Ben W.

Anatomy of a Scene – ‘Capital Gains’ (The Wire)

“Additionally, the subplot involving one of the show’s lead characters, Jimmy McNulty, taking a bribe adds depth to the show’s narrative, reflecting the complex moral compromises made by the working class to survive in a system that often leaves them behind and without any viable mobility upwards.”

The opening scene of “The Wire” Season Two serves as a powerful commentary on socio-economic disparities that continue in modern-day America. This scene that I would like to highlight, through both its characters and setting, sets the tone for exploring themes of economic hardship, corruption, and the American Dream’s elusive nature. Additionally, the subplot involving one of the show’s lead characters, Jimmy McNulty, taking a bribe adds depth to the show’s narrative, reflecting the complex moral compromises made by the working class to survive in a system that often leaves them behind and without any viable mobility upwards.

The scene itself opens with a bleak view of the channel leading to the port of Baltimore, which various imagery reflecting the industrial decline and economic stagnation affecting the middle class of the city. Characters are introduced through their mundane yet telling actions, highlighting their struggles and aspirations. Jimmy McNulty’s character, a police detective with a perennial professional chip on his shoulder amid his own set of personal challenges, becomes embroiled in a morally dubious activity by the end of the scene, further complicating the framing of certain characters being ‘purely good’ and others being ‘purely bad.’ With ‘The Wire’, there are many shades of gray in morality and understanding the reasoning behind characters’ actions.

The cinematography of this scene uses dark, muted tones to emphasize the grim reality of the workers’ lives. The ambient sounds of the port’s gray and murky waters, combined with a somber soundtrack of foreboding ahead, enhance the sense of despair and frustration with the status quo. These visual and audio elements work in tandem to create an atmosphere that underscores the themes of economic hardship and moral compromise that permeates the iconic show’s second season.

The central theme of this scene revolves around the precipitous decline of traditional industries such as manufacturing, shipbuilding, and longshoring in Baltimore, and its deleterious impact on the middle class there from its decline. The scene underscores the economic disparities and the futile chase for financial stability, a stark contrast to the wealth and power depicted elsewhere in the series and for which the middle class is forced to shield the wealthy or protect them from the errors of their poor decision making. McNulty’s acceptance of a bribe is a poignant example of the lengths to which some individuals without economic security will go to make ends meet, even if it means compromising their ethics in the face of financial malaise and stagnation.

The middle-class workers, portrayed prominently in season two, with a sense of resignation to their fates and perseverance despite the odds, contrast sharply with the wealthy individuals who appear disconnected from these struggles including in this scene as they dance, drink, and party onwards. The boat that they drift across the deteriorating port and city channel is aptly named ‘Capital Gains’ for which they profit off selling those companies and laying off the works who help make the economy run. They get rich from the assets, stocks, bonds, and other ‘capital gains’ they trade and sell while the working class shoulder the increasingly large burden of doing the hard, dirty, and often unappreciated work that is the real ‘labor’ keeping the economy and the nation moving forward without enough money to show for their hard work and efforts.

These interactions between the characters in this scene and elsewhere in the show highlight the inherent power imbalance and the lack of upward mobility for the middle class. McNulty’s character epitomizes the moral gray areas navigated by those who find themselves caught between maintaining their integrity and dealing with the necessity of surviving economically. His own willingness to take a bribe reflects a broader theme of systemic corruption and the desperate measures taken by the working class to stay afloat when the rest of the economy gets hollowed out all for more ‘capital gains’ and ‘stock buybacks.’

Officer Jimmy McNulty’s involvement in taking a bribe exemplifies the complex dynamics of survival within the working class. Faced with limited options and a pressing need to provide for themselves and their families, individuals like McNulty often resort to unethical practices. This subplot highlights the pervasive nature of corruption and the moral compromises made by those who feel trapped by their circumstances. It illustrates how the working class is sometimes complicit in perpetuating a system that exploits them, driven by the necessity to secure their economic survival.

The scene mirrors contemporary issues such as job insecurity, wage stagnation, and the shrinking middle class. It critiques the capitalist system that often leaves the working class in a perpetual state of struggle while the wealthy thrive. McNulty’s actions can be seen as a microcosm of larger societal issues, where individuals are forced to compromise their values due to economic pressures. This reflects the broader reality of modern-day America, where financial hardship can lead to ethical lapses and the erosion of moral standards.

