Re: The American Prospect 8/30/07: “What’s behindthesub-prime disaster?” by Robt. Kuttner
On Aug 31, 2007, at 1:41 PM, Carl Remick wrote:
Well, another unique thing about Columbo is that he is an outsider
who functions successfully on the inside. The archetype of the
public avenger as total outsider was probably best defined by
Raymond Chandler, whose hero, Philip Marlowe, brandishes his
identity as a private investigator to shield him from the
corruption of the police and maintain his purity as knight errant.
Yes, but…the outsider/insider thing sets up some complicated, and
ultimately vague, identifications. If the “outsider” is a cop, he
really isn’t that outside, but even the private detective allows the
viewer/reader to identify with authority against criminals. A common
trope in these stories is the hero cop who refuses to be hemmed in by
the rules, which are established by naive liberals and enemies of
individualism. But the complexity and vagueness are great for mass
culture, since the identifications are so fluid that you never really
have to take a side. Taking sides limits audiences.
Doug