Heroism, Institutions, And The Police Procedural Analysis

Heroism, Institutions, and the Police Procedural (2009) written by Alasdair McMillan, director and television producer, explains that there is no good and evil standards restricting any character within the HBO series The Wire, created by David Simons. The standards that restrain the hero's in most storytelling has been rendered nonexistent, as well as with what makes the villain a villain. Instead there is no hero or antagonist solely responsible for any one person's actions, especially so as The Wire has no main character, but rather a large cast that takes on multiple storylines within one diverse plot. The argument that McMillan makes within this chapter of The Wire: Decay and American Television, is that no one can be solely good or bad, and they are not entirely responsible for their situation, but rather that a much larger system takes place and controls their actions, namely institutions. McMillan brings to the table what Simons as well as philosophers believed to be the basis of heroism within a story, making alterations to fit their

Simons believes that officers are subject to the institution of law, but their actions will be for their best interest, only influencing what they will do. The idea is that those of good and bad character don't exist, but that there is a middle ground. The Wire introduced those who fall under different institutions and share corrupt or noble moralities through different aspects of their personality and portrayal. McMillan goes on to explain the "entrenched" system of police procedural within The Wire, which officers follow. The system is "entrenched" because of the lack of actual law enforcement and focuses moreover on the interest in political