Assignment Two: The Effects of Masculinity

The Television series "The Wire" provides an in-depth critique on sociopolitical conditions of postmodern urbanity and uses depictions of characters' masculinities to expose differences between legitimate and illegitimate economies. Throughout the series Avon, a drug kingpin within the structure of "the ghetto" and the "street-corner", bases his masculinity on the idea of family, community, reputation, and territory allowing these to directly influence the decisions he makes within his drug dealing practices. Avon's masculinity is further judged based upon the level of police scrutiny in addition to the number of shootings and murders over territory, most of which occur between men. Essentially Avon imagines his interactions within his drug dealing practices as a way to achieve a form of capitalist masculinity.

Comparatively, the film "Ghost Dog" provides an in-depth illustration of rapidly changing ideas of masculinity in a postmodern world. Ghost Dog, an African American contract assassin, adheres to the codes of the Samurai as described in the Japanese text "Hagakure" from the eighteenth-century. The code of the Samurai exists within an all male world and hinges upon close personal bonds with other men off of which they judge themselves. This is what Ghost Dog does throughout the entire film and can be seen by the existence of his friendship with the Haitian man, his loyalty to his male master, and hist quote to eliminate the male Italian gangsters. Clinging to the masculine code of the Samurai, Ghost Dog believes he is achieving a masculine identity of which he can call his own.

Though it is true that "The Wire" and "Ghost Dog" go about telling their stories in very different ways, they also are both gangster movies, take place in urban settings, and feature African-American leading roles who pursue a quest to achieve a desired masculinity. Ghost Dog's use of the code of the Samurai and Avon's use of territory, family community, and reputation highlight how each characters actively attempts to fulfill their own desire to define themselves through a male worldview.

Assignment Two:

Both shows are based on gangster theme. There are few interesting observations from these two movies at least in my point of view. 

In The Wire, it is very clear who are the good characters and who are the bad characters. It is a battle between the gangster team and also the authorities. The show started in the crime scene with blood, dead body and the flash of the cops cars, followed by in the court room of the trial of D'Angelo Barksdale and continued on the hunt of the gangster key members like Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell in Baltimore area which is their base for the gang illegal operation. 

But in Ghost Dog, it is really hard to see and differentiate the good and bad characters throughout the show. There is no clear indication for viewers to differentiate it. We knew Louie saved Ghost Dog when he was a teenager, and Ghost Dog as a return be a retainer of Louie. We can see him as very loyal but that was it. The girl - the niece of the mafia - was also seen an innocent figures in the movie. But, she seems to be the head of the gangster as she instructed the killing of Ghost Dog at the end of the movie. She asked the driver to go and that can be interpreted as person in command. 

The Ghost Dog have more multicultural element than The Wire. In Ghost Dog, Ghost Dog read bunch of Japanese books like, Hagakure,  Rashōmon, etc. Also, Ghost Dog have a French-speaking friend and also Italian mafia rivals. In contrast to The Wire, the story really based on two ethnics - African American and also 'White' - which are very common in US.

Assignment Two: Only on the Outside

The biggest way that I can find to compare The Wire to Ghost Dog is to look at it just from the outside, just from the aesthetic that is seen. When specifically looking at the characters Ghost Dog and the gang affiliated characters in The Wire on the outside things look really similar. There skin is the same color, they are criminals, both petty and major crimes are committed (drugs and car jacking to murder), but if looked at closer there is a larger difference between the two.

Ghost Dog follows a honor code that dates by thousands of years and is based on honor whereas, the kids in The Wire follow a code based on, what seems to me to be, fear. The reason Ghost Dog does was he does is to repay a debt that he owes to a man for saving his life. The dealers in The Wire were forced into that life based on where they were born and the environment they grew up in. This is where my feels start to sway towards Ghost Dog as the superior movie.

There was so much going on on a deeper level in Ghost Dog whereas The Wire seemed like a one level show (granted we didn't get to see much, so this is based off of basic level information). With that being said, I think these works are meant for different audiences. If you like complicated crime shows, watch The Wire; if you like thought provoking violence, watch Ghost Dog. I think both shows can be enjoyed by the same person but I believe there will always be a preference. There is a different over all feeling to the two works and that is why I would argue that they should not be put in the same genre together. I believe the only genre that they both fit into perfectly is 'violent' and even then, the violence has different motives.

