Professional Documents
Culture Documents
toward
the
given
content.
With
its
narrative
and
formal
strategies,
The
Wire,
in
spite
of
all
conventions
of
the
medium
(production
of
realism),
which
will
be
discussed,
is
somewhat
exceptional,
precisely
because
of
its
re-reading
of
the
media
content
which
nowadays
operates
within
a
similar
manner
as
aesthetics
of
realism
previously
employed
in
Homicide,
an
imaginary
television
format.
The
idea
I
am
suggesting
relates
to
the
fact
that
nowadays
it
is
rather
impossible
to
create
media
and
narrative
content
that
performs
outside
of
a
dominant
system
of
representation,
driven
by
bourgeois
and
capitalist
logic.
Moreover,
a
mash-up
of
means
of
expression
creates
hybrid
formats
and
therefore
prevents
any
type
of
specific
categorization
of
contemporary
genres.
What
happens
is
that
contemporary
journalism
seems
to
coincide
with
sheer
fiction 2
while
imaginary
formats
like
The
Wire
seem
to
coincide
with
high-quality
journalism.
Common
Motifs
and
Merging
of
Narrative
worlds,
Imaginary
of
Baltimore
-
Homicide:
Life
on
the
Street
and
The
Wire
Homicide
is
the
starting
point
for
the
creation
of
The
Wire
in
many
ways.
Firstly,
both
of
the
series
in
question
share
the
field
of
interest
that
refers
to
the
depiction
of
lives
of
detectives
and
daily
challenges
they
encounter.
Baltimore,
a
worldwide
known
city
for
its
high-level
crime
rate,
represents
the
imaginary
conceived
in
Homicide
and
afterwards
extended
and
developed
in
The
Wire.
The
most
interesting
aspect
of
this
intersection
between
the
series
is
the
common
casting
choices
of
both
the
detectives
and
many
supporting
roles.
This
serves
to
suggest
the
intertwining
of
the
two
worlds.
In
that
parallel
and
imagined
universe
of
Baltimore,
characters
could
be
recognized
as
denizens
of
the
city
of
Baltimore,
where
the
time
span
of
a
few
years
between
the
two
productions
facilitates
the
impression
that
many
characters
actually
continued
their
lives
in
the
meanwhile.
For
instance,
detective
Laura
Ballard
(Homicide)
became
the
wife
of
Jimmy
McNulty
while
we
could
believe
that
detective
Meldrick
Lewis
changed
his
career
path
and
turned
out
to
be
a
city
desk
editor
of
The
Baltimore
Sun.
This
speculation,
of
course,
is
not
grounded
in
fact,
but
I
am
stressing
that
this
strategy
might
be
effective
among
spectators
who
watched
both
of
the
shows,
and
therefore
it
supports
the
impression
of
continuity,
which
goes
hand
in
hand
with
television
realism.
Furthermore,
both
of
the
programs
share
many
elements
and
motifs
such
as:
the
interrogation
room,
the
bar
where
detectives
spend
time
after
work,
treatment
of
dead
2
Stefan
Jonsson,
Facts
of
Aesthetics
and
Fictions
of
Journalism,
The
Logic
of
the
Media
in
the
Age
of
Globalization
bodies,
and
even
the
motif
of
the
board
used
for
highlighting
cases
as
black
or
red.
Precisely
these
common
motifs
are
useful
as
starting
points
in
order
to
compare
their
usage
and
understand
how
The
Wire
has
improved
their
representation.
For
instance,
the
board
in
Homicide
is
an
over-exploited
motif,
used
to
emphasize
an
investigation
outcome
and
as
a
sort
of
suspense
engine
-
every
episode
introduces
red
names
in
the
beginning
and
therefore
triggers
spectators
attention
towards
the
process
of
the
investigation.
On
the
other
hand,
The
Wire
hired
the
board
motif
only
in
the
second
season,
in
the
case
of
murders
of
East-European
prostitutes.
