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For more information, please contact the WRAP Team at: [email protected] warwick.ac.uk/lib-publications The Representation of Prohibition in Fully-Serialised American Prestige Television by Daniel Callaghan A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Film and Television Studies University of Warwick Department of Film and Television Studies March 2016 1 Contents Illustrations p. 3 Acknowledgements p. 8 Declaration p. 9 Abstract p. 10 Introduction p. 11 Chapter 1: Literature Review p. 28 Chapter 2: The Wire p. 90 Chapter 3: Boardwalk Empire p. 147 Chapter 4: Breaking Bad p. 205 Conclusion p. 271 Bibliography p. 294 Teleography: Case Studies p. 340 Teleography p. 348 Filmography p. 351 2 Illustrations 1. The atmospheric lighting preceding Omar’s meeting with Brother p. 105 Mouzone. 2. The low-angled, Mexican-standoff composition. p. 105 3. Mayor Royce talks about reform, but the font size on his poster p. 105 tells the real story. 4. The calculatedly muted shooting of Dozerman. p. 113 5. The crucifix above Colvin expresses his decency and righteousness. p. 113 6. Colvin and another crucifix. p. 113 7. Colvin meets with the Deacon again. p. 119 8. Boxing gloves replace crucifixes in the mise-en-scene. p. 119 9. The usual composition of Stringer when he meets Avon in prison. p. 119 10. The reverse shot of Stringer and Avon. p. 129 11. Close-up on Avon, with Stringer still in frame. p. 129 12. Close-up on Avon, with Stringer excluded. p. 129 13. Close-up on Stringer, with Avon excluded. p. 130 14. Close-up on Avon, following D’Angelo’s death. p. 130 15. Close-up on Stringer, the architect of D’Angelo’s death. p. 130 16. Stringer extends his fist to Avon. p. 131 17. Avon reciprocates the gesture. p. 131 18. Stringer makes eye contact with Avon. p. 131 19. Stringer’s disembodied fist reaches out to Avon. p. 132 20. Avon avoids making eye-contact with Stringer. p. 132 3 21. Avon reciprocates grudgingly and in disembodied close-up. p. 132 22. Marlo is unhappy that his name has been disrespected. p. 152 23. Marlo is really unhappy that his name has been disrespected. p. 152 24. The sumptuous, colour-coordinated beauty of Boardwalk Empire. p. 152 25. The colour composition of Boardwalk Empire. p. 153 26. The soft naturalistic lighting of Atlantic City. p. 153 27. The use of windows and seaside lighting. p. 153 28. Monochromatic night scene. p. 154 29. Monochromatic night scene with gunfire. p. 154 30. Low-angle composition with visible ceiling. p. 154 31. Low-angle group composition with visible ceiling. p. 155 32. Low-angle two-shot composition with visible ceiling. p. 155 33. Deep focus cinematography in Atlantic City. p. 155 34. Deep focus cinematography in Ireland. p. 156 35. The aftermath of the failed assassination of Gyp Rosetti. p. 156 36. The aftermath of Travis Bickle’s rescue mission in Taxi Driver. p. 156 37. CGI composition of New York. p. 168 38. Baby carriage full of alcohol on the eve of Prohibition. p. 168 39. The shot from The Public Enemy that Scorsese borrows. p. 168 40. The illegal distillery in Boardwalk Empire. p. 169 41. The illegal distillery in The Roaring Twenties. p. 169 42. The spectral, tempting Nucky merges with his dark surroundings. p. 169 43. Margaret sees the true face of the monster she married. p. 212 44. Cleaning up human remains from Jesse’s floorboards. p. 212 45. Walt’s chemical composition flashback. p. 212 46. The uncanny contrast between the figure of Walt and his p. 220 4 surroundings. 47. The first Heisenberg reflection appears at the moment of diagnosis. p. 220 48. Walt helps his disabled son, while his doppelganger appears in the p. 220 mirror. 49. The family considers Walt Jr’s jeans while Heisenberg spots his p. 221 first victims. 50. Walt’s doppelganger can be seen in the windshield of KENWINS’ p. 221 car. 51. Walt in the Heisenberg hat. p. 221 52. Heisenberg in the Heisenberg hat. p. 222 53. Walt attempts to discard his alter-ego. p. 222 54. Walt’s assault on Skyler. p. 222 55. Walt is in the frame while his face is reflected in the towel p. 229 dispenser. 