Stringer Bell from "The Wire" (Spoilers)

 

(Credits: HBO)

I just recently finished watching all five seasons of HBO's "The Wire" for the very first time after putting it on my watch list years ago. Considering how much I have enjoyed it for the last few months, I regret not getting into the world of David Simon earlier. As the credits rolled for the final time and I listened to the ending theme song, I already knew I was going to revisit some of the show's most intriguing and compelling people that served as a realistic portrayal to the one big main character of the whole story: the city of Baltimore itself, in which the plot mostly takes place. 

To me, "The Wire" is a story of a broken system. A realistic portrayal of the world in which massive change for better or worst cannot just take place. It's the opposite of what we usually see in TV and police dramas: the one smart detective does not get to win the case because bureaucracy stops him, the bad guy might escape and get away with it, but no matter what, the system keeps rolling and things don't change. The message is clear: flow with the corruption and oppression or risk drowning trying to swim against the tide. 

This is where Stringer Bell comes along. When we first meet him in Season 1, we are automatically attracted to him because he is such a stark contrast to the drug world he operates in. Compared to the rest of Barksdale Organization (the drug empire Bell leads together with his friend Avon), he first seems extremely intelligent, pragmatic, and professional. The excellent acting of Idris Elba helps quite a lot too. These differences are further highlighted in his desire to completely change the way the organization works in Season 3 and create a legitimate real estate business from the drug money he has gained over the years. Those around him ultimately do not understand this desire, as they see "the game" being part of their lives until they either get arrested or die. For Avon and the rest, there is no such thing as actually leaving the drug business, just like many drug lords in our own reality never actually leave their position of power by their own choice. 

For Bell, this massive difference in views eventually leads to his own "drowning" for attempting to swim against the tide. As "The Wire" proves over and over again, you cannot change the system and fighting it usually results in a dire fate. For Stringer, this ultimately means being killed while checking on the construction on one of his developing properties of his real estate business. 

And for me, this is why Stringer Bell is such an interesting and tragic character. A man too smart for the low-level power struggle of the drug trade, yet too limited in his view to realize he cannot simply change the power structure in which he operates. I think Avon, in one of the last interactions with String, puts it best: "When I look at you, you know what I see? A man without a country. Not hard enough for this right here and maybe, just maybe, not smart enough for them out there".