Its
initial
usage
was
rather
similar
to
Homicides,
to
convey
how
difficult
an
assignment
it
is
to
resolve
numerous
murders
of
Jane
Does.
Yet
the
Wire
employs
the
board
as
an
element
of
a
more
sophisticated
plot
device
a
kind
of
MacGuffin
depicting
systematic
analysis
of
corrupted
trade
in
the
Baltimore
Harbor,
while
the
case
of
deceased
prostitutes
was
not
actually
in
focus. In
addition, the treatment of language in Homicide is more common and formal, while The Wire
pays more attention to detail by employing convincing slang, yet it is important to note that
the use of language in The Wire is not in service only of the street realm, but all the
characters speak in a natural manner. That is to say, that all of the characters within the series
use language in accordance with their professional and social habitat. Exactly in The Wires
paying attention to detail3, with regards to its naturalistic representation of reality, is where
the fundamental difference between the two programs dwells. It could be said that Homicide
was made with an urge to create a new television expression, to find a new and appealing form
for a cop show, nowadays embraced by news channels. On the contrary, The Wire fought a
different kind of a battle, creating discourse through the use of film language, which ultimately
opposes the dominant representation of reality mediated through mass media.
constitutes
what
the
documentary
drama
wishes
to
be
about,
the
document
which
is
to
be
dramatized4.
Indeed,
in
Homicide,
Baltimores
real
criminal
context
is
exploited
in
order
to
generate
the
uncanny
atmosphere
of
the
show.
Basically,
the
city
serves
as
a
background
-
a
city
driven
by
social
struggle
and
crime,
employed
as
an
engine
of
the
series.
Homicide
interprets
the
status
quo
of
society
through
its
superficial
representation
of
social
and
professional
relationships.
That
is
to
say,
Baltimore
is
a
toponym
in
service
of
the
dark
tone
of
the
series.
Despite
of
its
documentary-like
aesthetics,
situations
and
dialogues
are
highly
staged
and
all
of
them
subordinated
to
the
impression
of
immediacy.
In
fact,
the
narrative
strategy
of
the
show
is
somewhat
naive
in
regard
to
its
insisting
on
no
script
impression
and
nowness,
which
alternates
between
dialogues
related
to
an
ongoing
case
that
needs
to
be
resolved
and
spontaneous
unrelated
conversation.
For
example,
a
scene
begins
with
spontaneous
dialogues
about
newspaper
articles
and
then
it
clumsily
gets
interrupted
by
the
narrative
line
of
the
ongoing
investigation.
On
the
other
hand,
The
Wire
establishes
a
more
complex
and
a
more
sophisticated
narrative
strategy,
essentially
reflected
in
its
dilatation
of
narrative
time
and
space
-
the
narrative
content
that
usually
fits
one
episode,
in
The
Wire
corresponds
to
the
whole
season.
What
is
more,
its
narrative
space
extends
to
a
variety
of
new
realms,
including
the
street
and
crime,
which
in
Homicide
serves
only
as
a
background,
as
a
social
context
that
serves
to
provide
cases
for
detectives.
Besides,
Homicide
functions
on
a
traditional
case
per
episode
mechanism
where
the
established
format
of
45-minute
episodes
becomes
the
self-limiting
factor
of
the
series.
In
that
self-limitation
the
context
of
production
has
a
prevailing
role.
Having
been
produced
by
NBC
a
television
network
financially
dependent
on
its
commercial
advertisements
-
Homicide,
despite
its
potential,
was
reduced
to
the
mere
fulfillment
of
purpose,
to
fit
predetermined
program
categories
and
televisual
continuity.
In
that
sense,
the
production
framework
of
Homicide
resembles
news
production
formats,
which
are
subordinated
to
applicability
and
usefulness,
therefore
impairing
the
non-identical.