Assignment 2

The Wire and Ghost Dog share the theme of crime.  More notable is the similar way they portray crime as a function of the human race. By function I mean the process of crime from its origin in purposeful thought and the performance of a crime. The Wire and Ghost Dog display crime as an innevitable human function by depicting the human side of the criminal lifestyle.

Ghost Dog, a story told its title character of the same name, portrays the human aspect of crime by starting screen time with an assassin's homelife; First, we see an isolated man with his guns reading oriental literature before setting out on a job. The day after the killer is lying on a roof reading Samurai literature with a pigeon flock.  Nondiagetic samurai quotes are voiced over meditative sword practice.  We were trained to empathize or sympathize for a killer, by first being shown his pure and loyal ways away from work.  Here is a man enlightened who, through religious practice, and away from the trigger, lives a more credible life than anyone else in the movie (which isn't much given they're mafiamen).  But truthfully, when you set aside his job as a hitman, Ghost Dog is a man of respect and integrity, and shows it quietly in a pradictable lifestyle.  In other words, crime is undertoned by an orchestral way of life, through a man who communicates with animals more than humans, which again is respectable but also points to his process of murder.  If you tend to connect with animals more than humans, you are less in touch with humanity.  His best friend is French and besides the Little girl and Louie he communicates only through pigeons.  Since he is the central character we live life through his eyes, and in this way, we disconnect from humanity as he does.  Humans become targets to the audience.  In order for this to be effective, the target had to be easily dislikeable.  Well, an essence of the whole gangster genre is having the ones committing crimes be the protagonists (The Godfather, Goodfellas).  In most notable cases, protagonists have been mafia men:  ruthless but cerebral men to be cheered for through themes of wealth, family,  and revenge,  as well as witty characters and undeniably cool characters.  The mafia men in Ghost Dog seriously lack the traits that sway mafia men on the good side.  These men are old as dust, poor as dirt, and they lack in having an actual purpose for being a mafia, essentially they are 'washed up' and unappealing.  Towards the end of the film, one mafia man is telling another that he appreciates Ghost Dog for one reason, and that is for giving him a cool reason to die.  If the protagonist is an assassin, his opponents have to be unnappealing so his kills are sensible to the viewer, and his lifestyle is not as criticized because his crimes are only towards irrelevant mafia geezers.   I'm besides the point but, Ghost Dog's crimes present the human function of homicidal crime.  I don't believe we are told why he started his profession, for money I suppose, but either way, crime is acceptable in this movie because the assassin is an artist and the deceased are posers.

To begin, note the basis of my argument for The Wire (and some Ghost Dog) is subject to comparison with police procedural shows, where crime is the single mystery as authority of law are protagonists, making the criminal an alien target of sorts.  The Wire and police procedurals share crime as their central theme.  As stated, police procedurals rarely take the criminals perspective and limit perspective through lawful response process.  The Wire, on the other hand, shares its perspective between drug distributors and the people trying to find them.  The content and characters are divided evenly between those trying to stop drug traffic and those trying to traffic drugs.  This perspective is polyphonic, which makes it up to the viewer to question which side they agree with and why.  The cops and criminals each have attractive personalities, and we notice similarities in criminals and cops existing together naturally as humans.  Because of its polyphonic element, crime is seen without bias for cop or robber. Rather, it can be understood as an unfortunate innevitable that will always present an avenue for economic gain.

Directly comparing these two pieces is tricky, because  although they are both character studies, The Wire approaches character through a variety of character samples, while Ghost Dog surrounds one man.

Assignment Two: Narrative Structure in The Wire and Ghost Dog

The Wire and Ghost Dog both offer depictions of racial ideologies in urban settings. However, The Wire seems to achieve this via a linear narrative, whereas Ghost Dog uses a much more nuanced avenue through which the audience arrives (or tries to) at the bigger picture.

The Wire's narrative is basic, even somewhat predictable. Although it can be read allegorically, its polyphonic nature doesn't allow for the audience to really connect or identify with any of the characters. (Granted, it is a series and not a movie, and I'm sure the audience engages more with the characters throughout the series.) I found its depiction of people living in lower socioeconomic conditions to be borderline stereotypical. And again, I understand how it can be perceived allegorically, but I have to admit that I was underwhelmed and felt it didn't reveal anything about our country or society from a perspective I haven't already entertained. I feel like this show attracts a general audience, and probably mostly people who will only take the show at face value and not appreciate its commentaries on the state of our country as a whole.