From that opening scene onwards, season two of “The Wire” further delves into the lives of dock workers in Baltimore, painting a vivid picture of the economic decline faced by the American working class. The season explores themes of globalization, the loss of blue-collar and good-paying jobs, and the resulting social and economic fallout. The working class is depicted as being left behind in the wake of economic shifts, with their traditional livelihoods eroded by technological advancements and policy changes favoring the wealthy and corporate interests.

The narrative highlights the systemic failures that contribute to the marginalization of the working class. Characters are often portrayed as victims of circumstances beyond their control, struggling to navigate a landscape where opportunities are scarce, and the cost of living continues to rise. The season’s portrayal of the working class serves as a critique of the socio-economic structures that perpetuate inequality and hinder social mobility.

Since “The Wire” first aired on HBO, the American Dream has continued to remain elusive for many people in the United States. The show brought these emerging issues to light in the early 2000s, highlighting the struggles of the working class in a society increasingly marked by economic inequality and technological upheaval. “The Wire” was ahead of its time in addressing these themes, as income inequality has only worsened since then.

The gap between the rich and the poor has not been alleviated, and the systemic issues the show portrayed are still prevalent today. The depiction of the working class’s plight and the moral compromises they make to survive reflects ongoing societal challenges, not just in the U.S. but around the world. The show’s foresight in presenting these issues has made it a timeless piece, resonating with audiences who continue to witness the widening economic divide in modern America.

This scene from “The Wire,” coupled with McNulty’s own moral compromise, is a microcosm of the broader socio-economic issues facing modern-day America. Through its poignant depiction of the middle class’s struggles and the ethical dilemmas they face, it offers a critical perspective on the elusive nature of the American Dream. Season Two’s exploration of these themes highlights the systemic challenges that continue to affect the working class, underscoring the need for a deeper understanding and more equitable solutions to address these persistent economic and social disparities.

PDC Sunset

Playa Del Carmen Sunset

Camera: iPhone 12

Location: Playa del Carmen, Mexico

The World Will Humble You

“What you believe you deserve out of life is often out of your control at the end of the day.”

What you or I want from the world will be different from what the world will give to us. You must understand that the world will humble you in terms of your expectations versus what you will get. A key part of our lives is managing the difference between what we get against what we expect. It is important to keep your own beliefs in check because the world will test them continually and often turn them on their head. What you believe you deserve out of life is often out of your control at the end of the day.

The world will see fit to humble you when it comes to the outcomes we get when compared to what we earn and are able to get based on our hard work and effort. In a perfect world, the fruits of our labor would earn the same kind of return but often, that is not the case and sometimes hard work can be punished rather than rewarded. We have our expectations of the world around us, and the world often has different expectations from those that we expect from it. We must keep trying, to keep working, and to put our best foot forward in our individual efforts but must also understand that what we get back for those efforts may fall short of our own expectations.

Humbling oneself in the face of adversity or a negative result does not come naturally but is part of our maturation process. There is not much we can do but to try again or to move on to another opportunity. Failure is just a part of being human and the better we can handle it and be humble in a bad outcome, the better off you will be in the long run. Instead of being bitter, developing an inconsequential grudge, or blaming yourself or the other party without coming to grips with the fact that what’s done is done, you just must be willing to move on and grow from the failure itself.

We distinctly desire to avoid failure or setbacks and to think that they can’t happen to us, but they can, and they will. How we react to these failures and how we move forward will tell us more about ourselves than the initial failure itself. I would say that it does get easier as you get older as you get more used to the feeling of failure or setbacks and are able to bounce back quicker from them. You must have a thick skin about it, and I think that our age plays an important factor in being able to absorb the blow of failure or a setback without letting it derail you for a long time.

To have your ego be humbled by what the world gives you in return in it of itself is a victory. One’s ego can grow out of control when the world doesn’t humble you or push back on you in any way. When you let your own self-confidence or ego get out of control, you’re more likely to develop megalomaniac behaviors as a result. I find that it is a good thing when the world humbles you because without that happening, you tend to isolate yourself from others’ who have had it more difficult than you and tend to believe everything you do is the best thing ever or without any critique or issue.

