Is HBO That Different From Standard Cable?



Home Box Office, colloquially known as “HBO” was launched in 1972 and has been a subsidiary of Time Warner since 1990.  The network is primarily known for showing uncut movies without commercials, original uncensored shows, and boxing that would otherwise not be televised.  For these reasons HBO is paid cable that costs customers an extra $15-$20 per month.   Because of this the network is permitted to be more edgy and realistic with some of its programming, but that does not mean it chooses to do so with all of its shows.

  

There are three HBO programs that stand out in terms of their realism.  The first hour long series that ever ran on HBO starting in 1997 was Oz.  Oz depicts the brutal life in the fictional New York State maximum security Oswald State Correctional Facility.  It takes a harsh look at what life inside of prison is like, omitting nothing. The foulest language, graphic violence, frontal nudity, rape, cannibalism, execution, and basically anything you could not put on cable TV is included.  The realities of incarceration are displayed bluntly, and unfortunately many underprivileged youth in this country end up face to face with such realities.  Creator Tom Fontana said the idea for the show was spawned from his frustration with the networks.  When he attempted to sell a few very good, but grittier ideas to them he stated they all “spit in my face” (EW).  He also stated that he was terrified to return to censored cable television because he enjoyed the freedom in writing a show as real as Oz.

David Simon worked with Fontana on the show Homicide: Life on the Street.  Simon created both The Wire and Treme, the other two highly realistic programs on HBO.  While these shows are not quite as graphic or disturbing as Oz, they both show problems in America through struggles in their respective cities.  Via a sprawling murder and narcotics investigation, The Wire shows the struggles of urban youth, political corruption, and issues with the integrity of the media in the city of Baltimore.  Treme depicts the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and how much the disaster affected the city.

It is easy to notice that the content of these shows is nothing like that of the popular shows on standard cable TV.  Despite being universally critically acclaimed for their realism, these three shows do not even garner the highest ratings on HBO, let alone television in general.  In fact, of the 18 series HBO has aired in the past ten years The Wire ranks 14^th in ratings and Treme ranks dead last behind shows such as Entourage, Sex and the City, Game of Thrones, True Blood, and many more.

This begs a difficult question.  Is there really that big a difference between HBO and regular cable?  After all, Time Warner also owns all the Turner Broadcasting channels (CNN, TNT etc.), Warner Brothers, The CW, Cartoon Network, and numerous other holdings in the visual media.  Are Oz, The Wire, and Treme simply anomalies swimming in an ocean of premium cable programs that are all at their core just well-made network shows with more sex and foul language?  There is no absolute answer to this, but it is disappointing that HBO does not use the liberties it has to incorporate more realism into all of their programs.

Why The Wire is the Realest Show Ever

President Barack Obama calls it his favorite show (Ryan, 2008).  Entertainment Weekly ranked it number one on its list of the greatest television shows of all time, stating that creator David Simon tells “tales of race and class with unprecedented complexity” (EW staff, 2013).  I love The Wire for both its phenomenal story and its raw, realistic depiction of real world issues.  The shotgun toting, homosexual stick up boy Omar Little is one of the most unique characters to ever grace the small screen.  In bucking many stereotypes about the masculinity of young men he acts as a lens into issues often considered too controversial for basic cable.  The show also delves deeply into the problems with No Child Left Behind and the bleak reality of street life for inner city youth.

The tough as nails stick up boy Omar Little is a central character on the show.
He happens to be both black and openly gay.

 



Omar Little is one of the most fascinating characters on the show for a multitude of reasons.  The fact that Michael K. Williams never won an Emmy for his portrayal of Omar is a sin.  He has stated that he loved the idea of the character because he was non-traditional in many ways (Williams, 2005).  Openly gay characters are often portrayed as weak and effeminate in the entertainment industry.  One of their common uses in mainstream film and TV is comic relief.  The Wire completely flipped those stereotypes around.  Omar is actually the most feared character on the show, so much so that gang members run when they see him coming down the street.  In reality there are all types of people that happen to be homosexual, so it is nice to see the realism that the Omar character brings.  

The middle school kids in season four have already started
to lead lives of crime.

 

A harsh reality that is explored in the final two seasons of The Wire is the failure of the inner city school systems and the struggles of urban youth.  The contradictions of No Child Left Behind are bluntly displayed, namely inner city schools losing funding for poor test results when they are the schools that need the most help.  The cop turned middle school teacher Prez is frustrated by being forced to “teach to the test”, feeling that his students are not learning anything.  Bunny Colvin, the former commander of the West Baltimore precinct, conducts research about urban youth at the middle school with a professor.  Their discoveries are bleak.  Many of the middle school kids are already dealing and using drugs.  Fighting, robbery, and even murder are part of their everyday lives, prepping them for life on the street.  We also see them engaging in more childlike activities such as playing Xbox and saving money to go to an amusement park, reminding us how young they really are.  Colvin discovers that by age eighteen many “corner kids” are already hardened criminals that never finished school. 

 

Almost the entire Barksdale crew is either dead or in prison by
the end of the show.

 

This bleak future for Baltimore’s youth is also embodied in the Barksdale gang that is introduced in season one.  By the conclusion of the series, twelve of them have been murdered and three have been imprisoned for life, Slim Charles being the proverbial last man standing.  The series takes a powerful look at a serious social issue in this country, which is that failing inner city school systems lead many urban African American youth to lives of crime.  These lives typically end in incarceration or death.

The Wire unabashedly examines serious problems in modern America while also being very entertaining.  Being on HBO gives the show more flexibility than network programming, but all of those shows could still take a page out of David Simon’s book when it comes to depicting real world issues.