The Other Press

THE MIAMI MICE INVESTIZATE THe SUICIDE OF YET ANOTHER Perst CHALLENGE FLUNKIE

 

 

 

 

for-TV imita-
xecutive pro-
will spend
st to acquire
al work. Ac-
agazine, the
ode of Miami
entire annual
ice squad in

Miami Vice,’’
roots in the
of the later
an director,

der.’’ In Fass-
whole screen

Ink and cobalt

hant colours of
Fassbinder’s

G eed
bvan’s words,
cooler colour

Style is inter-
y it creates.
very polished
ights scenes,
5 are watered

 

.
Pee eeneseceere®

down to get a nice smooth reflection
of moonlight off the pavement.) Yet

polished streets and winding pastel
nightclubs are sleazy degenerate dope
dealers and outlaws. The setting for
the show has appropriately coined
‘glitter-sleaze’ .

There is one very strict rule on the
Miami Vice set and that is ‘no earth
tones’. Pastel shades are definitely
the rule and anything red or brown is
strictly taboo. ‘‘One of the reasons for
this,’’ said Klovan, ‘‘is to reinforce
the dream-like quality of the show.’’

Another appealing aspect to the
programme is its quick, rock video-
like editing.

“Miami Vice is the first show to use

rock video-like editing,’’ said-Klovan.’

‘In conventional-_tetevision every shot

ust either reveal character or ad-
vance the plot. It is linear narrative.
Every shot must be self-explanatory
so that if you leave the room for a few
minutes, you can still follow the few
strands of plot when you return. It’s
like Dallas. Every three months or so |

 

underneath this glittering world of ““*

 

watch 15 minutes of it. Don’t ask me
why, but in those minutes I’m caught
up in everything that’s going on. The
techniques of TV restrict the range of
choices. Since every shot must be
self-explanatory, one show is pretty
much like the other.’’

‘Miami Vice is quite different. It’s
told in non-linear fashion. Like Flash-
dance, gaps are left in the story. Each
scene does not necessarily build on
the preceding one. And after the firs
ten minutes the story doesn’t-give you
a lot of exposition-—tf you miss the
first fewmoments of the show, you’re

‘‘The scenes themselves contradict
the edicts of television. Usually the
TV scene is a complete entity unto
itself. There is a beginning and a
middle and an end. Not so in Miami
Vice. The viewer will enter a scene in
the middle and leave before the end.
Miami Vice likes to do this. It likes to
challenge you. It throws you into the
middle of something and lets you
figure it out. Also the quick editing
from one scene to another gives the
impression of a dream.

January 31, page 11 |

The knock on Miami Vice has been
style and sound at the expense of
storyline, but Klovan does not see this
as legitimate criticism.

 

“Miami Vice’s audience doesn’t
read. It wants images and emotion
and energy rather than plot or
words.”’

   

Although he applauds Miami Vice
for the innovative use of visual and
oral techniques, he also sees the:
show’s success in the context of tele-
vision just keeping up with the times.

“Forty years ago,’’ he said, ‘‘the
television screen was very small, as

was the speaker. Becaus is, the
producers didn’t bother with composi=

tion or mise-en-scene and paid little
attention to the music score. Today,
though, the screens are much larger,
the picture is better, and you can hook
your set up to speakers the size of a
refridgerator. But television has re-
fused to adapt. Their visual style is
forty years out-of-date. Miami Vice is
alluring and powerful because it uses
modern techniques to present an
ancient theme. | can’t wait to see the
number of imitations it will spawn.’