Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Denis Cisár The Narrative Structure, Corruption and Social Class in the First Series of 'The Wire' Master ’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: Stephen Paul Hardy, Ph.D. 2015 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author’s signature I would like to thank my supervisor, Stephen Paul Hardy, Ph.D., for his guidance, valuable advice and especially his patience with me. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.Introduction..........................................................................................................5 2.Narrative Structureof The Wire .........................................................................13 2.1.Scene,BasicUnitofAnalysis ...................................................................14 2.2.SerialContinualityandCharacterDevelopment ......................................29 2.3.TheCityofBaltimore ...............................................................................32 2.3.NarrativeStyle ..........................................................................................43 3.TheCorruptionandHierarchyin The Wire .......................................................50 4.Conclusion.........................................................................................................65 5.WorksCited .......................................................................................................67 6.EnglishRésumé .................................................................................................71 7.CzechRésumé ....................................................................................................72 1. Introduction Itismorethantenyears since theHBO presenteditscriticallyacclaimed televisionshow The Wire .At presenttheshowhasareputationamongstthefictional televisionnarratives,it isrankedas thefirst inthe userrankingsinthe listoftelevision seriesontheIMDb.com,theinternationalmoviedatabase.Becauseofits complex narrative structure andincapabilitytoaccept the stereotypicalformsofstorytelling,the showgraduallygainsthe popularityamongthegeneralviewers,whichitdeserves.The seriesmayatfirstglanceseemtobeatypical policedramashow,yetthe producerof theshowDavidSimoncreatedawebofBaltimorecharacters,settingsandinstitutions, whichdifferimmenselyfromthose presentedinconventional televisiondrama. Themainaimofthisthesisis todiscusstheissueofcorruptioninthecontextof HBO'stelevisiondrama series The Wire anditscomplexnarrative structure.This thesis willanalyse thefirstseriesoftheshow,whichdepicts thewar betweenthedrug businessandlawenforcement,situatedmainlyin(West)Baltimore.Theshowdepicts theflawedsysteminwhichinstitutionsdemonstrateabsolute poweroverthe individuals,whoareunablenomatterhowhardtheytry,toaffectorchangethesystem. SimoninhisinterviewforRafaelAlvarez's The Wire: Truth be Told explainsthat: The Wire depicts aworldinwhichcapitalhas triumphed completely,labourhas beenmarginalizedandmoniedinterests have pruchasedenoughpoliticalinfrastructureto prevent reform. Itis aworldinwhichtherulesandvaluesofthefreemarketand maximizedprofithave beenmistakenforasocialframework,a worldwhereinstitutions themselvesare paramountandeveryday humanbeingsmatterless.(Alvarez 30) 5 Theshowitselfiscyclicalinnatureandcomparedtoconventional television showsdoesnotofferaclosure,notinparticular episodesor asawhole.Theshowends withmanyarrests,yet thesituationonthestreets doesnotchangeandneitherdoesthe corrupt systemoflawenforcementthatis presentedintheshow.Thearrestsdonot changethe situationofthedrugbusinessingeneral,because asonedrugdealeris arrested,another takeshis place immediately,inacapitalist traditiontofillthevoidon themarketandproduce capital.Whattheshowdoes,is presentationofflawsofthe capitalistsociety,reflectedintheorganizationsandinstitutionsoflawenforcementand drugtradeinametropolitancity,suchasBaltimore. The Wire doesnot produceasolutionorthe type ofchangethesystemneeds, whatitdoes isthatitcriticallypresentsthese issuesandemphasizes theneedforthe changeinthesystemeventhoughitdoesnot producea proposalonhowtochangeit. Theshowisfar beyondtheconventionalshowsinwhichaheroappearsfromoutof nowhereandrises abovethecorruptedforcesoftheworldhelives in.Itisquite the opposite as HelenaSheehanandShaemusSweeneywrite intheirstudy The Wire and the World: narrative and metanarrative : The Wire is notadramaaboutindividualsrisingaboveinstitutionstotriumph andachieve redemptionandcatharsis.Itisadrama wherethoseinstitutionsthwart the ambitionsandaspirationsofthosetheypurportedlyexisttoserve.Itis a dramawhere individuals withhubris enoughtochallengethisdynamicareinvariablymocked, marginalisedorcrushed byforcesindifferenttotheirefforts