As even its most casual viewers know, The Wire is not like other TV shows. In fact, from its subject matter to the way David Simon and his writers tell stories, just about everything about it is distinct. But, as Erlend Lavik discusses in the remarkably thorough video essay below, its visual style has garnered much less discussion than those more widely praised elements. He goes on to dissect the show’s minimalist aesthetic, its unusual framing, the way it uses depth of field, and more, relating each aspect of its style to his observation that “one of the most refreshing things about The Wire is that you don’t feel like you’re being condescended to.” Fans of the series who’ve got a lunch hour to kill could do much worse than devoting 36 minutes to Lavik’s thoughtful analysis. Watch it after the jump.
[via Kottke]