Utopia is a common topic among writers and philosphers because of its inability to exist. First mentioned in 1516 in Sir Thomas More’s book titled Utopia, the concept has overtaken many books and plotlines (Wikipedia). In a world of imperfection, individuals search for answers to uncover if happiness for all could ever be achieved. The irony of Utopia is the faultiness in what appears to be a perfect society. In 1984, Big Brother is constantly watching everything (1984). In Fahrenheit 451, books are outlawed to ensure the intelligence is equivalent among all. The underlying issue is each person is unique and by treating everyone the same puts an infringement on their satisfaction of life. Baltimore in The Wire is not set up to be a Utopia. …show more content…
Undetected by those who do not listen carefully, the dedicated viewers feel the lack of satisfaction accompanied with the absence of answers. The Greek escapes. Legalizing drugs solves one problem but develops others. Kids fall behind in school due to social promotion. The realism of struggle between the police and crime gangs gives people the false impression that there is answer to all problems. Jameson describes the lack of satisfaction to be Freudian, as “no desire can ever really be satisfied, so also this one leaves a sense of disappointment” (a). The Utopian impulse accompanying the characters transition into the watcher. Whether it’s rooting for Colvin’s Hamsterdam or Pryzbylewski’s classroom experiments, there is a hope a solution might be found. The push and pull between the realism and utopia elements is what develops the plot. According to Fedric Jameson, the mimicking police work is “simply the appearance of reality” (a). The cops are ignorant of how the drug market functions which opens up the door to realism for the viewer to experience the detective procedurals (a). The events throughout The Wire contain realistic stories while incorporating Utopian