I had forgotten this scene. I agree--it was excruciatingly painful. Namond may live in a lush home, his mother's SUV costing more than many families' yearly salaries, but he wouldn't know the difference between shallots and sorbet. Ruth's Chris Steak House may be more menacing than Marlo.
As a chef who works in fine dining, Its disheartening to see how uncomfortable they are, worried about being judged. I assure anyone who is from the hood and maybe in this situation, just be polite and you are fine. Don't worry about what others think . Don't be fooled by the uniforms and dress code of the employees. Most of us who work in restaurants can't afford to eat where we work and we sure as hell don't fit in. So Laugh, smile, eat and enjoy yourselves.
This scene and what was taking place with the kids in season 4 exemplifies why the wire is the goat show. The youngins showed exuberant confidence on their way to the restaurant to compensate for their anxiety of experiencing new things. So sheltered by poverty and contention that a peaceful dinner actually intimidated them and being in an environment that was unfamiliar to them and made them feel insecure about what they thought they actually knew drew a resentment from them and they immediately coward back to old defensive habits and got shelled. It speaks to how much we need to make good experiences available to young kids in order for them to get familiarized with something other than poverty and contention to bring the best attitude towards life out of them. It speaks a lot to how those kids are a product of those failed environments and not the progenitors of them.
This scene was a callback to when D and Donnette went to a fancy restaurant (same one?) back in the first season. Colvin was indeed rewarding them for their project but also wanted to show them how to act civilized and that there is life outside the hood.
Nobody got shot, no drugs were dealt, and yet out of all 5 seasons of The Wire this was one of the most gut-wrenching scenes. Like tdot22, that was me -to a T. When you grow up poor and ghetto, with that being your environment on a daily basis, you just don't know. What to order?HOW to order? What do you say in conversation? What's a tip? What fork to use first?Do you use a straw to sip water? On and on and on, man! Mentally jumping to a higher socioeconomic level is EXTREMELY hard. Painful
What breaks my heart is how damn discouraged the kids look, both in the resturant and in the classroom as soon as they're embarrassed by a teacher or waitress. All the fight just goes right out of them, like they know they don't even have a chance.
Yes, it's a sorry victimhood mentality. These kids are just as good as others, why become upset or be uptight. If we dont know something, or feel uncomfortable about, there isn't a reason to act or be discouraged. Horrible portrayal of young black kids
@@tonye.5410 But growing up in that environment myself . They portrayed the kids EXACTLY TO A T. I knew plenty of kids tough as hell but get embarrased in public or at school amd you could see the innocence in there eyes
@@cashinn7490 understood. That still does nothing to push the truth of value. The representation of victimhood in this work is beyond belief. That is why communities continue to be marginalized
Same thing with D when he grabbed the display model of the cake his gf wanted in season 1. He felt ashamed for being there when Donnette tried to tell him if you have money you get to be whatever you want.
@@tonye.5410so are they supposed to depict an idealized fantasy world, or a accurate representation of the cold reality of inner city youth's ignorance of behavioral norms in certain social situations, stemming from street violence, dysfunctional homes, and poor education system?
As unfamiliar as they were in that setting, Zenobia and Namond basically knew most of the rules for formal dining. They were more uncomfortable than unfamiliar (dressed differently, looked different, worried they were laughing too loud). Namond in season 5 proved it wasn't too late for them to learn but they had to start somewhere. It wasn't pretty, but I still think Colvin did them a favor.
This is how I felt when I started a professional job in 2016. I was one of the very few people of colour in the work place. I felt like a fish out of water.
“What about you? Drinking without a straw, all ghetto and shit.” When I tell you this scene still makes me holler with laughter. 😂😂😂😂 I bet they had to do a bunch of takes doing this scene due to uncontrollable laughter.
