Persuasion is a tool utilized by David Simon’s The Wire in many intriguing, dark, and inspiring ways. This aspect of Michael Lee’s life is one that is quite subtle, yet extremely powerful at the same time. Michael’s character has a major plotline in the spider web of storylines shown throughout The Wire. Lee’s story contains drug addicted parents who have no real connection to neither him, nor his younger brother, Bug. However, the audience sees the strength of Lee’s character by the way he takes care of his brother. For instance, Michael and Bug come home from school, passing their drugged out mother and her boyfriend. The audience sees that Michael sits Bug down, gets him a snack, and encourages him. Michael encourages Bug by suggesting that he start his math homework because it is his favorite. Simon’s goal is not only to create the character of Michael, but to show his desire for a better life for himself and his brother. Most people can relate to this on many different scales.
The persuasion that The Wire uses helps the audience relate to the character of Michael Lee. This type of persuasion is seen as a good thing because it begins to develop empathy toward his character. This influences the audience to realize that there are a lot of bad things that go on in The Wire, but there are still silver linings. Michael Lee still interacts with his buddies who, in one way or another, are involved in risky behavior. Lee’s character is by no means a saint, and he is not intended to be. However, the audience is compelled to believe in this character’s ability to avoid being sucked into the world of drugs and corruption. Michael’s character strives to maintain his morals and work toward a better future; all while still acting immature and irrational with his friends. The Wire persuades the audience to believe in certain characters and to create an emotional attachment to the story. Lee’s character is a strong representation of this.
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October 9, 2015 at 4:55 pm
I agree that Simon uses Michael’s relationship with his brother to appeal the the emotional side of us. It’s obvious in all of perspectives but it seems to constantly fight with logic of the situations. I’m hoping for the best for Michael’s character (and his brother of course).
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October 9, 2015 at 8:31 pm
I think Simon’s persuasive aspect to showing these children is to show the different environment and context of their lives. This influences an audience to look at this idea of “the war on drugs” from a different perspective and make an audience think about the issue on a deeper level.
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October 9, 2015 at 9:39 pm
I think that the persuasive content in The Wire is slightly harder to find in positive ways. This blog does a very good job presenting the silver linings of characters who are stuck in a drug war but trying to do good things. We see Michaels strength emerge, when he cares for his younger brother. When he doesn’t show up for detention because he has to pick his brother up. I agree with your statement, that the creators use persuasion to encourage the audience to believe in a specific character.
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October 9, 2015 at 11:39 pm
This is another example of how well the connections students can make with what we are watching. The content here is allowing us to see that Michael is a caring young man with a possible dark past. Though involved as they all are in illegal schemes he seems to be smart enough to stay away from trouble and is clearly hoping to at the very least provide for himself and stay away from anything too harmful. Also, he seems to want to do this because he and his younger brother have no family members to look after them and perhaps he sees a way of leaving this lifestyle behind.
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October 11, 2015 at 2:43 am
I agree with this blog post. I think the most persuasive aspect of Michael and Bug’s relationship is in breaking stereotypes of people living in “bad” neighborhoods. There is a lot of language used in mainstream media and by people who grew up in more privileged areas that suggests that people who live in poverty are to blame for their situation. Mainstream classist ideology suggests that poor people simply don’t “try” hard enough to better themselves. The Wire is persuasive because not only does it deconstruct the systems in place that cause poverty, but it also shows that people like Michael and Bug are actively working to get out of it and thus breaking this stereotype. The Wire persuades the audience to emphasize with these characters, humanizing them and giving a face to people who are similarly affected by these social issues.
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October 9, 2015 at 11:58 pm
While I agree with how the show does a good job at making you empathize with the characters, I feel you may have left out how persuasion affects you as an individual outside of the show. I believe you are on the right track however. I feel that it does a good job in making you think and realize that people you see on the street have unique, dynamic lives with their own set of struggles, and that before we pass judgement on them, we should take a moment to try to understand and empathize with their own unique situations.
