Harshiv Rawal

Analysing the representations of Law in “The Wire” and “A Touch of Frost”

In crime dramas the law is represented in many different ways whether it is in a good
or bad light is up to the audience watching. In TV dramas such as “A Touch of Frost”
the law, which is the police, are shown to be the people that keep order and prevent
crimes from happening, whereas in some shows, such as “The Wire” the police can
be seen as corrupt as they have to work with criminals such as drug dealers.

This particular extract from “The Wire” shows Dominic West who plays Det. James
'Jimmy' McNulty having to consort with a drug dealer in order to find out who killed
another criminal named “Snot Boogie”. To make matters worse, the drug dealer isn’t
telling McNulty what he needs to know, this shows that the police’s strategy in this
particular TV drama is flawed. Although having said this, the drug dealer was willing
to talk to the Detective which shows that the Law and the criminals do have an
understanding which could be useful. The overall approach of the police in this
extract is calm as the Detective does not attack or attempt to arrest the drug dealer.

This approach is quite the opposite in “A Touch of Frost” as the majority of the
extract shows the Law arresting the criminals with the use of violence. Although the
police in this particular extract show more violence than the ones in “The Wire” they
both have the same goal, therefore the audience has a positive representation of
them. The Law in “A Touch of Frost” is also shown in an effective way as there are
many shots of them taking actions against the criminals that are doing things such as
hosting dog fights. This also makes the police in this extract look like heroes as they
are saving these dogs, to show this they have two shots of the dogs and how they
have been battered and bruised.

In conclusion, the Law can be represented in many different ways through TV drama,
in these two particular extracts it is shown in a positive manner as the police are seen
to be heroes. This is seen more in “A Touch of Frost” rather than “The Wire” where
the detective only talks to the criminal and doesn’t get much out of him.
Nevertheless the police in “A Touch of Frost” can be seen as the ones who resort to
violence rather than get all the facts and bring the criminals to justice. Nonetheless in
both extracts the Law is seen in a positive light.