People frequently say to me, “sushiattack what do you think is the best show on television?” To these people I answer, The Wire. If you aren’t already not familiar with this gem of a show, The Wire takes place on the mean streets of Western Baltimore, MD aka Bodymore, Murdaland. The show features the drug trade and the city police that attempts to eliminate it. The story is a sad tale of minor triumphs and bureaucracy that surrounds many of the actions of Baltimore’s finest. The thesis of the show I believe isn’t really about drug dealing or urban struggle or police work, rather the show is all about power and the way power creates institutions to protect itself.

The show lays out the two seemingly different organizational structures, while continuing to point out the parallels between them. Looking at the drug gang: you have the king (Avon,) his main muscle(Weebay,) his adviser (Stringer Bell,) then the street managers(Deangelo,) the money men and down to the lookout boys. Each person performs a role for the organization while respecting the power structure with the understanding that its the structure that protects all of them.  The game has rules, and the rules must be followed or the king becomes very unhappy with you.

You see a similar pyramid structure in the Baltimore Police department: In this case the Assistant commissioner, The Deputy of operations, the sector commander, the captain, the lieutenant, the detectives, and lastly the beat cops or “Rollers.” Just like the drug gang you see that respect of the structure is for the benefit of everyone. If someone makes a mistake, its to everyone’s benefit to cover it up and move on.

The show looks at the flip side to creating an institutional hierarchy; the person at the top of the pyramid needs to flex its muscles to get any respect.  The people lower down the  pyramind are constantly jocking for position and backstabbing each other to reach the next rung in the ladder.  When those people eventually make it to the top, they pay respect to the game by demanding their underlings play by the same rules.  The game never ends, its the players that change.

To be continued….

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