Michael Mann's Miami Vice

Abstract

Michael Mann was the Executive Producer for the first two seasons of Miami Vice during the mid-1980s. This article argues that his worldview is deeply imprinted on the series. Mann's worldview thinks of society as organized by law and that, outside of the law, there is unregulated violence. In Miami Vice this view organizes the relationship between the United States and the world beyond its boundaries—a world of gunrunners, drug lords, and others who are threatening the integrity of the United States. Most especially, this United States is threatened by Latin Americans whose illegal activities have to be stopped by the Miami Organized Crime Bureau. While Miami Vice has been praised for its avantgarde, postmodern emphasis on style, this article argues that it was actually the show's politics—so reassuring for mainstream, white America—that provided the basis for Miami Vice's remarkable popularity.