ortotheirfates.Itis a dramawheretruthandjusticeareoftendefeatedasdeceitandinjustice arerewarded. (Sheehan4) Oneofthemainargumentsthatthisthesis presentsis that theshow makesuseof theserialformat,whichwill bediscussedinthesecondchapter,inorder topresent 6 complexandrealisticdevelopmentsofcharacters,without producingaclosureto particularepisodesor theseriesasa whole,asis typicalforconventional contemporary televisionshows.Thethesisalsoarguesthatone ofthemost distinctive waystheflaws andcorruptionofthesystemaredepictedintheshow,isintheestablishmentof parallels betweendifferentsettings andcharactersoftheshow.These parallelswhich arereflectedthrough,sceneswhichserveas a basicunitofanalysisfor thisthesis,are oneofthemostoutspokencharacteristicsofthe show,whichcreatesademandonthe viewertobefar moreengagedwiththeshowanditscomplexdevelopment,thanitis withanyconventionaltelevisionseries. These parallelscenesarecharacteristicinconnectiontodifferentcharacters,that maynotevenknoweachother,as theymayhavenevermet.Theshow putsthese charactersintocontrast,bypresentingtheminscenesthatreflect eachotherinitsmotifs suchas; raisingquestionsofsocialdistance,race,corruption,flawedsystemandits hierarchyandother.Thankstothese reflectivescenestheshow producersareableto connectcharacters,whichareisolatedfromeachother bythe barriers andboundaries of thecity. Inorder toproperlydiscussandanalysethese circumstancesitis essentialfor thisthesisto buildaframeworkfor furtheranalysis.Todothis,the thesiswilldiscuss thenarrativestructureof theshowthroughgradualanalysisof itsmostdistinctive and originaltoolsofnarration.Thethesiswillgiveenoughspacetodiscuss thenarrative structureoftheshowanditsfeatures inthesecondchapter. Itis thenarrative structurethatmakestheshowcomplex,asopposedto conventionalcontemporarytelevisionshows.The basicunit ofanalysisoftheshowwill bethescene.Oneofthedistinctivetelevisionfeaturesofthe showis presentationof 7 messagesandideas inparallelscenes,amodelof narrative strategy,thathas been mentionedearlier. Amongotherimportant aimsofthisthesis,isalsotoemphasizethe importance ofthecity,asanelementthatarches overthewholestoryandisaconnectinglink betweenthe characterswhichwouldotherwise,duetosocial borders be isolatedfrom eachother.Thecharactersmayatfirstglancehavenothingincommonbuttheyare oftenlinkedthroughsimilarconditions,motifs,settingandstoriesgeneratedbythe producersoftheshow,whicharealwaysconnectedthroughthecityscape.Thecity's differentdistrictsandparts,are presentedintheshowagainst eachother,withtheir distinctiveaspects,contrastingeachotherandcreatingparallels,yettogethertheycreate acompactframe forthewholeshow. Thereferencesandlinks betweendifferent charactersmaybe presentedinthe showinaverysubtleway,whichcreatesademandontheviewertopayattentionto detailandbecomeverymuchengagedwiththe show.Theshow'snarrativecomplexity makesitveryhardfora causalviewertoenjoyit. Amongotherfeaturesofnarrative strategydiscussedinthiswork,istheepisodic continualityoftheshow,whichadds tothecomplexityofcharacters presentedbythe show.Thankstothe continualformatoftheshow,the producersareabletocreate complexcharacters,whichmaybeat the beginningpresentedinacertainway,while throughout theseries,developandsurprisetheviewer byhowdifferenttheyappear in theend.Onesuchcharacter isLester Freamon,whojoinsthe detailledbyLieutenant Danielsandplaysnoimportantrole inthe beginningoftheseries.It comesasasurprise thatFreamonisactuallya“natural police”asBunkreferstohimandbecomesan indispensablememberoftheunit.Thiskindofcomplexcharacterdevelopment resemblesthekindofdevelopmentcharactersgothroughinnovelsandthereforethe 8 showis bymanyreferredtoasavisualnovel,rather thana televisiondramashow.This continualityenables the producers todepict thecharacters andeventsagainsteachother, creatingthe parallels,thatthis thesis considerstobethecornerstoneforthesocial critiqueofthecapitalist institutionsthatcaremuchmoreabouttheirownprofitthanthe “warondrugs”whichisintheshow presentedaswaronthe underclass.AsDaniels correctlystatesintheninthepisode: ”youstarttofollowthe money...andyoudon't knowwherethefuckit'sgoingtotakeyou.(“Game Day”)referringtothefactthatthe detailhasmadeaneconomicconnectionbetweenthedrugbusinessandsenatorClay Davis,whentheycaughthisaidewiththemoneyfromthe projects. Thethesisdiscusses theroleofthiscontinualitywithintheworksofscholars suchasJasonMittel,a professorofAmericanstudiesandfilmandmediacultureat MiddleburyCollege,witha backgroundinresearchofhistoryoftelevision,mediaand culture.Heistheauthor oftwobooks, Genre and Television and Television and American Culture. This thesisuses Mittel'sfindingsonnarrative complexityof televisionshowstoitsadvantage indiscussingtheoriginalityoftheshowasopposedto conventionaltelevisionshows.