On
the
other
hand,
HBO
the
cable
network
that
produced
The
Wire
despite
functioning
on
the
same
capitalist
principles,
has
rather
different
business
politics.5
Most
of
their
income
is
provided
through
subscribers
fees
and
precisely
because
of
its
independent
stance
the
network
is
able
to
produce
advanced
quality
programs.
Indeed,
quality
does
not
stand
for
plausibility
and
radicalism
in
relation
to
dominant
ideology,
but
rather
implies
4
John
Fiske,
Television
culture,
p28
5
In
my
humble
opinion,
the
contradiction
of
capitalism
resides
in
its
ability
to
produce
quality,
although,
that
quality
is
always
a
result
of
the
market
share
race
and
profit.
a
detailed
business
strategy
and
a
variety
of
products.
This
allowed
the
creation
of
The
Wire,
the
social
realist
drama
that
fits
into
the
description
of
what
John
Fisk
calls
progressive
social
realism6.
The
fundamental
feature
of
progressive
realism
relates
to
its
avoiding
of
viewers
direct
identification
with
the
given
content
by
employing
distancing
techniques
and
ensuring
him/her
a
more
or
less
objectifying
position.
The
most
effective
among
these
techniques
concerns
The
Wires
cleverness
of
how
attachment
and
divorce
towards
characters
is
conducted.
As
professor
Marsha
Kinder
notes,
the
protagonist
of
the
series
is
the
city
of
Baltimore
and
its
institutions
subjected
to
systematic
analysis
of
corruption7.
The
Wires
analytic
intention
going
hand
in
hand
with
critical
distance8
-
is
somewhat
contradictory
to
the
concept
of
character
identification.
Indeed,
we
deeply
sympathize
with
the
protagonists,
whereas
the
narrative
is
conducted
in
such
a
manner
that
the
established
emotional
relationship
between
spectator
and
character
breaks
on
time,
therefore
the
series
successfully
avoids
falling
into
the
realm
of
soap
opera.
In
addition,
representation
of
the
personal
lives
of
detectives
largely
concerns
their
identity
as
police
professionals
their
moral
dilemmas
are
in
concordance
with
the
ethical
aspect
of
the
series.
For
instance,
nocturnal
conversations
of
McNulty
and
Bunk
are
most
often
prolongations
of
daily
events,
meaning
that
the
series
always
remains
in
the
domain
of
its
specifically
defined
interest.
On
the
other
hand,
Homicide
immensely
relies
on
character
identification
and
their
personal
affairs,
their
charisma
is
highly
emphasized
although
their
motivations
are
not
profoundly
elaborated.
Accordingly,
their
dialogues
and
hence
their
personalities
are
only
in
service
of
the
documentary
look
realism.
However,
expressive
means
that
The
Wire
hires
are
film
language-like.
Shot/reverse
shot
mechanism,
linear
editing,
eye-line
and
action
match
are
the
elements
that
The
Wire
has
in
common
with,
so
called,
narrative
realist
film9.
This
approach
to
realism
John
Fiske
describes
as
dramatic
look
realism,
whose
confirmation
of
dominating
ideology
resides
in
its
formal
strategies
and
representing
life
as
natural,
continuous
and
making
the
director
as
invisible
as
possible10.
The
show
definitely
constructs
the
feeling
of
a
natural
flow,
especially
with
the
aid
of
its
time-stretching
technique
which
brings
it
closer
to
our
general
sense
of
time,
and
therefore
gives
the
impression
of
simultaneity
of
real
and
narrative
time.
Formal
elements
of
The
Wire
correspond
to
the
production
of
realism,
but
its
analytic
discourse
focused
on
representation
of
6
John
Fiske,
Television
Culture,
p29
7
Marsha
Kinder,
Re-Wiring
Baltimore:
The
Emotive
Power
of
Systemics,
Seriality
and
the
City
8
Marsha
Kinder,
Re-Wiring
Baltimore:
The
Emotive
Power
of
Systemics,
Seriality
and
the
City
9
John
Fiske,
Television
Culture,
p27
10
John
Fiske,
Television
Culture,
p25
processes
and
procedures,
i.e.
the
content,
is
what
makes
this
program
remarkable.
