This semester I've been taking a class discussing one of the best television shows of all time - HBO's The Wire. Although The Wire shines in nearly every dramatic, cinematic and thematic category, one of its best qualities is its ability to show the pervasiveness of bureaucratic nonsense. Most compellingly, it depicts what happens when people don't adhere to bureaucratic power structures.
Take one of the main characters, Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West), for example. McNulty is a detective in the Baltimore Police Department who is almost universally acknowledged by his peers as "good police," by which they mean McNulty has a real talent for police work. Despite this skill and passion, McNulty cannot advance in his department because he also has a knack for ignoring the chain of command and pissing people off - especially his superiors.
While the reference to the show's plot ends here, the meaning remains. Because there is a lesson in what I am going to dub the "Jimmy McNulty phenomenon." From the passionate detective, we can learn that part of being a mature adult is figuring out how to work within the structures of authority surrounding you.
This little morsel of life wisdom is particularly relevant to college students. Standing on the cusp of adulthood, we are about to start our careers. Many of us have never been situated in such a high-stakes chain of command.
As children, our authority figures are our parents or other older relatives, teachers and coaches. All of these people are somehow invested in us as individuals, which gives us some leeway to subvert the conventional power hierarchy. Relatives will - hopefully - continue to love us whatever we do. Teachers and coaches are basically paid to put up with us. There are always extremes, and some kids misbehave enough to incur serious punishments, but for the most part rebelling is a pretty low-stakes adventure when we're young.
In the professional world, however, things change. You can have the boss from hell - incompetent, petty, demanding or just plain rude - but if you want to keep your job you had better follow his rules. An employer is not tied to you by blood or monetarily contracted to look out for your
Read More
What your contraception of choice says about you
By CD Life Staff | 17 hours agoThere is no time like the present to consider the many birth control options available to us, each with their own unique personality.
It’s okay not to be okay
By Mai Hukuoka | January 8, 2025Whether talking to a friend, a loved one or a professional, it is so necessary, and human, to need more than you can provide for yourself.
Taking a break at Tangerines Kitchen
By Charley Thomas | January 6, 2025What the restaurant somewhat lacks in ambiance, it compensates for in tasty dishes and prompt service.
