David Simon – photo ©Paul Schiraldi; Clark Peters – Pinterest
“Life is glorious and vibrant and joyous at points, but it is essentially tragic. That’s not a unique David Simon perspective.” So sayeth David Simon, (pictured left; right is a Mardi Gras Indian portrayed by Clarke Peters), executive producer with Eric Overmyer of Treme, in a long interview on Salon conducted by Matt Zolar Seitz.  The HBO series about New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which ended its second season last Sunday night, is unique as a musical drama for its grounding of psychologically acute and entertaining characterizations in a verifiably real social context — an accomplishment attributable to Simon’s hard-boiled yet compassionate philosophy and journalistically-influenced creative practices. It’s all laid out in the interview, which also makes a strong case for the centrality of cities to the future of America.