Life is not meant to be failure-free or error-free. We are all human and thus, we will falter, make mistakes, and let our own ego get in the way. The key test is if we can push through these setbacks and failures to chart a new course or to try again if we believe enough in what we are trying to accomplish. Perhaps we did not work hard enough, study enough, use our full abilities, or sometimes it just wasn’t meant to be. There is no use fighting against an outcome that is out of our own control.

Sometimes, life has other plans for us, and it just wasn’t in the cards for us in the result we expected. You must take it in and decide how to best move forward. I find that there is nothing wrong with trying again if you believe in your own abilities enough where you want to re-try something by doubling your efforts. If you tried it once and you don’t want to do it again after failure, I don’t think that there is any shame in that either if it doesn’t appeal to you enough. Just because you failed at one thing and the world made it clear that you aren’t ready to move on with it now, doesn’t mean that is a final verdict on you or your capacity to do better or to get to where you want to be.

At the end of the day, there is nothing wrong with being humbled and to keeping your ego in check. If it wasn’t meant to be, it wasn’t meant to be. There is neither no harm in trying again nor is there any harm in moving on to a new goal or objective you have in your life. One’s ego can run rampant without any kind of pushback or critique, and you don’t want to end up in that place. Failure is the best teacher, and it should not reflect on your whole self as a person but rather on your skill set or aptitude that could use some improvement. Yes, it hurts, and it can feel like an absolute rejection of yourself as a human being, but I want you to know that it is not the case.

It is better to have tried and failed and sometimes to have done so a few times than not to have tried or failed at all. You may eventually succeed, or you may never end up succeeding at all, but the point is that you allow the world to humble you and your ego, without letting it derail you from keeping at it, trying again, or moving on to try in a different area of life that you believe you would be good at. It is natural to fail and to pretend otherwise is doing yourself and those around you a disservice. Being humble and accepting your limitations is part of being a human and hope that even if you fail, you dust yourself off, get back out there, and keep trying your best.

Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

Camera: iPhone 12

Location: Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Don’t Let Yourself Be Gaslighted

“There are numerous ways to combat gaslighting, but it is key to make sure you don’t let yourself be gaslighted, even when it is by people you are close to or have grown to trust or admire.”

‘Gaslighting’, a term that was originally derived from the 1944 film titled, “Gaslight,” is sadly an increasingly common form of psychological manipulation, where one person tries to make another person doubt their own reality, memory, or perceptions.

This manipulative kind of behavior can have severe consequences on an individual’s mental health and overall well-being. Recognizing and combating ‘gaslighting’ is crucial in maintaining one’s psychological integrity and emotional health. There are numerous ways to combat gaslighting, but it is key to make sure you don’t let yourself be gaslighted, even when it is by people you are close to or have grown to trust or admire.

Gaslighting itself can occur in various scenarios, from personal relationships to workplace environments and even on an entire societal level. Here are some common examples that I would like to highlight where ‘gaslighting’ can take place and whom can be responsible for it occurring:

Personal Relationships: In intimate relationships or romantic partnerships, a partner might persistently deny events that have happened, downplay your feelings, or blame you for their own abusive or manipulative behavior. For example, they might say to you, “You’re too sensitive” or “You never take things seriously.” “That never happened; you’re imagining things.” Gaslighting in any relationship at any time is a toxic combination and can cause some long-lasting trauma, regret, or depression.
Family Dynamics: Within families, parents might gaslight children by denying past abusive behavior or shifting the blame onto the child for what the parent did to them. Phrases like, “I never said that”, “I never did that to you”, “I knew you couldn’t do it,” or “You’re just making things up to get attention”, “How would you know? You’re just a child.” are commonly used in terms of gaslighting.
Workplace Conditioning: In professional settings, a supervisor could deny promises they had previously made to an employee or group of employees. They could also undermine their employees’ performance and contributions by taking credit for it themselves or by taking advantage of the work you do without rewarding it later or acknowledging its positive impact. Comments made by a supervisor or fellow employee could be such as, “I never approved that project”, “I did not give you permission to do that”, “That presentation was all my idea”, “You did not do as much as I did” or “You must be mistaken, that wasn’t your idea” can make employees question their own competence, proficiency, and memory when it comes to the work they do for their fellow employees or employer.
Societal Distrust: Gaslighting can also be seen on a broader societal scale where media heads, activists, or political figures deny facts or historical events that did occur, leading to widespread confusion and distrust among the public because leaders of those institutions are meant to be trusted but since they lie or deceive, the institution itself is distrusted and loses its standing in society.

