Rogue Cops’ Politics of Equality inThe Wire

Abstract

This paper explores HBO television showThe Wire's portrayal of inequality and injustice in terms of the neoliberal state and capitalism, while focussing on the Baltimore Police Department and the marginalized people in the show. In arguing that the neoliberal state and neoliberalism promote the systemic problems reflected inThe Wire, this paper will examine the representation of the marginalized in the show in relation to Zygmunt Bauman's idea of wasted lives. In doing so, it will explore how bureaucracies in the show fail to salvage the wasted lives that Bauman defines as the collateral casualties of capitalistic globalization. After examining the show's bleak portrayal of American urban life in terms of the police department, this paper will discuss some morally complicated characters, such as Major Colvin and Detectives McNulty and Freamon, who attempt to surmount the systemic problems of the department. In examining their controversial police work, including transgressions of law, this paper aims to clarify the political implications of these police officers in terms of Jacques Rancière's ideas of politics and equality.