56. Walt destroys his own reflection. p. 229 57. Walt considers his previous work. p. 229 58. At no point do Walt and his reflection appear at the same time – no p. 230 more alter-ego. 59. Los Pollos Hermanos reflection on Walt’s car window. p. 230 60. Walt’s reflection appears in the restaurant window. p. 230 61. Walt’s reflection in the gumball machine. p. 231 62. Walt’s reflection registers Gus’ reflection. p. 231 63. Gus’ reflection acknowledges Walt’s – the doppelgangers meet. p. 231 64. The Salamance brothers crawl to the shrine. p. 236 65. The portrait of Heisenberg in the shrine. p. 236 66. The brothers decide they need a change of clothes for their trip to p. 236 5 America. 67. The Salamancas’ skull-toed boots draw attention. p. 237 68. The explosive consequences of that attention. p. 237 69. A cartel informant’s head on the back of a tortoise packed with p. 237 explosives. 70. The Salamanca brothers on the threshold of the White home. p. 240 71. Walt sings in the shower, unaware of his vulnerability. p. 240 72. The camera follows the axe through the house. p. 240 73. The brothers notice something on the White fridge… p. 241 74. …which turns out to be an ultrasound picture of the unborn baby, p. 241 Holly. 75. The brothers wait patiently for Walt to finish his shower. p. 241 76. The text from Gus makes them abandon their mission. p. 242 77. The long hallway makes the unsuspecting Walt seem more p. 242 vulnerable and alone. 78. Gus picks up the box cutter. Walt is concerned. p. 242 79. The camera focuses on the blade. Walt remains concerned. p. 243 80. Gus stands over Walt with the box cutter. Walt is very concerned. p. 243 81. Gus unexpectedly cuts Victor’s throat. p. 243 82. Gus stares down Walt and Jesse while Victor bleeds out. p. 252 83. Bird’s eye view shot of Walt, unable to perceive where Gus is p. 252 observing him from. 84. The cartel sniper begins his assault on Gus’ henchmen. p. 252 85. Jesse’s reaction to the gunfire (or lack of it). p. 253 86. The dead henchman from Jesse’s point of view. p. 253 87. The cartel sniper from Jesse’s point of view. p. 253 6 88. Gus walks into oncoming sniper fire. p. 254 89. Bullets hit the ground in front of Gus. He keeps walking. p. 254 90. Gus challenges the cartel sniper to kill him. p. 254 91. The cartel sniper’s point of view through the telescopic sight. p. 258 92. Walt’s point of view as Gus looks out at the rooftops, trying to find p. 258 him. 93. Tio Salamanca’s suicide bomb goes off. p. 258 94. Gus steps out from the blast zone, apparently unharmed. p. 259 95. The nurses’ reactions suggest Gus might not be unharmed. p. 259 96. Gus is definitely not unharmed. p. 259 7 Acknowledgements First and foremost I would like to profoundly thank to my supervisor, Charlotte Brunsdon, for her wisdom, humour, intelligence and dedication. Throughout the course of this research I would often arrive at supervision sessions feeling anxious and depressed about the quality of my work, only to leave feeling energised and confident thanks to Charlotte’s enthusiasm and encouragement. I could not have asked for a better ally. I would also like to thank the entire Department of Film and Television at the University of Warwick, both for their support during this thesis and my undergraduate degree. I’m very grateful to have started and finished my tertiary education with such supportive and talented faculty and staff. A huge and ongoing thank you to Mum and Dad for your unwavering love, support and encouragement. I’m very proud and lucky to be your son. Thanks to Ross for all the proofreading, longwinded discussions, crackpot theories and brotherly love. Thanks to all my other friends and family for your enthusiastic support and polite interest. Finally, I would like to thank Vic for the love and joy she brings into my life. You are the one person that I could not have done this without. You are the one person I cannot do without. You are the music in me. 8 Declaration I hereby declare that the following thesis is solely my own work, and that this thesis has not been submitted for a degree, either in the same or different form, to this or any other University. 9 Abstract This thesis brings together three recent examples of fully-serialised American prestige television drama for sustained close textual analysis, focused on the way that the subject of prohibition is represented in each series. The Wire, Boardwalk Empire and Breaking Bad all involve prolonged engagement with prohibited markets as a major component of their storylines, but the importance of this subject has been under-appreciated or ignored within television criticism.