What’s crazy is how naturally every line is delivered. When Darnell be like “just cuz you a girl don’t mean I’ll f** u all up” it feel like bruh he even still acting?
its so real and heartbreaking. like they know no matter how nice the place is- its not a treat to them- but a glimpse into a life they ll never get to live or have. i remember taking a friend from a not so great background to a restaurant - and he spun out how the waiter kept filling his water. it was an average place too- nothing special. but that lack of entitlement- the thing that tells people 'you deserve to be successful" - that allows those people to be succesful- its s big determinant in how we end up. I've seen entitled idiots end up more successful and as bosses of unentitled geniuses at work- because of the attitude that- oh that guy is meant to be the boss- cos he or she is white, wealthy, educated, or has a confidence. the genius of this show is that its able to make a social commentary but in the context of serving the story and of the characters- it never feels like a soapbox show yelling social commentary- but rather just a glimpse of reality - a real look at what its like to not be a young white male in a country that sees black and assumes. which makes it so powerful , dramatic and real. its as much an issue of how we see ourselves- as much as how others see us. and of course one is influenced by the other.
Plenty of black people have succeeded and become wealthy in America. The options and opportunities are everywhere. It’s a choice to ignore them and keep playing the victim like so many do. To the point when a black person does try to better themselves their own community shuns them and calls them an Uncle Tom. They do this to justify and reaffirm their victim status. It’s much easier to not try and expect hand outs then to push oneself to overcome adversity. Everyone sees through it and is tired of it. Which is why welfare reform is always brought up.
“The genius of this show is that it’s able to make a social commentary but in the context of serving the story and the characters. It never feels like a soapbox yelling social commentary - but rather just a glimpse of reality” Perfect
How you view yourself has more to do with how you are raised than anything. Just because someone is white doesn’t mean they are expected to succeed or they expect to succeed. Black people usually aren’t raised by both parents and grow up being told by their family and peers that they are inferior to white people in society. Asians make the highest income of any race in America, you won’t see them complaining about white people. I actually agree with most of what you said but the talk about white people is some race baiting bullshit.
anthony etuk Your so ignorant. Of course he could've prepared them. Can't your dumbass see they were fish out of water. Just a quick conversation about the entire experience. They couldn't enjoy themselves because it was all just too much information flooding them. Stupid fuck.
This scene always reminded me of that scene in Dangerous Minds when Michelle Pfieffer took the Mexican kid to that fancy restaurant for winning that prize in class. Such a fish out of water situation.
i think the meaning of this scene is to show, that these kids no matter what, they come from the ghetto and the lifestyle is all they know. or to show how social construct segregates the rich from the poor
Sometimes you gotta show people with less the people with more for inspiration. This works best in person. There's a difference between seeing something fancy on a screen and being there in person.
"...Lookin all Fred Flintstone" Funny as heck but terribly painful at the same time. If you don't know how to conduct yourself in environment like that (because you grew up in a completely different environment) you just DON'T KNOW. 30+ years ago, I guarantee that guy was me...lookin all Fred Flintstone.
You know, in a lot of ways you're right. I don't think that Bunny was thinking on that plane, unfortunately. He didn't think it all the way through, but due to his character I don't believe that it was intentional. I still believe this was one of the most painful scenes in all the seasons of the wire. Anyone of those kids -was me. I tell my wife (who was blessed to be born to two college professors) that one of the hardest things to do is jump from one socio-economic level to another.
To most gang bangers and drug dealers being normal is considered lame and doing crime is looked up to in a major way. Going to jail is a badge of honor while staying in school and trying to make something of yourself is frowned upon.
@TelephoneTormentors that is how some of us like to eat meat. Fully cooked. My mom like her meat rare. The first time I had rare steak in my life was 2 weeks ago. It was weird but my steak was less chewy and it was good, but I will continue to eat my meat fully cooked.
He probably thought it would be a good idea to show them normal society. That there's more to life than just the corner. Or maybe he just wanted to reward them with a quality meal, not realizing how uncomfortable they'd be
