Monday

for hours in darkness

just watched the latest episode of The Wire and saw that Gus Haynes, the fictive city editor of the Baltimore Sun, had this headline taped to his computer:

Many Are Trapped for Hours In Darkness and Confusion
it's from the New York Times, looks like, after the first World Trade Center bombing.

so: is it a shout-out? or is it a snarky commentary, a sidelong glance at the Gray Lady, a grammatolatric in-joke? or is it beyond that, even – and are they being profound?
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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think it might be that he thinks it represents ambiguity - who, how what answered in the most vague ways. He's obsessed with clarity, honesty and exactitude. Many? How many? Hours? Too vague. Darkness and confusion hardly enlighten us...

Anonymous said...

I reckon it's merely a homage. I reckon he loves it. Or perhaps he thinks it applies to his fellow man.

Go Gus. Down with Scott.

Ross Boss said...

I think it is a both a homage to the headline and a statement on writers block. As it often happens in journalism, a writer will get back to their desk and be stuck, trapped, staring at a blank screen, struggling to find a lead. Thats how I saw it anyway.

Anonymous said...

Since it's taped on the guy's monitor, it's probably an inspirational message he keeps there to motivate himself to write illuminating stories

Also, since it initializes the scene, it's probably a commentary on or summary of the prior scene, though I don't remember what was happening beforehand