Despite the systemic societal critique apparent in The Wire, David Simon rejects the label of marxist. However he defines himself, he is worthy of analysis as a dramatist, by virtue of the relative coherence of the left-leaning arguments expressed within his work. This thesis explores, and attempts to define this worldview, through analysis of three dramas based in Baltimore, Maryland.\ud
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Homicide: life on the street and The Corner are based on books of narrative journalism,respectively authored and co-authored by David Simon. The books also inform the\ud
narrative of The Wire. I attempt to track the worldview expressed through their intersecting representations of crime, class and the nature of work. All dramas are\ud
critiqued from the perspective of textual analysis rooted in literary and television studies, and influenced by, but not limited to, left critical theory.\ud
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As a secondary thread, I consider the historical and political economic context of US television, and limitations placed on such expansive dramas by the television crime\ud
genre.\ud
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These narratives are part of a worldview that develops as each text builds upon its predecessor. They reveal a worldview critical of the existing economic and social order,defined by David Simon as “unencumbered capitalism”. The conclusion attempts to define this worldview and its evolution, as expressed through these connected dramas,\ud
and also briefly considers Simon’s more recent dramas, Generation Kill and Trem