Gaslighting has become increasingly prevalent in today’s digital age, where misinformation and manipulation are rampant combined with seemingly never-ending ways to engage people to disbelieve what they perceive or create a different reality than what we are used to. Social media platforms, where information can be easily distorted, manipulated and spread endlessly, provides fertile ground for gaslighting on a mass scale. Politicians, national leaders, and public figures often engage in gaslighting tactics to sway public opinion or deflect criticism to win support for their agendas and policies. When it comes to personal relationships, the anonymity, the rapid pace, and the sheer distance provided by online communication can embolden individuals to gaslight others without facing immediate repercussions because of how they hide who they are and what they really believe by gaslighting you instead.

Avoiding being gaslighted is not easy especially in the modern era where we are constantly exposed to other people’s worldviews and are made to take in rapid streams of information instantaneously. Being able to avoid gaslighting involves the following steps in no order, which can help you avoid these manipulative tactics that harm your mental health:

Educate Yourself: Understanding what gaslighting is, where it can come from, and recognizing the signs of when it is happening is the first step in protecting yourself. Familiarize yourself with common gaslighting tactics and how they manifest in different situations in different areas of our life.
Trust Your Perception: Keep a journal to document events and conversations where you think gaslighting could have occurred. It won’t always be the case, but this approach can help reinforce your memory and provide tangible evidence of what happened, making it harder for someone to distort your reality because you’re able to jog your memory on what happened, what you did, and what was their reaction or behavior about it.
Set Boundaries: It’s vital to establish clear boundaries with those who exhibit gaslighting behavior even if they are close friends or family. Make it known that manipulative behavior is unacceptable to you and that you will not engage with it regardless of if they think they are gaslighting you or not. It is better to preserve your own mental health and wellness even if it harms the friendship or relationship temporarily.
Seek Support: Confide in friends, family, or a mental health professional who can provide an outside perspective and validate your experiences as an impartial participant in what happened. Support networks from people you trust and can confide in are essential in maintaining your sense of reality and self-worth. Never seek support from someone you found out was gaslighting you or attempting to gaslight you. You must hold your standards high because if they did it once, chances are good that they will do it to you again.
Practice Self-Care: To protect your own health and wellness, you should continue to engage in daily or weekly activities that bolster your mental and emotional health. Exercise, meditation, sports, and hobbies with trusted friends and family members can help reduce stress and enhance your resilience against manipulation and other gaslighting tactics.
Assert Your Reality: Calmly assert your version of events without getting drawn into a debate. If you can give examples surrounding what you were doing at the time or provide proof or evidence to back up your point, it doesn’t hurt to do so. Most impactful will be to use phrases with the accuser such as, “I remember it differently”, “I wrote down what happened and have proof to share with you” or “I don’t agree with your version” can help you maintain your stance without escalating the conflict further.

We know that there are ways to avoid gaslighting, but how do we combat it in different ways to give ourselves options to get out of the situation or to remedy the effects of it happening to us.

Direct Confrontation: If safe to do so with the person(s), address the gaslighter(s) directly. Use specific examples and “I” statements to express how their behavior affects you. For example, “I feel confused when you say that because it contradicts what I remember” or “I am upset when you don’t believe what I tell you was how it happened to me.”
Detach Emotionally: Emotionally distancing yourself from the gaslighter can reduce their impact on you or ability to affect your mental state. Do your best to practice this form of detachment by recognizing that their actions reflect their own issues, and not yours. Their problem is not your problem, and you did not do anything wrong.
Seek Professional Help: Therapy or talking to a professional psychiatrist can be invaluable in recovering from the effects of gaslighting. A therapist can help you rebuild your self-esteem and develop strategies to deal with manipulative behavior if you experiencing it happening again to you.
Limit Physical Contact or Distance Yourself: In some cases, the best course of action is to limit or sever contact with the gaslighter. This is especially true in toxic relationships where the gaslighting is severe and persistent. It is always better to get that person out of your life or to never see him or her again if it gets to be too much to deal with their behavior.