On the other hand, Ghost Dog's post-modern take on race and ideology was poetic. Through a more complex, albeit confusing at times, narrative structure, the audience is forced to engage with the film on the many layers it offers. We experience estrangement in the sense that we don't truly know the protagonist, his past, or his motivations. The culture he commits himself to is alienated, distant, and the gangsters' culture has the same "this doesn't fit here" vibe. It seems like all the characters miscommunicate on several levels: language, age difference, codes of honor, etc. The use of symbolism through animals, choice in music, and the inclusion of literature gives this film a texture that The Wire simply lacks. Ghost Dog caters to a more creative, artistic, and probably intellectual, audience who could ascertain the deeply symbolic messages of the film. There was an inherent "us" and "them" in the film. The gangsters felt that anyone who wasn't white was all the same. The "us" and "them" theme here is interesting because the audience is put into the position of the "them." We are curious about Ghost Dog and his complexities, but we are hesitant to trust him because of his profession and overall hazy aloofness. Normally the audience easily identifies with the protagonist, but in this film I hesitated. Why? Is this what the director wanted?

I also liked that this narrative focused on one very isolated, particular sequence to express a deeper meaning, a universal loneliness and isolation that could only be conveyed through the salient details.    

Racial Blending in the Unnatural, Urban Habitat

The ghetto, urban settings of both The Wire and Ghost Dog display the unnatural habitat in which middle and lower class blacks, whites, and Hispanics live in.  This way of story telling is described in Linda Williams article as progressing past the white supremacy swing of story-telling where both “anti-Tom” narratives and “Tom” narratives continued to keep “white supremacy” in motion.  Linda Williams describes in her article that, “race matters enormously in the lives of every character- but because it is no longer part of the black and white, tat-for-tat scorekeeping of racial injury.” (188) The Wire and Ghost Dog both use an urban setting to showcase the unnatural effects of living in a ghetto, without separating races into competing teams.

Linda Williams believes The Wire is able to comment on racial issues and display race, without showcasing racial differences as betting points. In the episode we watched in class, I believe this can be seen during the scene when the cops on the stake out jump a car that received drugs and guns. The Wire is able to comment on racial and social-class lifestyles during that scene without creating a separation between races. There are both white and black cops that are doing there job swiftly, but abiding the order of the law. The people who got caught had clearly broken the law and were working with a black gang promoting drugs. In no way can this scene be taken as black=good, black=bad, white=good, or white=bad. The show is commenting on the social structures which different races are placed, and how people survive, or attempt ascending past them through justices or injustices.

I believe the ghetto, unnatural setting of Ghost Dog allows for story-telling similar to the mode used in The Wire. Instead of focusing on creating an anti-Tom or Tom narrative, the focus is shifted to an unnatural environment in which people try to survive within. Ghost Dog blends a variety of cultures and races into one urban environment that further enforces the ideas of perceiving and commenting on race without judgment. When people do begin to die, it is due to miscommunication about race. An Italian saves Ghost Dog’s life when the Italian shoots at a bunch of white people ganging up on him. The act is perceived as racial violence, and a life is taken. Later in the movie, Ghost Dog retaliates and kills the Italian mob when the Italians begin raiding and shooting any black man that owns a pigeon house. These deaths were all initiated by a racial judgment. However, during the majority of the movie when these judgments weren’t made, the film showed a blend of races surviving together against the city which they live in. The unnatural, ghetto settings of both films attempt to show how people survive in the environment they live. The films do not focus on race, but they do utilize race to comment on social structures. They also explore the injustices and justices taken by the characters living in these worlds without separating the characters racially.

