The biggest way that I can find to compare The Wire to Ghost Dog is to look at it just from the outside, just from the aesthetic that is seen. When specifically looking at the characters Ghost Dog and the gang affiliated characters in The Wire on the outside things look really similar. There skin is the same color, they are criminals, both petty and major crimes are committed (drugs and car jacking to murder), but if looked at closer there is a larger difference between the two.
Ghost Dog follows a honor code that dates by thousands of years and is based on honor whereas, the kids in The Wire follow a code based on, what seems to me to be, fear. The reason Ghost Dog does was he does is to repay a debt that he owes to a man for saving his life. The dealers in The Wire were forced into that life based on where they were born and the environment they grew up in. This is where my feels start to sway towards Ghost Dog as the superior movie.
There was so much going on on a deeper level in Ghost Dog whereas The Wire seemed like a one level show (granted we didn't get to see much, so this is based off of basic level information). With that being said, I think these works are meant for different audiences. If you like complicated crime shows, watch The Wire; if you like thought provoking violence, watch Ghost Dog. I think both shows can be enjoyed by the same person but I believe there will always be a preference. There is a different over all feeling to the two works and that is why I would argue that they should not be put in the same genre together. I believe the only genre that they both fit into perfectly is 'violent' and even then, the violence has different motives.
I had a difficult time comparing these works because I also believe they do not belong in the same genre. I mean, it's not very effective to compare a comedy to a thriller, and I think the same is true for these films. You didn't tell why you prefer Ghost Dog, and although my opinion is the same, I'm curious why that is? I appreciate how you differentiated the reasons or processes why Ghost Dog and the gangs of The Wire commit crimes in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI think Ghost Dog is a very unique show and I have never seen any American show like that. Compared to The Wire, judging from the first episode, it looks like a typical crime investigation and gangster show. On the other hand, Ghost Dog was different. I like the way Ghost Dog referred to quotes in Hagakure in narrating the story. Even when sending the warning message, he referred the book on how The Samurai declared war. Also, it is important to note that, Hagakure is not the only book he reads. He reads bunch of other books. I think that is interesting because it gave the perception he is educated, professionals and really know what he was doing. Not someone who was doing something out of emotion and no knowledge about it.
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