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.