Dexter

SUMMARY: I chose to watch the series finale of Dexter. This show follows the life of a blood spatter analyst in the Miami Metro Police Department in Miami, FLA. Dexter is the main character, who along with his job has been living a second life. He is a serial killer, yet only kills people who are guilty of committing a crime or crimes of their own and does it in a way where he does not get caught. Deb is his sister and is also on the police force. Last season she discovered what he does and has been trying to come to terms with it ever since. Hannah is Dexter's girlfriend who is also a serial killer, but has actually been to jail for her crimes and is now under an alias as she has a reward out to anyone who can bring her in. The season finale continues struggles from the previous episode where Dexter, his son, and Hannah are trying to flee the country to go to Argentina and start a new life. Many complications are in the way of this happening, such as a private detective trying to capture Hannah, a hurricane coming and the airport shutting down, and his sister Deb getting shot and almost dying as a direct result of things that he did and left unfinished and Dexter must deal with all of these. The show goes back and forth between Deb's recovery and Hannah trying to make a break for it while Dexter tends to the unfinished business of killing Deb's shooter.



ANALYSIS: This show chooses to look at a blood spatter analyst at a police department along with the other people of the department. It's interesting that they chose to make the main character, who is a serial killer, an employee of a police department. While he is doing what I would determine a "professional service", as not just anyone can become a blood spatter analyst, usually people working in a police department are looked at as a whole as public servants or working class. Looking at the characters and going along with the thought Dexter is a step up in the class ranks, it is portrayed on the show by him living in a nice condo with a water view, an suv, a full size boat that he pays to keep docked so he can use it whenever he wants and to dump bodies, and is also able to pay for a full time semi-live in nanny. He also speaks properly and dresses in a put together manner. The step up in class ranks is also portrayed specifically in this episode where, after they have Deb's shooter in police custody, Dexter(who has already turned in his resignation and finished with work at the department) while carrying his badge, refuses a police escort, and tells the employee at the desk that he is going to collect DNA samples and proceeds to enter his holding cell. Dexter and the shooter are being filmed of course by a security camera but it does not record sound. Dexter goes in with the intention of killing the man and provokes the shooter to pick up a pen and stab him with it. Dexter is stabbed in the shoulder and pulls out the pen and stabs the shooter in the neck which ends up killing him. When reviewing the video Dexter's boss and another cop turn to Dexter to ask why he went in there as his job had ended and it was the man who almost killed his sister. Dexter replied that his job wasn't officially over until Friday and that he wanted to make sure the case was handled without mistakes and look the shooter in the eyes. The two cops who are friends of Dexter's and Deb's look at each other and say it was obviously self defense-even though no one gave him orders to go in there and do that and his employment with the department was technically done. While there are a few ways to look at that, it is interesting that he got off with such little drama and questioning and fits in with the hegemonic power structure that people with a higher class ranking have more power and also it's about who you know. Looking at the other cops on the show, Dexter's boss Angel worked hard all his life and when he wanted to retire from the police department was able to do so and open his own bar and restaurant, shedding light on the Protestant Work Ethic capitalist ideology. In a previous episode this season, there is a boy who is suspected of being part of a woman's murder. This probably yielded the best example of the whole series showing the power the upper class holds. In one particular episode where people are getting more and more suspicious, the head of the department who is very good friends with the boy's family-who happen to be very rich-tell's the cop on the case specifically to back off because of the family's wealth and importance and insinuates that if he does not back off that he will be punished.




When looking at the stereotypes of what it means to be working class like we saw in class Thursday, such as drinking beer instead of fancy cocktails, watching sports on the tv instead of going to fancy parties and partaking in conversations about scholarly subjects, and not doing much to better themselves such as exercising or reading, it is evident in this show. Deb is only ever seen drinking beer, along with the other cops including her brother. All they seem to do in their off time is sit around an socialize at a small family dinner or out at a bar. Besides the occasional upper class suspects, the upper class is not really looked at in the show. I would say the show deals more with working class and middle class people, which goes along with the class notes stating that tv presents more images of the working class.



CONCLUSION: I would have to say that Dexter seems to take a look at the advantages of the "working class" in the situation of working in a police department and interestingly shows how power is distributed among the different ranks.
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