Gaslighting is a deeply harmful form of psychological abuse that can have long-lasting effects on someone’s mental health. It erodes your self-esteem, creates self-doubt, and can lead to anxiety, depression, and a host of other issues. The pervasive nature of gaslighting in our modern era, amplified by endless forms of digital communication, misinformation, and coarsening societal dynamics, makes it a significant issue to address for people everywhere.

Recognizing gaslighting as a negative behavior and taking steps to combat it is essential for maintaining your psychological well-being. By educating yourself, trusting your perceptions, setting boundaries, seeking professional support, practicing self-care, and potentially limiting or ending contact with gaslighters, you can protect yourself from this serious form of manipulation. Ultimately, preventing, addressing, or combating gaslighting is not just about preserving one’s mental health; it is about fostering healthier, stronger, more authentic relationships and societal environments where care for one another, truth, and trust can flourish equally.

Dubrovnik At Night

Camera: iPhone 12

Location: Dubrovnik, Croatia

What Is Your Spice of Life?

“You may be able to find this in your studies, your daily vocation, or even your career, but for many of us, what you do to earn a living may not make up what you are excited most about in the act of living. We often must look elsewhere outside what we do day to day to find our ‘spice of life.’”

How do we explore the full richness of life? This is the kind of age-old question that philosophers and writers have asked for many centuries. What truly fulfills us and makes us enjoy what life has to offer? I would argue that it’s more important than ever to find the ‘spice’ in life that makes you excited, engaged, and fulfilled. You may be able to find this in your studies, your daily vocation, or even your career, but for many of us, what you do to earn a living may not make up what you are excited most about in the act of living. We often must look elsewhere outside what we do day to day to find our ‘spice of life.’

To get your ‘spice of life’ these days, you have to be willing to put yourself out there and try different things. What gets you excited, motivated, and fulfills you today may not be what motivates you years or decades down the line. You should remember that you won’t enjoy everything you do or try forever so it’s important to stay open minded about other possibilities and to not be tethered to one hobby or interest only. Some people have lifelong loves for different activities, hobbies, or sports, which is great, but you may not be able to do it for the rest of your life so keep it in mind that you don’t get attached to one single activity, hobby, or sport because you may not be able to commit to it forever or be as productive or successful at it in the long term.

I think it is wise to keep your identity pliable not just for one job or one academic calling but to be open to learning new things, to experimenting with new ideas, and to trying out different activities that you have some basic interest in. You won’t love everything you do, and you may only do it for a few months or a few years, but it is much better than the alternative of not having done anything at all. Our collective attention spans have become so short due to modern technology that we don’t even try new things or are patient with it because we are too distracted by the latest gadget or technological development.

True fulfillment and satisfaction can come from mastery of a subject or an activity for which you pored countless hours into and never gave up at it. You can also find the ‘spice of life’ from having fun with it and doing it just for enjoyment alone and not to master it completely. Life has a lot to offer and it’s important to keep that in mind beyond our careers and our education. We may have limited time to do what we want to do but we must prioritize that time because without our own choice(s) in what we want to do, we will not find any fulfillment at all. We can find fulfillment both in our day-to-day pursuits but also in those pursuits we do each week or each month without a set schedule in mind.

To find consistent joy in life is not easy, but it can be done by not giving up, by trying out new things, and by doing those things consistently for a little while to see if it is giving you happiness or fulfillment. Being able to give an activity or a hobby at least a few weeks or a month to try it out is key. If you find you are getting bored with something and don’t enjoy it as much or as often, it is okay to put it on the back burner, but don’t be afraid to try something else. Our likes and dislikes change as we go through life, but it is important to keep finding that ‘spice’ in our lives that gets us excited, keeps us motivated, and brings us joy.

Remember to never completely giving up on finding your own passions and fulfillment in life. It is not easy and is something you must continually motivate yourself to do but it can help your life satisfaction out to have something that you enjoy outside of what you have to do each day. Having nothing to enjoy or have fun doing could remove all the ‘spice’ or ‘zest’ that makes life worth living and you want to avoid getting into that kind of scenario. Be ready to try new things, find activities to do by yourself or with others, and be open minded in what you think you would enjoy.

