actor who portrays McNulty , is credited first each season of the series , and it is his character ’ s actions that instigate most of The Wire ’ s overarching plotlines . McNulty is only absent for half of the fourth season because West himself requested to spend more time with his family ( Barton , “‘ The Wire ’: The Dominic West Perspective ”). Omar is one of The Wire ’ s most prominent black characters , similarly appearing in each season of the series . While initially a recurring character , Omar was promoted to main character from the third season onwards . However , out of The Wire ’ s entire ensemble , Omar is unquestionably the character to have received the most academic attention , specifically for how he subverts popular stereotypical expectations of black masculinity in television ( Johnson Jr . 334 ). In contrast , McNulty displays many characteristics of a “ macho male ,” a stereotypical model of masculinity common in police dramas . This model of masculinity , which often manifests as the dominant hegemonic model in certain environments ( Connell and Messerschmidt 840 ), is characterized by several exaggerated , narrowly defined traits :
Characteristics of the macho orientation are a lack of empathy or sensitivity especially in regards to sex ; pursuing excitement , adventure , and sensation seeking ; and espousing the belief that violence is normative and acceptable for men . ( Scharrer 617 )
In The Wire , most white characters occupy positions of institutionalized power , primarily in law enforcement . In contrast , the vast majority of The Wire ’ s black characters are criminals , specifically drug dealers . However , a historical trend in American police dramas is that macho models of masculinity are displayed by both the police and the criminals they pursue ( 618 ), a tradition that The Wire largely continues :
[ The Wire ] is especially attractive to a masculinities theorist because it is a “ starkly masculine ” battle between mostly male police forces and mostly male drug dealing organizations . Both of these groups displays distinctly masculine , and even hypermasculine , traits . ( Cooper 98 )
In particular , the same hyper-masculine traits emphasized by macho masculinity are similarly valued among African Americans of low socioeconomic status who subscribe to the “ gangsta ” model of masculinity ( Chambers and Waldron 182 ; Collins 158 ), which is similarly represented in The Wire . The widespread representation of such masculinities in popular television has been criticized as yielding “ potential consequences for socialization of audience members into roles and for the learning
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