Avon Barksdale or Stringer Bell?

[Ezekiel 25:17]

I'm waiting for paul to give us the answer, I feel his opinion on this is needed.

[Trucker Paddy]

Stringer Bell for me as well.

 

Thought he played the more modern gansta whereas Avon was old school and just wanted to kill people all the time to exert his dominance.

 

Stringer wanted to cover his tracks more, make himself less obvious to the po-po, but this was ultimately his downfall with politicians. Tsk.

 

As an aside, everytime I see Idris Elba in anything, I always break out in a smile at how convincing he was as an American in The Wire and think he is excellent in Luther. Top class.

 

When I seen Idris Elba in rockenrolla(sp) I was amazed at how good his English accent was, it wasn't till I seen an interview with him I realised he was English

[Section_31]

I've mentioned before no doubt that I'm Avon Barksdale on Facebook and have over 6,300 fans, occasionally when I'm bored I post an update and it's both amusing and distressing how many people seem to think he's real.

 

Yesterday I put:

 

I damn sure know one motherfuckin' thing for sure, two of our people are chalked

and we ain't got shit to show for it. I'm gonna go do this shit my damn self!

 

130 like this, 23 comments.

[Reacher]

Stringer for me, just loved his calm self-assuredness.

[Kevin D]

Bird and I are watching the whole lot again for the 4th time Sec, we finished series 2 last night.

 

It has to be Stringer for me. Just.

 

Going to start watching both this and the Sopranos again tonight. Will be the third time for both.

[Paul]

Can't believe so many are voting stringer. Bunch of fucking fannies.

 

Avon all day.

 

Fucking right.

 

For me, Avon remains true - via his own fucked up, twisted street-logic - to the game and those who came up with him, whereas Stringer is ultimately a back-stabbing little bitch. I always respect principles over selfishness or expediency. To be honest, I amazed this is even a debate: I never liked Stringer from the word go and always find it weird that so many others do; he's cold and calculating. Avon, on the other hand, is exactly what he seems - a soldier - and knows it, too.

 

But then again, we all know that Omar would make both of them his bitch; true dat.

Edited January 3, 2012 by Paul

[king7]

A few years since I watched this now, but Avon stuck with me the most. In the beginning he seems like just another gangster, but you soon realise he's got intelligence and depth in his own way. Both great characters though.

[Section_31]

Fucking right.

 

For me, Avon remains true - via his own fucked up, twisted street-logic - to the game and those who came up with him, whereas Stringer is ultimately a back-stabbing little bitch. I always respect principles over selfishness or expediency. To be honest, I amazed this is even a debate: I never liked Stringer from the word go and always find it weird that so many others do; he's cold and calculating. Avon, on the other hand, is exactly what he seems - a soldier - and knows it, too.

 

But then again, we all know that Omar would make both of them his bitch; true dat.

 

I think you do Stringer a massive disservice there Paul.

 

For me, Stringer always wanted to better himself. It wasn't just about being wealthy with Stringer, it was about being in a position to improve his life despite growing up in a rough area, doing so in the only way he could - through utilising his own brain, and his friend's street skills.

 

When Avon and Stringer are talking about their childhoods Avon says Stringer was into his 'black power bullshit'. This makes me think he was a frustrated young lad, an activist who felt frustrated by the system.

 

There's a couple of telling lines when he's dealing with Clay Davis too, one where Davis refers to 'the goose' and Bell says 'what goose?' and Davis says 'the goose that lays them golden eggs.'

 

It'd obvious that Bell has never heard this common story, and that's telling. He's hugely intelligent but with gaps in his knowledge and indeed his childhood.

 

I think Stringer had raw intelligence, he came up hard and was frustrated, at some point he wanted to change the world, but then decided he just had to go with the system and try and use it to improve his own life. He wanted that condo, a shelf full of books etc. Women, parties etc never seemed to interest him - he just wanted to be somebody.

[Carradona]

Big respect to Stringer for making the decision to get rid of D'Angelo. "The game" was still very much in Stringer's mind then!

[Unrighteous]

For me, Stringer had grand designs and dreams. He thought he'd take this drug money, and take over the city, and be a real player.

 

However, his problem was that without any training, education (his classes helped, but you could see that he couldn't understand that real business can't be applied to street trade), and helpful advice, he would never better himself.

 

He kept thinking he was smarter, and better prepared than he was... and he ended up frustrated, ripped off, thwarted, and finally dead.

 

Avon, for me, knew what he was, and his limitations. When the big businessmen wanted to come over and meet Avon and hopefully start shaking him down, as well, he just wasn't interested.

 

He knew he was a drug kingpin, and a soldier. He wasn't going to change, because he didn't know how to do anything else.

 

Stringer, to me, was like a kid who buys a book on Kung-fu, then tries to fight people and gets his ass kicked.