Besides
of
the
abovementioned
strategy
of
protagonist
detachment,
use
of
the
majority
of
supporting
roles
as
impersonal
(but
corrupted)
public
figures
is
also
a
significant
technique.
The
didactic
aspect
of
the
show
resides
in
its
uncovering
of
principles
based
on
which
our
society
operates,
if
not
with
complete
plausibility,
then
with
far
more
credibility
that
contemporary
journalism
does.
Its
analytic
approach
to
corruption,
work
processes,
power
relations
(reflected
in
the
manner
of
how
social
agreements
are
made),
is
depicted
through
distancing
dialogues
that
are
used
to
transmit
knowledge.
The
dialogues
in
question
are
of
know-how
type
of
conversations,
liberated
of
emotional
commitment.
They
force
us
to
participate
due
to
the
mere
fact
that
many
of
the
procedures
which
The
Wire
depicts
are
not
known
to
an
average
viewer,
and
they
demand
our
attention
in
order
to
grasp
its
mechanisms.
Finally,
the
capitalist
ideology
is
metaphorically
presented
through
the
concept
of
the
game,
a
kind
of
game
that
you
cannot
win,
but
which
imprisons
persons
forever.
It
is
a
kind
of
never-ending
circle,
which
denies
individual
freedom,
it
announces
an
individual
forced
to
compromise
morally
11
by
rendering
it
as
a
necessary
personal
feature
for
surviving
within
the
contemporary
society.
This
game
concept,
together
with
the
chain
of
command
principle,
is
the
most
important
issue
raised
by
The
Wire.
Whereas
at
the
same
time
it
represents
its
weakness,
because
the
game
taken
as
universal
concept
serves
as
a
narrative
and
formal
engine
that
employs
parallel
editing
in
order
to
claim
that
the
same
type
of
game
is
embodied
within
every
realm
presented.
It
is
important
to
take
into
consideration
both
of
the
series
that
have
preceded
The
Wire
in
which
David
Simon
took
great
part.
Homicide
and
its
portrayal
of
the
police
world
of
Baltimore
had
been
socially
extended
by
hiring
the
new
narrative
world
of
The
Corner,
a
mini-series
focused
on
street
life
and
individual
experiences
of
drug
addicts,
drug
dealers
and
other
marginalized
(mostly
African-American)
citizens
of
Baltimore.
The
Corner
is
a
melancholic
representation
of
the
post
black
pride
movement
generation
drifting
through
the
streets
-
some
of
them
hustling
around,
while
others
are
victimized
for
their
brothers
hustle.
Not
only
does
this
kind
of
social
critique
emerge
in
The
Wire,
but
it
also
announces
a
new
generation
of
African-Americans
and
the
contemporary
issue
of
how
the
rap
music
has
become
the
trap
music.
This
extended
critique
is
achieved
through
the
chain
of
command
principle,
but
the
chain
of
command
of
the
other
half
of
11
John
Kraniauskas,
Elasticity
of
Demand,
Reflections
on
The
Wire
the
city
where
human
lives
dont
count,
where
women
are
mistreated
and
where
even
the
traditional
concept
of
gangster
brotherhood
doesnt
exist
anymore.
This
phenomenon
can
be
seen
in
the
relationship
between
Stringer
Bell
and
Avon
Barksdale,
where
Avon
presents
a
criminal
still
loyal
to
family
values,
while
Stringer
is
an
ambitious,
self-complacent
individual.
On
the
other
hand,
social
extension
is
achieved
also
through
an
analytic
approach
of
the
dominant
public
sphere,
where
social
relations
driven
by
money
and
interest
prevail.
