Louis Althusser and "The Wire"

In his essay "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses," Marxist writer Louis Althusser makes the argument that institutions fall under two categories of functionality: the Repressive State Apparatus; and the Ideological State Apparatus.

Althusser defines repressive state apparatuses as functioning "massively and predominantly by [the] repression (including [the] physical repression)" of the individual, such as the police, court and prison institutions, and ideological state apparatuses as operating "massively and predominantly" by a central philosophy, such as the school, family, and political systems (Althusser 97-98). However, Althusser goes on to note that, both repressive and ideological state apparatuses function based on both ideology and repression. In reality, Althusser observes, "there is no such thing as a purely repressive apparatus...[nor] a purely ideological apparatus" (Althusser 97-98).

By connecting these two ideas of the institution, Althusser uncovers an interesting point; ideological state apparatuses must incorporate some degree of domination in order to hold a state of power, and repressive state apparatuses must have some kind of philosophy backing their repression.

These relationships are made prevalent in David Simon's hit television series, The Wire. Although it would be overly bold to dub the show "reality," The Wire's uncanny ability to depict a realistic version of 'The Streets' and 'The Police' institutions enables it to accurately represent the complex and overlapping inner workings of ideological and repressive state apparatuses.

The police institution can easily be seen as a repressive state apparatus, but also has many ideological elements. Throughout the season, officers McNulty, Carver, Herc, and Kima arrest (repress) many individuals for breaking the law, either by selling drugs or murdering others. However, when it comes to following the law themselves, these same officers many times fail. This includes McNulty and Kima's assault on Bird when their interrogation is unsuccessful (The Wire 1.7), Herc and Carver's theft of dirty money during a drug bust (The Wire 1.11), and Lieutenant Daniels embezzlement of funds (The Wire 1.3). In addition, very frequently officers turn a blind eye to the illegal activities their peers are partaking in. Some examples of this are when Prez blinds an adolescent in one eye without provocation (The Wire 1.2), a Senator's limo driver takes $20,000 in drug money out of the Projects (The Wire 1.8), and Herc and Carver use the Wire to listen in on a dealer's personal conversation with his girlfriend (The Wire 1.8). In fact, Officer Freamon is severely punished for not falsifying a case that incriminated a fellow officer. When asked what he did to anger Homicide, Freamon responds, "Police work" (The Wire 1.4). The fact that most of The Wire's police officers put serving themselves and their fellow officers before serving the law shows that the police institution has an unspoken ideology. Rather than "protect and serve," the real philosophy of the policemen seems to be "protect your fellow officer and serve yourself." By containing this ideology, the police institution shows that it is more than purely repressive by nature; it is also characterized by a specific way of thinking.

On the other hand, the institution of "The Streets" is primarily an ideological apparatus, but is enacted and enforced by means of repression. However, violent repression plays different roles in the drug trade and in "the code" of the Streets. Removing violence from the equation, the drug trade of the Streets really follows a normal business model. The drug addicts are clients, and Avon Barkesdale, D'Angelo Barkesdale, and Stringer Bell are the businessmen. Like in any business, there are rules. In the drug business, for example, you can't leave once you get involved, you can't snitch, and, as Omar states, you can "never get high on your own supply" (The Wire 1.7). Wallace does all of these things, and so he is killed. Orlando tries to sell drugs on the side, and snitches, so he is also killed. And Sterling steals drugs from the stash, to which Avon would have "take[n] a baseball bat to Sterling" had D'Angelo reported him (The Wire 1.6). These rules for selling drugs represent the criminal philosophy behind the drug trade. And when the rules aren't followed, violent repression is used to send the message that the rules still exist.

While the drug trade uses violent repression to enforce its ideology, the "code," of the Streets, itself, says that violence is ok. In this way, repression is a part of the ideology of the Streets. Robbing and murdering people involved in the "game" that is the drug trade is allowed according to the rules of the Streets. Omar notes this as he robs a drug dealer, chuckling, "It's all in the game" (The Wire 1.13). However, he also notes that this philosophy has boundaries. Yes, Omar robs and murders, but he "never put [his] gun on nobody who wasn't in the game" (The Wire 1.7). It seems the philosophy of the Streets allows crude violence, but only towards other "players" of the drug game. For example, Omar turns Bird in to the cops because Bird had "kill[ed] the everyday working man" rather than a criminal, and in doing so broke the code (The Wire 1.7). In this way, the ideology of the Streets directly dictates how violence and oppression may be used.

While 'The Police' of The Wire is clearly a repressive apparatus, it is also defined by a shared ideology. And while 'The Streets' of The Wire operate within the bounds of an ideological "code," the implicit rules of this code state how violent repression may be used, including how it may be used to enforce the code, itself. These institutions give concrete support to Althusser's statement that ideological state apparatuses contain some degree of repression, and that repressive state apparatuses contain some degree of ideology. And through The Wire's depiction of this overlap, we are able to see that the human race, itself, is defined by a combination of ideology and repression.

Works Cited:

Althusser, Louis. "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses." Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays. Monthly Review Press (1971). pp 90-120. Translated by Ben Brewster.

"The Wire" The Wire: The Complete First Season. Writ. David Simon, Ed Burns, George P. Pelecanos, Rafael Alvarez, David H. Melnick, Shamit J. Choksey, Joy Lusco. HBO. 2002. DVD. HBO Video, 2004.