Families and their Boundaries

In The Wire, we saw a more traditional family; a family that is genetically related, help to take care of one another, albeit in an interesting sort of way.  We see D'Angelo beating a murder trial with the assistance of his cousin, who runs a local drug ring.  We also see the "family" of the drug trade working together, perhaps working to out perform one another, and administering discipline as they see fit.  There are several other types of atypical "families" portrayed in the series as well; the police, the politicians, the prosecutors office.  All of these groups are tied together in some way with a system of rules or principals that guide them.  Some of these "families" work together more closely than others, although there is clearly some dislike amongst members of the groups.  However, as Linda Williams points out in her article, the series also discusses the "family" of people living in Baltimore, the "family" of the inter-related characters portrayed in the various seasons of The Wire, and that they are all intertwined to tell a bigger story.  This is a family unit with multiple points of view and the large family that is the show can perhaps be broken down into clans that comprise the family; the policemen, the unions, the politicians, the prosecuting attorneys, the individuals within the drug trade and those who simply try to eek out a living within the city limits.

Ghost Dog also shows us groups of individuals one might consider a non-traditional family; Ghost Dog and his pigeons, the mob, the neighborhood in which Ghost Dog inhabits including a young girl who likes to read books and the neighborhood ice cream man.  Ghost Dog clearly provides food and shelter to his homing pigeons, and they seem to provide a sort of social support network for him, allowing him conduct business so that he can provide for them.  Ghost Dog mourns the loss of his family members after their slaughter and the one remaining pigeon does appear to mourn for Ghost Dog at the end of the film as well.  Likewise, we see a mob family (although not likely all related) that sticks together through thick and thin even though their fortunes are dwindling and as they struggle to eek out an existence in an ever-changing world.  I would say that the neighborhood in which Ghost Dog lives also serves as a family; the individuals in the neighborhood seem to know his name and keep out of his way.  The french-speaking ice cream truck entrepreneur and the your girl in the neighborhood also serve as a family to Ghost Dog by playing chess with him, communicating with him, discussing books with him and caring about him as he prepares for his final showdown against the mob and mourn him when he dies.

The role of family, whether in a traditional or no-traditional sense, are common themes in Ghost Dog and in The Wire and these complex relationships help to contribute to the story lines of each show.

The Modern Urban Ancient Mafia Movie

What I found most interesting between the two pieces, The Wire, and Ghost Dog, was the use of music. Though it never really stood out in the episode of The Wire, aside from the music in the strip club and in the cars, I felt that the music had a very interesting place in both pieces. I don't know how familiar everyone else is with the Wu-Tang Clan, but it was apparent from the title sequence of the movie that the music would be very heavily influenced by this style of music. (RZA produced the whole soundtrack, and was the samurai in camouflage towards the end)

In terms of relativity to the narrative of Ghost Dog, I felt the 90's gangster rap, specifically the east coast beats of the Wu, were very descriptive of the movie itself. There was a large discrepancy between what we were watching and the music that was being played and I think that added to the message that this, Ghost Dog, was not your typical Italian mafia family gangster movie. It added an element of modern, urban street culture to it. (Ghost Dog's persona) It is also not often that the members of the italian family like rappers like Flava Flav (Specifically referencing the shower scene, right before he his shot through the plumbing). This element of rap, an element of the modern urban culture, helps lend itself to a widening audience.

With Ghost Dog, I felt this musical choice added an element that contrasted the typical Italian mafia story. To that extent, the addition of the ancient Japanese texts adds a third contrasting element to the narrative. The ancient texts, obviously guide Ghost Dog in his day-to-day lifestyle. But I think they do more for the narrative as a whole. In most mafia movies the hitman is simply asked to kill someone because their boss says so, and mainly because they will get paid. In this movie, with the use of the flashback to when Ghost Dog was saved by Louie, it is obvious that money is not the thing driving Ghost Dog to make the hits. It is because he operates on ancient paradigms that commit him to his ruler, Louie. This added element to the movie makes it very interesting and one of the reasons I really enjoyed the film.

All of these combined are meant to elicit a sense of confusion, at first, but in the end I think Jarmusch did a great job of bringing it all together. A lot of people though it was just aimless killing going on the whole time but i felt the narrative was quite clear and understandable. It is a classic mafia movie with added elements used to modernize, but also historicize the tale being told.

Rooting for Murderers by Rachael Falade

     Normally, When someone goes on a killing spree and shoots up a bunch of old men (gangsters or not) the audience is supposed to feel remorse for the old men, and disgust at the main character. Killing in general is a no-no when it comes to rules of the world, Killing has consequences and killing changes the innocent main character and puts him or her in the gray scale on the goodness and humanity chart that is normally white and black. And yet.. the main character in Ghost Dog played by Forest Whitaker still manages to maintain his integrity and likeability after murdering many people, for less than reasonable reasons.