This
demystification
of
the
concept
of
the
American
dream
allows
the
spectator
to
take
a
critical
stance
toward
not
only
US
but
toward
every
nation
state.
However,
establishment
of
such
analogy
and
the
mirroring
effect
established
between
these
two
worlds
is
somewhat
problematic.
It
encourages
looping
narrative
techniques,
hence,
treatment
of
every
new
institution
introduced
seems
to
work
within
the
same
narrative
engine
established
in
the
first
season
of
the
series.
Through
this
looping
effect,
highly
dependent
on
parallel
editing,
reality
is
not
only
produced,
but
it
is
given
sense
to.
The
Question
of
Meta-Discourse
or
Why
The
Wire
Could
Not
Be
Subscribed
to
the
Notion
of
the
Radical
MacCabes
theory
stresses
the
power
of
realism,
even
when
dealing
with
radical
content,
to
leave
viewers
always
in
a
reactionary
frame
of
mind
because
its
form
enables
them
to
use
the
dominant
ideology
to
make
dominant
sense
of
a
radical
movement
and
thus
to
defuse
its
radicalism.
12
The
production
of
reality
concerns
the
form
of
realism
and
by
way
of
positioning
the
spectator
within
the
text.
Despite
already
discussed
distancing
techniques
that
The
Wire
hires,
its
form,
although
progressive,
still
corresponds
to
established
formal
means
of
realism,
whose
activation
occurs
with
the
assistance
of
spectators
participation.
This
unspoken
discourse
relying
on
viewers
cognitive
processes
is
what
MacCabe
calls
the
meta-discourse,
the
discourse
which
confirms
a
dominating
sense
of
reality
by
employing
laws
of
cause
and
effect
where
every
element
is
there
for
the
purpose
of
helping
make
sense13.
Although
advanced,
narrative
methods
of
The
Wire
are
precisely
used
for
this
sense-making,
its
final
episode
fulfills
spectators
desire
for
an
explanation
of
every
issue
raised
by
putting
to
an
end
all
the
narrative
lines.
Yet,
the
progressive
aspect
of
the
show
refers
to
the
non-existence
of
a
happy-ending,
because
in
the
end
all
the
efforts
to
thwart
the
system
prove
to
be
useless.
We
learn
that
not
only
is
the
administration
machinery
12
John
Fiske,
Television
Culture,
p34
13
John
Fiske,
Television
Culture,
p24
reigned
by
corruption,
but,
that
every
individual,
willing
to
struggle
against
it,
eventually
is
swallowed
by
that
same
machinery.
However,
the
failure
of
their
endeavor
is
not
the focus, but
rather
the
process
of
characters
moral
decay
or
self-restraint,
which
further
stimulates
development
of
action.
The
final
episode
depicts
tragic
epilogue,
in
which
those
in
power
increase
their
power,
while
McNulty
and
Freamon
are
forced
to
resign,
stands
in
sharp
contrast
to
the
first
seasons
optimistic
tone
where
common
struggle
for
a
higher
cause,
i.e.
decent
police
work,
was
the
key
motif.
Trajectory
of
their
resignation
correlates
with
the
narratives
systematic
development
path
from
point
A
to
point
B,
where
at
point
A
we
are
presented
with
a
group
of
individuals
willing
to
fight
the
corrupted
system,
and
at
point
B
we
are
confronted
with
these
individuals
losing
their
sense
of
togetherness,
and
finally
being
defeated
by
the
system.
This
rather
clear
and
logical
idea
is
what
stimulates
the
whole
imaginary
of
The
Wire,
which
wouldnt
be
that
problematic
if
the
series
closure
didnt
pretend
to
resolve,
underscore
and
finally
seal
all
the
fates
presented.
Intention
of
closing
the
circle
is
what,
I
believe,
corresponds
to
the
cause
and
effect
principle,
and
our
general
insistence
on
exact
determination
of
beginning
and
end
of
all
life
processes.
