MovieChat Forums > The Wire (2002) Discussion > the whole "my name" thing

the whole "my name" thing

posted 10 months ago by daveyh (625)
2 replies | jump to latest

Everyone raves over the contrast of Vondas saying "my name is not my name" at the end of series 2 and Marlo shouting "my name is my name" in the series finale.
I don't know if it was deliberate. Even on second viewing, I only ever interpreted Vondas' comment to show how anonymous, illusive and untouchable this group were - "all they have is my name, but my name is not my name" is followed brilliantly by "and they only know me as The Greek. And I'm not even Greek".
While Stinger Bell's around he's talked, can't remember if it's to Prop Joe or Avon, maybe it's to both, about how the most successful dealers in the city's history are the ones barely anyone's heard of, and says something to the effect that having your name ring out is for teenage corner hustlers who are dead by 25.
The Greek and Vondas are a way of ramming this point home, and maybe Marlo's words in the finale emphasise it too, but, as ingenious as The Wire's writers were, I don't think even they had composed those lines for Vondas in order for it to set up a contradicting line 5 years and 3 series later from a character they'd not even created yet.

[–] Martoto (5036) 8 months ago

There are quite a few other examples of different characters saying the same words, sometimes with the exact same and sometimes with slightly different meanings. There was certainly a policy in the writing of hitting certain things repeatedly.

There's also a scene where Prop Joe talks about someone from before his time that nobody knows the name of. And nobody outside those in the middle of the game knew his name all that much then either. But he was the guy who made all the money from the game, because he didn't try to make his name ring out everywhere.

Marlo's outburst reveals that he never really saw any further than his name being spoken on every corner. The very thing that ensured his downfall.

[–] daveyh (625) 8 months ago

thank you, glad someone else has mentioned the same sayings being spoken by different characters, often in the same episode.
The most talked about one is that Clay Davis and Naymond both say "I'll take any mf'er's money, if he giving it away". This, followed by Naymond's more prosperous circumstances at the end of Season 4, and his ability to debate shown during his cameo in Season 5, has led many to read in to it that Naymond was to become the next Clay Davis.
I personally just viewed it as an example of them showing that the streets and high end politics weren't so different.
There's another episode shortly after this, on election day, when Randy's friends stop helping him with his leafletting gig after they learn that he's already been paid - one of them (think it's Donut) tells him that his employer for the day only has himself to blame for paying him upfront.
That same episode, Carcetti agrees to bribe Clay Davis to not endorse Royce. He does so anyway, to which his advisor, Norman, says that it was foolish to give him the money in advance!

My favourite of the characters saying the same words, though, is when both Stringer Bell AND Bunny Colvin start saying "get on with it mf'er" when they're meeting their demise