This post is about the internal bonds that hold many of the characters in place. I've identified five character perspectives that occur in almost all The Wire's worlds. One of the hallmarks of the show is that you can't choose which perspective to have, no matter your surroundings or which perspective would objectively lead to the best outcome. These perspectives tend to be hard-wired rather than chosen and the interaction among these viewpoints drives the perpetual churning in each institution.
The VisionariesCharacters who see the failings of their institution and want to change things
(McNulty, Stringer, Judge Phelan, Cutty, Carcetti, Sobotka, Prez (Season 4), D'Angelo, Bunny Colvin)
"There you go. Giving a fuck when it ain't your turn to give a fuck."
The Operators
They see the dynamics of the system and make moves to maximize their own gain
(Bubs, Avon, Rawls, Levy, Rhonda, Burrell, Carcetti, Marlo, Brianna, Prop Joe, Valchek, Marla Daniels, Mayor Royce, Nicki Sobotka, The Greek, Butchie, Delonda, Templeton, Naresse, Norman, Clay Davis, Kenard, Whiting)
"I wasn't meant to play the son."
The Soldiers
Characters who just are
(Herc, Carver, The Bunk, Wee-Bey, Kima, Omar, Bodie, Poot, Landsman, The Old Detectives in Season 1, Snoop, Slim Charles, Chris Partlow, Sham, Sydnor, Ziggy Sobotka, Beadie, Alma)
"...less they some smart-ass pawns."
The Tortured Bystanders
Characters who see the fall coming but don't have the will to mount up
(Daniels, Freamon, D'Angelo, Shardene, Carver, Cheryl, Fletcher, Waylon, Gus)
"It all matters."
The Victims
Not so much a perspective as an outcome, these characters drive the churning of their institutions by inspiring the visionaries and bystanders to take action in some form
(William Gant, Wallace, D'Angelo, Johnny, Snot Boogie, Brandon, Ziggy, Sharrod, Twigg, Security Guard)
"This is me, yo, right here."
The best characters on the show are those that straddle and shift among the perspectives - those that have it all inside them and have real choices to make.
Bubs is illustrative of this - he's an operator by day, bystander and sometimes victim by night.
Carver as well - we've witnessed his transformation from goonish soldier to impotent observer of Randy's descent to a Colvin-esque sergeant who wants to draw a line in the sand, no matter the consequences.
Without cataloging the other characters that have progressed through several perspectives, I think I can safely say that the role of Michael is genius. In just over a year, he goes through each type.
Michael's backstory is that of the victim, with strong suggestions that he had been sexually abused by his stepfather as a child. He is familiar with the impotent bystander position, as he is powerless to save Randy from the snitch beatings or stop Cutty from being shot for trying to reach out to him. He's clearly an efficient soldier if he can win Chris Partlow's mentorship, and his operator tendencies are on display in small measure throughout the show. Busting Kenard was a small manifestation of all that Michael understands about his world - he plays his cards close, though it's hard to doubt that the boy knows how to play the game.
What Season Five has brought us is Michael's burgeoning vision of a life lived by a code. He balks at killing for Marlo over a rumored dis, and when he reaches a moral threshold, he turns back rather than kill a child.
Michael's moral development is the most dangerous thing that could happen to him. But the boy is smart, the boy is tough, and he has a large array of perspectives to draw from in escaping the nets cast round him. Life, however, is cyclical on The Wire, and Michael might not be able to dodge another turn at playing the victim.
2 comments:
Love the definitional breakdown, my friend. Couple thoughts though: First, in as much as he falls in any category, Omar has to be an Operator, especially in light of the definition you choose. Perhaps no one else in the show understands the workings of the system more thoroughly and carefully, and no one (maybe Marlo, but we'll see if he's overreached) has taken advantage of the system's failings more creatively and successfully than Omar. Just a thought.
Landsman, too, I think, falls somewhere between Soldier and Operator. He certainly understands the workings of the police department, arguably better than any other (maybe Freamon, though his vision got in the way in the past and I suspect will do so again - can anyone say "Pawn Shop Unit"?). And while he hasn't continually maximized his personal gain, he's used his understanding of the system and it's failings to attain - and more significantly, to MAINtain - a position of pretty high status. I thought his "educating" of Kima in Season 4 was one of the best moments in the Show, analagous to Omar's "education" of Nardo or Brandon or any of his other harem of boy-thugs about the dynamics of the street.
Lastly, don't forget 1) Brotha Mouzone, perhaps the ultimate Operator, and 2) those 13 dead girls in the can under the "Victims" header, as they catalyzed an entire season's worth of Operating, Visionariness and Victimhood.
Happy posting,
I completely agree with your analysis, JTS. I wrangled with how to characterize Omar, and your thoughts nail down the case for his being an Operator.
I placed him the Soldier category because I think he does take orders and expertly follow them, but where the other soldiers receive their orders from the chain of command, Omar get his directives from his code. (I plan to do a proper post about codes in the show later.) I see a distinction between Rawls' and Marlo's moves to maximize their stature and Omar's moves, which no doubt lead to substantial personal gains, but don't result from a real choice to be made. Omar is a stick-up man not by so much by choice as by disposition.
The hypothetical that supports my classification is a situation where Omar has an opportunity to profit by making a move against a citizen. I think the show suggests he wouldn't do it, pulling him from the pure operator category.
The pure operator, when pushed, will drop whatever code they claim to be adhering to when it becomes detrimental to their self interest.
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