That
is
why
the
series,
despite
its
progressiveness,
cannot
be
subscribed
to
the
notion
of
the
radical,
since
the
radical
stands
for
a
kind
of
an
approach
that
is
able
to
call
into
question
the
status
quo;
to
motivate
an
individual
not
only
to
contemplate
on
social
issues,
but
to
encourage
him/her
to
act.
In
addition,
the
pessimistic
closure
of
The
Wire,
despite
successfully
acknowledging
the
disease
of
late-capitalism,
in
fact,
naturalizes
the
status
quo14
by
suggesting
that
nothing
can
be
done
about
it,
that
by
not
accommodating
to
established
social
norms
the
individual
is
condemned
to
social
and
thus
symbolic
death.
Meta-discourse,
defined
by
MacCabe,
represents
an
invisible
scope
within
which
ideology
operates,
and
which
always
presupposes
the
average
spectator
towards
whom
the
program
is
directed.
The
Wires
average
viewer
is
a
rather
sophisticated
one,
but
still
a
middle
class
individual
who
has
probably
already
had
a
critical
stance
towards
society
and
who
is
probably
frustrated
in
the
same
way
that
detective
McNulty
is.
Thus,
The
Wires
discourse
asserts
the
spectators
state
of
mind
and
encourages
him/her
to
accept
reality.
On
the
other
hand,
the
notion
of
subjective
experience
cannot
be
generalized,
therefore
I
wouldnt
stress
that
this
discernment
of
reality
confirmation
stands,
because
as
Fiske
notes,
television
text
is
relatively
open
and
its
meanings
are
rather
determined
socially
than
textually15.
14
John
Fiske,
Television
Culture,
p33
15
John
Fiske,
Television
Culture,
p39
*
The
idea
behind
this
text
is
to
compare
the
two
ways
of
constructing
TV
realism,
starting
from
the
concept
of
what
reality
actually
is.
Judging
by
John
Fiske
and
John
Hartley
reality
is
inaccessible
because
it
is
always
mediated
through
language
which
creates
the
social
convention
of
reality.
If
we
regard
the
TV
medium
as
a
reflection
of
mediated
reality,
we
understand
that
what
is
depicted
on
TV
is
always
a
construct,
yet
true
because
it
complies
with
the
social
convention
of
reality.
I
believe
that
these
days
it
is
important
to
view
the
TV
medium
as
a
whole,
as
a
reflexion
of
society
regardless
of
its
different
formats
simply
because
the
development
of
media
space,
content
and
form
creates
hybrid
formats
which
we
cannot
with
any
certainty
fit
within
traditional
program
categories.
Even
though
it
is
impossible
to
present
the
real
picture
through
the
TV
medium
and
motivate
people
to
change
it,
we
can
present
the
reality
of
social
convention.
In
other
words,
there
are
programs
whose
objective
it
is
to
show
how
things
really
work,
while
others
aim
to
skew
or
simplify
reality
through
interpretation.
I
am
talking
about
programs
with
pretension
of
truthfulness
about
them
achieved
by
their
formal
expression
such
as
realistic
TV
series
which
present
real
life,
and
which
is
at
the
same
time
the
goal
of
news
programs.
I
believe
that
John
Fiskes
comment
about
TV
text
being
an
open
text
is
crucial
because
today
the
reception
of
content
to
a
great
degree
depends
on
the
subject
(viewer).
I
believe
it
is
the
subjects
task
to
perceive
mediated
reality
integrally,
yet
selectively,
in
order
to
construct
a
whole
picture
of
a
kind.
Therefore,
it
is
not
important
whether
the
program
is
a
feature
or
a
documentary,
but
whether
it
contains
an
idea
that
relates
to
objective
reality
and
communicates
at
the
level
above
the
form
through
which
the
idea
is
presented.
Bibliography