D'Angelo Barksdale who played a murder/drug dealer in Season 1 ep. 1 of the Wire is also a killer. He kills in a panic a young man in front of witnesses, and at the end of the episode, the witness ends up dead. Throughout the episode, although he is a murderer, D'Angelo shows signs of kindness that make the viewer start to like him and identify with him. For example, when one of his guys unknowingly accepted fake money, D'Angelo simply reprimanded him with words, causing surprise from one of the other guys watching "That's it?" he said, inferring that usually for a mistake like this, there would be other consequences. Little scenes like this convey the meaning that although D'Angelo is a murderer, there are some redeemable qualities in him. 

Redeemable qualities that are also seen in Ghost Dog, who frequently kill for money. He is also able to bond with a young girl and an ice-cream man who speaks a completely different language. The scene where Ghost Dog and the Young girl are speaking educatedly about books they have read and bonding that way, also where Ghost Dog and his best friend, the Ice cream man are bonding over chess, are scenes put there to distinguish Ghost Dog from an ordinary killing animal. These scenes are impactful because they show his intelligence and allow for human bonding moments that also highlight the redeemable qualities of Ghost Dog. The Wire and Ghost Dog are unknowingly trying to make the audience look past the the crimes of their  characters, placing redeemable qualities within throughout the films so the audience questions weather right and wrong is black and white. 

2—The Wire and Ghost Dog: Realistic vs. Surrealistic Characters

The personae of characters in The Wire and Ghost Dog were profoundly different. The former seemed realistic while the latter, surrealistic or even cartoonish. I will choose characters from each film and discuss those differences. In addition, I will speculate on the writers and directors intent to use the characters to express an ideological viewpoint.

Clearly, the production team of The Wire sought to portray its characters realistically. Detective James McNulty related to and spoke in the vernacular of Baltimore’s underclass while struggling to communicate with the police hierarchy. McNulty’s worn face and tired demeanor painted a person stressed out by a demanding job. He represented the working class white man committed to serving a troubled community. Detective Shakima Greggs symbolized the liberated black woman. She was driven, street-smart, not intimidated by white male colleagues, and in a lesbian relationship—characteristics not usually associated with a black woman in film and television. Judge Daniel Phelan exhibited stresses judges might face presiding over long trials, listening to emotional counterarguments, and forced to render decisions sometimes dictated by flawed testimony or evidence. The judge’s position of authority in the courtroom contrasted with the image in his chamber—that of an ordinary man coping with work pressures by gulping handfuls of pills. The judge’s whiteness and privilege did not necessarily ensure a healthy and happy life, which might be a subtle poke at laissez-faire.

Ghost Dog characters ran the gamut from extreme to moderate surrealism. The mob, collectively, were the former. For example, Vargo, the mob patriarch, seemed perpetually stoic and embalmed. His immaculate, tailored suit and ever-present boutonniere were inconsistent with his grubby headquarters and motley gang. Contrary to common cultural beliefs, being white and male did not guarantee Vargo’s entourage a position of social and economic privilege. Perhaps the most appealing and least surrealistic characters were Raymond (the Haitian) and Pearline. Raymond was gregarious, entrepreneurial, and dynamic and, by neoliberal ideology, should have achieved business success. However, Raymond was also, black, poor, an emigrant, and non-English speaking—factors not held in high esteem by neoliberals. Pearline, young, trusting, and precocious, seemed metaphoric for a better future. Perhaps the most difficult character to understand was the mysterious protagonist, Ghost Dog. Some of Ghost Dog’s actions and abilities bordered on the surrealistic such as his fascination for pigeons, devotion to ancient Japanese ideology, prodigious technical skills, and methodic approach to assassination.

The character representations in The Wire and Ghost Dog were extremes on a realistic-surrealistic spectrum, and each film affected me differently. I was emotionally drawn to The Wire because I could relate to characters that seemed real who were struggling to deal with crime and poverty in a real city. In contrast, Ghost Dog, although abound with fascinating characters, struck me as an entertaining black comedy.