Why We Love Sociopaths: A Guide To Late Capitalist Television by Kotsko Adam

Author:Kotsko, Adam [Kotsko, Adam]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781780990927
Publisher: NBN_Mobi_Kindle
Published: 2012-04-27T05:00:00+00:00

The perils of changing “the game”

While Peggy faced significant challenges in moving up through the system, she did have one advantage: she was in some sense “part” of the system, even if her role was subordinate. She would never have had a chance to become a copywriter if she hadn’t been in regular contact with the creative team as Don’s secretary, for instance. More broadly, though the game of competition among the young women for the best husband has a certain autonomy, it is nonetheless incorporated into the broader game of male social advancement.

More challenges arise for someone so far removed from the center of power that genuine social advancement seemingly requires the leap from one social system to another one entirely. That is the situation that faces The Wire’s Stringer Bell, who desperately wants to make the transition from an inner-city drug kingpin to a legitimate businessman—specifically, a property developer. In many ways, his strategy is similar to that of Don Draper, relying heavily on impersonality and specifically the impersonality of money. Yet his situation is more complicated. Not only does he face the obstacle of the segregation between inner-city African-Americans and the affluent whites he must deal with to fulfill his goals. More than that, even his money, since it was earned through criminal enterprise, must be actively made “impersonal” by means of the money laundering carried out by his slimy lawyer. That lawyer in turn represents his only real point of contact with the legitimate social circles he hopes to enter, as all his other “social networking” opportunities are among criminals.

One of the most amusing aspects of Stringer’s character is the way that he anticipates his legitimate status in his lifestyle. When the show opens, Stringer is the second-in-command in the criminal organization of his best friend Avon Barksdale—yet again, the sociopathic social climber lacks a father figure or indeed any apparent biological family at all—and handles the business end of things. He successfully keeps his hands clean by mostly avoiding any direct (or at least indictable) connection with violence, and he even takes economics courses at the community college, treating the drug dealing operation like any other business enterprise. Even his dress signals his aspirations, as he favors “business casual” clothes over typical street gang attire, occasionally including the infamous “Cosby sweaters” worn by the very embodiment of African-American upward mobility, Dr. Cliff Huxtable of The Cosby Show.

A large part of what allows Stringer to indulge in these fantasies of being a legitimate businessman is the fact that Avon and his various enforcers mostly handle the violence necessary to maintain their drug empire. This all changes, however, when Avon and most of the rest of the organization are put in prison, leaving only Stringer to keep the enterprise alive. At this point, he demonstrates his willingness to make the kind of “tough choices” that sociopathic leaders are so often praised for, such as ordering the murder of everyone, including young teenagers, who might inform on the members of the organization who remain out of jail.

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