Overall, my reading of David Simon is that he started out as a journalist with a very specific vision of what journalism was supposed to be and then became disillusioned with the changes that came to the Sun. By then he had begun realizing that television and narrative could do something similar–it had its own kind of power to convey truth. When he made the transition, he really wasn’t able to give up journalism completely. He saw his work on television as a form of journalism and was obsessed with his own authority and authenticity. His work demonstrates that he really believes that he has an almost God-like power to perceive events objectively at the same time that he makes very specific judgments about that reality (even if, as in the case of Generation Kill, he wasn’t even there). Simon constantly confuses his truth with the truth, and while it may very well be that his truth and the truth are quite similar, the fact that he refuses to recognize his true place as a reporter or interpreter of true events really bothers me and is frankly dishonest. Simon may believe that he can separate himself from the situations and the problems, but he cannot. It bothers me that he refuses to realize that he is just as much a part of the system as anyone else. Simon is not outside it all looking down, he is a perspective from within it all. If he were claiming to write fiction, the former perspective would be fine. However, the fact that he labels himself as nonfiction, the fact that the world he is claiming full understanding of is not his own invention but “real” changes the stakes of his claims.
Why Simon Bugs Me
7 December 2009 · 4.19 pm · by teff28
Categories: reading responses
3 responses so far ↓
7thveil // 11 December 2009 at 7.49 pm
I agree wtih most of your observations about Simon. He has used his journalistic skills and sense of righteous indignation – some concerning more personal slights – to set himself up as a “showrunner” in the true sense of the word. His word is first and last in his productions, even as you point out, he “wasn’t even there.” Perhaps he has grown too big for his boots. I’m waiting for his next production to see the next part of his evolution from journalism to television.
wolfpack32 // 11 December 2009 at 8.36 pm
I, too, agree with most of your criticisms, but tend to give Simon the benefit of the doubt because The Wire was so good. I would just like to think that he got too full of himself with Generation Kill, and hopefully he realized this in his upcoming work on Hurricane Katrina.
mdobright // 21 December 2009 at 1.17 pm
I agree. No constituent can place themselves outside the system they constitute. Thus as an author Simon is present in his representation of truth, while conversely I am also implicated in the system as a reader and social participant.