Should Russian President Putin Have Starred In The TV Series 'The Wire'?

Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast

Terrell Jermaine Starr, Daily Beast: Vladimir Putin Is Russia’s Marlo Stanfield

Want to understand how to handle Putin? Go back and watch The Wire.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has a brother from another mother: Marlo Stanfield, the fictional kingpin from the classic HBO series, The Wire. The gangster DNA both men share are almost identical Both men are brief and to the point. Neither gives a fuck about rules that do not favor their own self-interests, nor do they have a problem tooling up if you threaten undermine their authority. And the sooner American policymakers see the similarities, the better able Washington will be able to handle Putin’s Moscow.

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WNU Editor: One of my all-time favourite TV series is the Wire. That is why when I first saw this headline I was intrigued to read Terrell Jermaine Starr's analysis. Aside from the commentators remarks on "white privilege" in America .... which I do not agree with because most whites definitely do not live a life of privilege in America .... the rest of the article is definitely an interesting read. Can international relations be boiled down to (and compared to) what happens on the streets of Baltimore in a fictional crime drama for TV. Hmmmmm .... a part of me says that it is a stretch .... to begin .... the stakes are exponentially higher .... but aside from that you have to wonder. As to whether Vladimir Putin is Russia’s Marlo Stanfield .... the answer is no .... he is something far more ominous and infinitely larger than that.

Update: Speaking of Hollywood .... this actor (and probable Oscar winner this year) now wants to play Valdimit Putin in any future movie .... Leonardo DiCaprio: 'I would love to play Vladimir Putin' (The Guardian).