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October 10, 2015 at 12:01 am
I really like how you related persuasion to Michael Lee’s character, by explaining in agreeable statements like, “The Wire persuades the audience to believe in certain characters to create an emotional attachment to the story.” Your group was able to describe each face he puts on, whether it was being a good brother or fun friend.
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October 10, 2015 at 12:10 am
Really enjoyed you blog, as I agree completely. Michael is such a strong presence in the show, and you wish to see succeed where others can’t. I also think Simon introduced other young characters because they all evoke a level of empathy. But would you really go so far as to say its a silver lining?
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October 10, 2015 at 2:19 am
i enjoyed reading your blog. i believe what you said about Michael really hit the nail on the head. he is not supposed to be a saint because he is getting involved with everything going on with the drugs, but we are slightly persuaded to make us like him because we do see how much he cares about his little brother. almost persuading us into a feeling of “oh but its ok, he’s doing what is best for his family”.
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October 10, 2015 at 4:07 am
I agree with you on Michael. He is a character I struggle with because he is a corner kid forsure, but he also has a lot of “good” qualities in him. He is truly someone who is taking on the responsibility to take care of his younger brother when his parents aren’t. As shown in that scene when he is going to go boxing and leaves his brother doing homework in the kitchen while his parents are just wasting away watching television. Slowly without knowing it, I am being persuaded into liking him more an more.
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October 10, 2015 at 4:11 am
I like how Simon uses Michael and Bug’s relationship as a message of hope, even though they are surrounded by nothing but hopelessness. Watching Michael care for Bug when no one else cares makes me want to reach through the screen and ask how I can help. Simon is smart to include their relationship in the story because it gives viewers a reason to cheer for a character they would otherwise most likely view as just another kid on the streets.
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October 10, 2015 at 5:20 am
The wire does a fantastic job at revealing the ugly side of life and makes us feel like we are right there experiencing it with the characters. But despite all of that these two brothers find a way to live on and to keep moving forward.
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October 11, 2015 at 11:46 pm
I believe you made a great effort to point out that Michael isn’t a saint, rather, a person that is pushing for greatness but is using whatever avenue he can to achieve his goals and priorities. He displays and element of humanity that we can’t always be perfect, but we can make lemonade from the lemons we are handed.
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October 12, 2015 at 1:15 am
They way that Simon portrays Michael’s character is actually quite powerful. I think deep down, he is a really good person, but he uses whatever means necessary to get him and his brother by. We see a little bit of real life situations people have to go through
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October 16, 2015 at 4:33 pm
I also agree Michael character isn’t a saint but he draws you in to believe he is truly good. He is the best kids so far even though we see he is selling and pushing at times too. He still gives us hope in his character for his brother sake.
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October 22, 2015 at 1:23 am
I agree also, you can see although the kids/youth in The Wire know the hardships of the streets or “the hood”. Although Michael hangs around boys who act tough, or try to come off as if they are, you can see that he does not want his brother to follow those footsteps. As much as it is hard to be surrounded with drugs, gangs, violence etc. in a school and street setting, they are unfortunate that they have to go home to that also. Michael attempts to try to take care of his brother which is very important because even though you can tell Michael is smart but fails to hang around the right crowd, it gives him a sense of hope also for his sibling and maybe even for him.
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October 22, 2015 at 1:30 am
Overall I really like that you focused your blog on a seemingly less important character, and I agree with you totally. We can see that despite Michael’s situation, he is a good big brother who only wants the best for Bug, and shows his tough love on many occasions. Their relationship is one of hope, and that regardless of their surroundings and upbringing, they look out for each other and care for each other unconditionally.
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October 24, 2015 at 12:33 am
I never thought about it, but Michael is a vital character to The Wire. Perhaps the time he spends “acting immature…with his friends” is time that helps him to escape the harsh realities of his life, allowing him to have the strength to turn around and face the obstacles when necessary.
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November 20, 2015 at 9:00 pm
Sometimes I think Michael can be overlooked but he is a pretty important character in The Wire. Although he hangs around boys up to no good, working the corner, and acting tough he still remains to be caring and a good brother where there is no shame in that. It’s a tough spot to be in but I think he’s smarter than he knows and or gives himself credit for.
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