This is represented in the opening images of a speedboat racing across the ocean to a pulsating musical beat. Its fast pace reflects the characters identity within the narrative.
“The strategy of setting a desperate war against vice against a glamorous backdrop is an explicit theme in the series.” (Buxton, D. 1990 p.144)
The structure of Miami Vice “pulsates intense emotion, a clash of values and highly specific political messages.” (p.151). It positions the audience with very precise ideologies about Miami Vice.
The show puts on display the way that identity is constituted in contemporary society through images and suggests that such a “mode of identity is mighty ambiguous.” (p.150) These images of popular culture are “saturated with ideology.” (p.150) They are not something you see in everyday life, but what the audiences have come to expect from television.
Even though Kellner suggests that Miami Vice has structural influences on the viewing audience, he places more emphasis on the agency of audiences constructing their own identities.
The two main characters in the show, Crockett and Tubbs, are arguably influential role models in the series.
“They have become fashion icons.” (p.152) Their style was copied by audiences all over the world as the series grew in popularity. Detective Crockett had a new alternative style that appealed to young, white men.
“He started a men’s fashion revolution.” (Shahita, Yasmine 2003)
Detective Tubbs, on the other hand, has a mixes black/Hispanic race that appealed to a whole new category of audience members. He was a positive role model for young, black men and his character was not stereotypical like many other black actors at the time.
Trudy and Gina were the female mixed-race detectives. They expressed dominant male behaviour in the series.
“They replicated images of women warriors that have become central images in the late 20’s and 80’s e.g. Superwoman, Ripley.” (p155)
Kellner points out that all the characters in the series were role models for “whites, Hispanics, women and teenagers.” (p.154) Different images of sex, race and class are portrayed than usual of the television world. It has been described as “an ideal partnership between men and women based on deep respect.” (Buxton, D. 1990 p.144) This was the main appeal for audience members.
“As the narratives unfold, Miami Vice presents some revealing insights into the problematics of identity in contemporary capitalist societies.” (p.155)
The chief characters, Crockett and Tubbs and their boss Castillo, all have multiple identities that are unstable in every episode on MTV. In each case their identity is fragmented, different and distinctive in each character, yet always subject to dramatic change.
Crockett for example, is an ex-football star who is now in the drug and crime scene. His nickname is Sonny which could be recognised as an icon of youth. Young audiences can identify with this. His surname, Crockett carries a hero image with it allowing a sense of fantasy for the viewers. However, he doesn’t have a stable relationship as his love interest changes with every episode. This reflects the reality of the soaring divorce rate. This is the epitome of audience identification.
Castillo, the detective’s boss, has the most stable identity in Miami Vice.
“He is a figure with an automnous self and a strongly fixed personal identity.” (p.151)
Crockett and Tubbs contrast with Castillo as they are “constantly changing their looks.” (p.151) This reflects audience identities who are constantly changing with society and their role models in the media.
“Television culture plays a key role in the structuring of contemporary identity.” (p.145)
“Show after show Crockett and Tubbs assume their criminal identities and slide from good guy to bad guy.” (p.146) Such fragmented identities emphasise the artificiality of identity and that it’s constructed and not given. It’s a matter of choice, style and behaviour rather than structure. Identities can easily shift from one to another. This happens in the series as well as in real life.
This analysis suggests that what might be called post-modern identity is an extension of the freely chosen and multiple identities of the modern self. Audiences understand that identity isn’t fixed so therefore construct their own from different media sources, like the characters on Miami Vice. This could be a problem for the modern self as it produces and identity crisis, but Kellner believes that “diversity is essential.” (p.147)
The analysis touches upon globalisation and cultural imperialism, suggesting the powerful images of the series have an adverse effect on the audience, influencing certain ideologies.
However, Kellner concludes that the “current construction of identity is distinctly post-modern and has had a fundamental shift in the construction of identity altogether.” (p.148)
References
Buxton, D. (1990).From the Avengers to Miami Vice: Form and Ideology in Television Series. Manchester University Press: Manchester and New York.
Kellner, D. (1992). Miami Vice and the Politics of Image and Identity (p.148-158) in
Lash, S. & Friedman, J. (eds) (1992). Modernity and Identity. Blackwell Publishers Ltd: Oxford.
Shahita, Y. (2003) Don Johnson. Retrieved 29 March 2005 from http://www.enigma-mag.com/doninterview.htm
