This presentation seeks to utilize a rhetorical methodology with lenses composed of narrative theory & critical race theory to engage a criticism that interrogates the shows presentation as simultaneously an intense documentary , filmed on location in Baltimore utilizing a vast amount of native talents , and rich television drama told in episodic and seasonal formats.
The series, aired for five seasons totaling sixty episodes, from June 2002 to March 2008 to extensive critical acclaim. The show never acheived the mainstream ratings or award juggernaut status that HBO Network contemporaries “The Sopranos & Sex the City” accumulated. In this area, three strains of critical attention have been directed toward the shows unflinching tendencies that may have enhanced these truths. The first is the consistent depiction the criminal element as nuanced, sophisticated and at moments more than simply lawbreaking thugs and recidivists. The second element is that characters employed in law enforcement are heterogeneous and not simply benevolent. The show engages the general conception that most officers are ethical and compassionate but also tolerate that a few indivuals may abuse the nature of the profession for means that are justified by jaded or even corrupt tendencies. The third element that draws the first two notions into conception is an acknowledgement by the offenders/suspects and the law enforcement agents that an inherently problematic system is exploiting all involved and actually creating worse crime and race/class divisiveness.
The series central creative forces Ed Burns and David Simon are Baltimore natives who spent years as a journalist & detective in the city and acknowledge the series character archetypes, themes and conceptions are drawn from actual events and persons. It is illuminating to view this series as a commentary and potential precursor to the recent Baltimore controversy and police involved killing.
About the presenterRichard Winston
Ric Winston earned his BA in Communication Studies from WCU and an MA from the University of Maryland, College Park. He is a scholar of modern public address whose scholarly interests include presidential rhetoric, popular culture, and the historical progression of Blacks in America. Professor Winston is also interested in media, television, and film criticism. His Current research centers on the historical struggle between forces of inclusion and marginalization in American culture.