Also not really a spoiler, but under the fold, just in case.
Is it too obvious a clue for MAR-LO to be a cutesy linguistic opposite to O-MAR? Is David Simon helping to show us that Omar is the man outside the game, while Marlo is the game personified as a man? Has someone already pointed this out?
The Edge of the American West 
5 comments
January 29, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Pete
The Wire is just so darn literary…
I also think its inclusion of Western movie genre elements within an urban setting is interesting when considering the American exceptionalism myth (and all of the ways that Westerns are “more American than America”)
January 29, 2008 at 7:08 pm
eric
Western movie genre elements
Like, Omar the gunslinger?
January 30, 2008 at 1:00 am
Pete
Yeah, he’s pretty typical of the “good” outlaw. Ala Joe (Clint Eastwood) in Sergio Leone’s _Fistful of Dollars_. Also, the “showdown” between Omar and Brother Mouzone is such a high noon feature.. their fearlessness of death, discussing their respective guns, and even the language (“drop it and turn around real slow”). Despite coming from different sides of the game, they respect each other after they determine how similiar their codes are (murder and robbery are part of the game’s agreed upon rules, but double-crossing and undue cruelty are personal).
Also, I think The Wire’s focus on place as a central character can be connected back to the Western. I could go on, but I’m no western buff and have zero experience in film/tv criticism, so I’ll spare you.
February 2, 2008 at 9:37 pm
andrew
The dvd commentaries have a few discussions of the western elements of Omar’s character and some of his scenes.
May 20, 2008 at 10:28 am
You Know I Blame? The System!: The Wire, Barrack Obama, and Omar for President « zunguzungu
[…] ask this question, of course, not to try to answer it (as these folks have) but because I have a thesis that sets it up: Omar is a cowboy. This should be […]