This project examines the television show Miami Vice (1984-1989) within the context of the resurgence of noir in the 1980s, as well as the socio-political and cultural landscape in Reagan’s America. It seeks to support the idea that 1980s noir writ large, with Miami Vice being a microcosm of this phenomenon, was created to reject and contradict these traditional, Reaganite morals and values by exposing the rampant corruption, crime, and structural violence during this time, as well as showing the falsehood of the traditional, moralistic American dream that Reagan preached. Miami Vice explores this specifically by use of the continual cinematic, aesthetic, and narrative motifs of dissociation and fragmentation, most commonly in the use of facades and masqueraded identity. It also explores the revolutionary progressive ideals championed by the show and the significance of the selection of Miami as a setting to illustrate these themes.

Links to Project Materials:

College of Arts & Sciences 2020, Humanities Projects 2020, 2020