Deadwood Speaks

I love language. I regularly would berate my students when I was teaching political science at the local college regarding their inability to express themselves beyond incessant repetition of the basic Anglo-Saxon four-letter word. A goal to strive for, I suggested, was the ability to be able to insult someone effectively in language so subtle yet meaningful that they didn’t realize they had been dissed until the morning after. It would be better to save that basic word upon which they had become so dependent for situations in which extremes were called for. The word would then retain some impact. If you punctuate your discourse continually with the same expletive, what do you have left when the situation warrants caring enough to send your very best?

That’s why I love Deadwood. I recall my first exposure to HBO’s blockbuster and the sudden impact of the fusillade of profanity. It was shocking and my initial reaction was to consider it sensationalist at best and lacking in subtlety at the very least. But, first reaction to a gourmet meal emphasizing white truffles can be almost as overpowering. It is only after reflection on the sensory experiences that you begin to develop an appreciation for the nuances and the delicate blending of the flavors.

As a long-time resident of America’s west, it was inevitable that I would be hooked by the show. When I tuned in the second week, and coincidentally entered some discussions in a Usenet group on writing, it occurred to me that the profanity, just like the costumes, defines the characters. Those with a veneer of sophistication employ language related to their class and stature. Those in more base occupations rely on the language of their milieu. If an educated Easterner, the language is that of the civilized cities back east from whence they came. If a bar owner and whore-master, then the language tends to be considerably grittier. If an hotelier, with pretensions of sophistication, then the language is incongruously pompous while simultaneously attempting to ingratiate. A newspaper editor speaks in terms appropriate to an educated man immersed in a brutal society and trying to interpret the events in language which the common man can understand. A former lawman, striving merchant and now once-again sheriff will shift in his language from cultured when dealing with civilized people to the most base when confronting those elements of the society which only understand such terminology.

Over time, characters have developed and with that development their language has evolved to reflect the changes. This is employment of language with the greatest of skills and seldom seen in the drivel that seems to fill the majority of American entertainment. As the frail Patrician widow becomes claim-owner, permanent resident, foster parent, paramour of the sheriff and potential community leader, she evolves from the stiff, almost British constructions of her speech to the slightly rougher, yet more appropriate communication of her chosen surroundings. It’s simply brilliant.

The language, even at its crudest is not without humor. Possibly the funniest interactions in what is otherwise a very dark drama, are those between the Chinese laundry owner/Tong leader who speaks almost no English and the arch-villain with a sympathetic under-current, Al Swearingen. Poor Al tries to decipher what Wu is trying to tell him while Wu knows only sign-language and the basest insult as a noun to describe his tormenters. Al expresses his regret at ever having introduced Wu to the term and in a crude parody of the Abbott-Costello “Who’s on first” dialog they try to communicate. At first shocking, but on second glance the dialog is hugely funny and totally appropriate.

Increasingly the poetry of the language of Deadwood is Shakespearean. And, if comparing the Bard’s work one doesn’t have to stretch to draw parallels. Shakespeare always kept an undercurrent of base appeal to the unwashed in his language. References in most of his plays to the language of the lower classes can always be unearthed. While the drama itself is complex there is inevitably an inside joke to be uncovered for those familiar with the patois of the streets. Listen carefully as circumlocutions abound among the plotters in the mining camp. Things which are serious matters of life and death cannot always be spoken of openly; hence the references are increasingly oblique, subject to misinterpretation and even “plausible deniability.” Potential confusion can certainly exist, but truly masterful plotters will usually get their desired results even when dealing with the most ill-bred of functionaries.

I seldom watch TV beyond the news, sports and my spouse-mandated dose of reality shows. Deadwood, however has become mandatory viewing. I haven’t yet found myself reduced to the phrasings of Calamity Jane, however, I do notice a slight increase in scatological references when dropping in for the occasional beer at the local saloon.