the most tragic of all of the characters on The Wire is Wallace. Wallace worked at the low risers for Barksdale’s crew and never had the money or time to invest in new fashions like Bodie, his more successful counterpart. When Wallace is suspected of snitching, he is ordered to be killed by Bodie and Poot in what just happens to be one of the saddest scenes in anything. Ever. It relates back to my original questions in many ways, though.

(Watch scene here)

As Wallace stands there pleading for his life in a dilapidated apartment his drug addict mother has abandoned him and his brothers in, the poster of a strong, handsome Tupac stands behind him in the background. The dichotomy between the two is striking. The shiny poster of a muscular successful man dwarfs little Wallace who, at this point, has wet his pants in fear. Tupac wears a platinum gun on his chain while Wallace, crying, is faced with a real gun. He is a boy and his life is about to, like Tupac’s, end all too early. The poster is the only one in his room and the viewer is left to assume that Wallace and his peers probably looked up to him. As he meets his tragic end and Bodie and Poot stand there in disbelief, their stoic pop culture hero looks back at them. So, where does the influence stop and “real life” begin for these teens? In short, it doesn’t. It doesn’t seem fair to blame rap culture when the drug culture is to blame. It’s all a cycle and it takes one to influence the other. I just wish Wallace had stayed in the country.