It helps to make a list of activities or things that you have done that you would like to do again as well as those activities or things you’ve never done before but would like to try. There are tons of activities, hobbies, sports, or things to do in this world and you just have to try a few at a time to retain the ‘spice of life.’ Make sure you live life to the fullest in this way and I promise that you will not be disappointed by making the conscious choice to try new things.

Adriatic Rainbow

Rainbow over the Adriatic Sea

Camera: iPhone 12

Location: Dubrovnik, Croatia

The Importance of Giving Actionable Advice

“Being able to give out actionable advice is a key people skill that will set you apart from other people who dole out advice, but for which is not specific enough, not catered to that person in question, or does not have steps laid out for that person to fulfill.”

It is one thing to give some advice and it is another thing to give actionable advice. What do I mean when I say, ‘actionable advice’? Isn’t all advice ‘actionable’? Not necessarily. You can give someone basic advice that could help them to some degree, but ‘actionable advice’ is about laying out a plan or at least steps from A to Z or at least a few steps in chronological order to help someone achieve a goal, reach an objective, or solve a problem. Being able to give out actionable advice is a key people skill that will set you apart from other people who dole out advice, but for which is not specific enough, not catered to that person in question, or does not have steps laid out for that person to fulfill.

For an example of ‘actionable advice’, if you know someone studying for a professional certification and they need to pass an exam to get the certificate, you can lay out some real advice that could help them step by step. Instead of just telling that person in this hypothetical situation, “good luck and remember to study hard!”, that is basic advice that is redundant at best or insulting at worst because everyone knows they need to study for an exam to pass and they know luck may play a small factor in it, but it’s not helping them any more than they already know they need to study.

In this case, giving ‘actionable advice’ would look like, “hey, I know you’ll study hard but remember to join a study group each week, take 1-2 hours per night to review the exam material, be sure to take a few mock exams to get you ready for the test format, and even make flashcards or practice the concepts with me when you have some free time to do so.” This kind of approach is a perfect example of giving ‘actionable advice’ beyond just to “study hard!” You are really diving deeper with the person preparing for the exam by giving them several ways that they can maximize their study time, improve their knowledge, and show your own investment in them succeeding by asking them about the concepts or questions that may come up on the exam as well as reviewing flash cards with the test taker.

You will really stand out when you give that kind of detailed, actionable advice that lays out a plan for the test taker in this case to improve their odds at success. Most people will stop at the “study hard!” or “good luck!” but if you really care about the person, whether it’s a friend, a family member, or someone you’re in a relationship with, you will want to go further than that to show that you care about them and want to help them to the best of your ability.

When giving ‘Actionable advice’, it comes down to tailoring it to that individual person’s request or need such as acing a job interview, passing a test or exam, planning a trip for a few weeks or a few months, or if they are looking to improve their own finances. Deliberate and meaningful advice involves planning, following through with that plan, and marking your progress each time you fulfill a step or a part of the plan. If you are giving general advice that can be summed up in a few words or a sentence, that advice may help a little but it’s going to be forgotten quickly by the person you’re giving it to, and it won’t easily be remembered.

Taking the time with the person you’re helping means working closely with them, sharing ideas and the plan, holding him or her accountable for if they are following through with the advice, and having hard conversations at times about what their goals, dreams, or objectives really are, and how much they are willing to work for it to succeed.

Anyone can give ‘boiler plate’ or ‘standard’ advice but if you want to know about who really cares about you and is invested in your success, be sure to give out ‘actionable advice’ instead. If it’s the kind of advice where you’re collaborating with that person, mapping out steps in chronological order to have a full plan, and where you’re ticking off the boxes together along the way in the hopes of reaching the ultimate goal(s) or objective(s), you can rest assured that kind of advice will be remembered for a long time by the person(s) you are helping to succeed.

The next time someone asks you for some advice, don’t ignore them or blow them off. Instead, understand where they’re coming from, what they are hoping to achieve and succeed with, and since they’re coming to you specifically, they really care about your perspective and your past familiarity with what they’re going through. Take the time to help them, build them up, hold them accountable, and chart a path together to help them succeed through sheer hard work and effort.