Comments on: A Season in the Treme

By: mpw

mpw — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 18:22:30 +0000

Great review. Unsentimental. As someone who has lived here for ten years (and was immediately struck/offended by tourist culture continues to misrepresent what the city is really like [jazz is def not the music of the city now, for example; rap is]) I do gotta say, though I wasn’t here in the 70′s, before Katrina I would always run into second-lines and lil mardi gras indian gatherings on Claiborne. I also live by Vaughan’s bar, and that’s exactly what it’s like… There’s less of these things now since the flood, for sure. I will also say that people who were born here are the only ones you’ll ever hear say “I hate Mardi Gras.” So while I never went out searching for “cultcha,” I do notice that a lot of locals take it for granted, or ignore it. As a result a lot of them don’t really know what’s going on because they don’t care. And I think that’s you, a lil. Again though, good review!

By: jacaranda

jacaranda — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 14:42:06 +0000

This is the genius of David Simon. If you haven’t watched The Wire, please do. Folks from W. Baltimore had similar reactions: “how could anyone from the outside understand all the nuances, the language, the details?” Non-nola-natives (or us reluctant American gypsies) can never sit in your ruby slippers or fully appreciate what you feel re: Nola, but I think Treme (and The Wire) also make the point that we have enough in common to follow your home movies, because, afterall, we all have home movies.

Interestingly, when they tried to air The Wire in other (non-English) countries, the language falls apart. Like with Treme, if you’re not from W. Baltimore, you have to listen harder to get The Wire — but folks all over have gotten it — I think that’s kinda special.

By: Ricki

Ricki — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:02:05 +0000

Everything you said in this post I agree with. At first, Treme was hard to get through, but I was intrigued and kept watching. Having lived in Baltimore, I was partial to everything that was involved with The Wire, but I never expected Simon & Co to capture characters as well as they did the first time around…not to mention the character relationships and development of intertwining storylines.

Toni (Creighton’s wife) put on one of the most amazing performances I’ve seen from an actress in film or tv. If I have taken anything from the Wire, I expect reality, more characters, unmerciful truth, and lumps in the back of my throat each episode…and I can’t wait to see what’s coming next.

By: machine

machine — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:09:55 +0000

Great writeup. Probably one of the most intellectually honest ones about Treme and its viewership that I’ve read.

By: Andy

Andy — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:50:31 +0000

I live in LA and recently became severely addicted to Treme. As an outsider, who knows very little about what makes the city tick, I still became drawn to the show because of its brilliantly written/acted characters, its clear adoration for the city, and for the phenomenal soundtrack that’s constantly playing in the background. The show possesses a conviction lacking in most productions. It has a soul unto itself, and an emotional grounding in reality that makes it feel different than anything else I’ve watched on TV. As a musician, it’s killer as well. The in-jokes and references referring to the city might be lost on me, but they don’t make up enough of the show for it to be a serious issue (the musical humor in here is genius as well). Hopefully when I get enough cash together I can actually go to Louisiana to experience this all first hand, but for now, HBO will have to do.

Sonny always infuriated me too. I hope he’s scrapped for the next season.

By: Therese

Therese — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 02:05:10 +0000

But even by associating Algiers with “metro area towns” is to show your unconscious disdain for it… ;)

I kid, though. I <3 teasing people about their lack of love for Algiers, almost as much as I <3 harassing my sister over her decision to move to Gretna rather than stay in the city.

I’ve tried on several occasions to watch Treme with my husband, a northerner from NYC/NJ. I can’t get through it, both because the story is too painful and familiar to live through and because linguistically the show gets so many things wrong that it leaves me feeling that, for all the good they do, the outsiders are telling/portraying a story that they have no right to, regardless of how well they do it. (But when I really think about it, it’s mostly that I knew a guy just like Davis who was a regular when I waited tables uptown and holy hell but that guy was annoying as sin. I have no desire to have to sit through a portrayal of such a waste of energy during my off time, especially when my everyday work is depressing enough as it is.)

By: Amy

Amy — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 04:22:51 +0000

The feeling that I’m watching home movies is one of the things I really love about this show. I’ve lived in Louisiana the majority of my life, but spent 13 of those years on the Mississippis Gulf Coast. That’s where I was for the storm. She moved me back home to Central La, but my heart has remained south. Just over the past few months I have developed this overwhelming desire to know NOLA again…to be a real part of what makes her breathe and live and survive…because God knows, she’s a survivor…I just had the opportunity last week to watch Treme (thank you friends with HBO on Demand) and the experience has touched me to the core…I agree with Alex about the emotions that the show evokes…that surprised me completely, and I’m still working through some of them…delayed perhaps? supressed quite possibly? That’s real to me…and brilliant…there aren’t many films that touch that very very personal, private chord…Treme has done that…I’m not a native New Orleanian…I just love the city and her energy…I don’t imagine the show will last very long…intrest by “outsiders” will wane…being able to understand, to truly “get it”, will be difficult (decoding the dialogue alone is a daunting task at times, even for someone accustomed to hearing the “language”)…but what a great tribute and if nothing else, a wonderful opportunity to have a part of her honestly portrayed forever…thanks for the insiders insight…I’m so glad the show isn’t an insult…it’s a relief…because I’m smitten. :)

By: Alex

Alex — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 16:45:33 +0000

Well said. I love good, original and apt analogies. I have to admit liking the show from just the trailers and the fact that Simon explained in advance (not that he really needed to do so) that he was, after all, doing a *drama* set in post K Nola and some things would, necessarily or inadvertently, be inaccurate.
It is understandable that folks who point out that the show misses this or that about the city might feel annoyed or left out. It is the strength of the pull of the city on all of her quirky denizens that makes the place so damn interesting for us. As you doubtless know, storytellers need to decide what to tell and show us. I think Simon chose pretty well, if not a little conventionally. The much loathed Davis is actually a great character in that we all know plenty of the type and he allows for a lot of comparatively painless exposition, at least for those not form here. Zahn is doing a great job with him.
I can’t believe how many of Creigh’s lines had been spoken by me to out of town friends and family after the event. Must be something about living on the sliver. I had not even really heard of the Ashley “FYYFF” Morris guy upon who he is partially based until the show. Likewise, I had scant interaction with MG Indians until I accidentally got caught in the middle of the last Super Sunday.
Plenty of queasy feelings from various episodes that brought up emotions I think were suppressed at the time they were being created. Not sure if that is therapy or catharsis, but it is pretty good film making about this city with which I share a passionate and abusive relationship.

By: Pistolette

Pistolette — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 15:17:24 +0000

@Clay: Thanks. This is definitely my personal experience and doesn’t reflect everyone. My husband, who was also born/raised here has similar memories to yours, and pretty much pointed the same thing out to me after he read this. When we met in the late 90s he got me listening to TUL and OZ.

By: Clay

Clay — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 14:45:24 +0000

Love the post. I heartily agree with the vast majority of it.

A few nitpicky points:
* The Jazz funerals have stayed consistently popular for a long time across a wide swath of New Orleanians.
* I grew up listening to WWOZ and WTUL. Those were the prime locations on the dial when I drove back and forth to high school.

Don’t want to let it detract from most of the post.