[Paul]

I think you do Stringer a massive disservice there Paul.

 

For me, Stringer always wanted to better himself. It wasn't just about being wealthy with Stringer, it was about being in a position to improve his life despite growing up in a rough area, doing so in the only way he could - through utilising his own brain, and his friend's street skills.

 

When Avon and Stringer are talking about their childhoods Avon says Stringer was into his 'black power bullshit'. This makes me think he was a frustrated young lad, an activist who felt frustrated by the system.

 

There's a couple of telling lines when he's dealing with Clay Davis too, one where Davis refers to 'the goose' and Bell says 'what goose?' and Davis says 'the goose that lays them golden eggs.'

 

It'd obvious that Bell has never heard this common story, and that's telling. He's hugely intelligent but with gaps in his knowledge and indeed his childhood.

 

I think Stringer had raw intelligence, he came up hard and was frustrated, at some point he wanted to change the world, but then decided he just had to go with the system and try and use it to improve his own life. He wanted that condo, a shelf full of books etc. Women, parties etc never seemed to interest him - he just wanted to be somebody.

 

That may all be true, but when push came to shove he shafted his best mate.

 

Anyway, this is all a side issue: Omar, the gay Robin Hood, is by far the most interesting - and masculine, in the best sense of the word - cat in the game.

[Kevin D]

That may all be true, but when push came to shove he shafted his best mate.

 

The one who had him killed over money, Paul?

[Section_31]

Stringer, to me, was like a kid who buys a book on Kung-fu, then tries to fight people and gets his ass kicked.

 

Haha, well put. Isn't that beautiful though? From a character and drama standpoint? A truly tragic character, and apt that Marlo ended up living his dream.

[Unrighteous]

I love to hate Marlo. He's a boss character. He's got everything and he just heads back into the streets, because he loves the game, and loves being a kingpin.

[Frankenhooker]

Didn't want to start a new 'The Wire' thread. Sky Atlantic are showing it from the beginning starting Saturday at 10:15pm.

[Trucker Paddy]

 

The one who had him killed over money, Paul?

 

But he didn't have him killed over money, as Brother mousen(sp) said to him "his rep and honour is what got him so far in the game" that's why Avon knew Stringer had to go, it was nothing to do with money

[TheBitch]

Omar or Marlo? Worth another thread?

 

Also, I don't see it on Sky Atlantic on Saturday at 10:15, I see it at 3:50am

[Frankenhooker]

Sorry, Friday at 10:15pm.

[Trucker Paddy]

Omar or Marlo? Worth another thread?

 

Also, I don't see it on Sky Atlantic on Saturday at 10:15, I see it at 3:50am

 

Omar was the shows best character

[Kevin D]

But he didn't have him killed over money, as Brother mousen(sp) said to him "his rep and honour is what got him so far in the game" that's why Avon knew Stringer had to go, it was nothing to do with money

 

[YOUTUBE]WNEj2cMPTvQ[/YOUTUBE]

[Section_31]

Was never as taken with Omar as most seem to be, he's ace don't get me wrong, but he's not even in my top five Wire characters.

 

I don't see how Marlo could be rated as anything other than despicable, absolutely nothing positive going for him at all.

[Sweeney287]

I agree about Marlo, didn't take to him at all.

 

Wee bey was another favourite of mine.

[Skidfingers McGonical]

I got to go with Avon. Paul sums it up perfectly. However Section's synopsis of Stringer is a bloody argument and made me question my choice, I always like Avon for his core beliefs and never forgetting where he came from. Even if he did go the way Stringer wanted to go, he'd have just done what Marlo did and gone straight back.

 

Avon was all about the community,, and where he gives Dennis that money for the gym, I don't think Stringer would have done that.

 

As admirable as Stringer's ambitions and dreams were, he shit on his best mate because he wouldn't follow him, and he got D bumped off when he shit it because D wanted out and Stringer for me, wanted to be the first.

[brucespanner]

Stringer all day every day.

 

He was prepared to do anything to get his ends, Avon had emotion which let him down. Stringer thought he could outwit anybody and it's his conviction that he's in the right, even when he's so fucking wrong, that makes him able to mix with the lowest of the low and the highest of the high, yeah he fell flat at the first attempt, but he would of been able to play the social Chameleon to get to where he wanted to be eventually. Avon was good when the cards were stacked in his favour, Stringer would buy a new deck before he played.

 

'You know, Avon, you gotta think about what we got in this game for, man. Huh? Was it the rep? Was it so our names could ring out on some fucking ghetto streetcorner, man? Naw, man. There's games beyond the fucking game.'

[Unrighteous]

Yeah but Bruce... Stringer was, essentially, a unmitigated disaster when it came to anything that wasn't related to the game. He thought he could run with the politicians and such... and he was taken like a bitch, time and time again...

 

Buy a new deck? Yeah, but he didn't get the rulebook with it.