4 ms·

How America’s obsession with TV cop shows enables police brutality in real life

21 points by M_Grey 10y ago

squozzer 10y ago
QZ probably overstates the case, but makes a point worth considering -- cop, fire, and doc dramas rarely hold their professions to something other than reverence. Though I guess we have to at least acknowledge the existence of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Cop Rock. If time travel becomes possible in my lifetime, I would kill to be in the meeting room where Cop Rock was given the green light. OK, maybe I would bump it to second after the JFK assassination. Oops, forgot Car 54 Where Are You?
JoeAltmaier 10y ago
This has been obvious to me since COPS came on the air. It glorifies brutality in every scene. I got to think that recruits are influenced by growing up with this awful example.
- spacemanmatt 10y ago
  Yup. Normalizing police brutality has pretty much destroyed public outrage.
- M_Grey 10y ago
  I remember as a young (not black) teen I loved that show; there was no moral or social dimension to me. In my early twenties I broke my ankle and ended up diving into daytime TV for a couple of weeks, and it was unwatchable. The same episodes were not harmless fun, it was somewhere between grotesque and absurd. I think the time has come for a "COPS" show with footage only from bystanders, and which focuses on average citizen-LEO interactions. We need that perspective to be popularized.
Apocryphon 10y ago
The Shield and The Wire may be two of the finest television shows ever, and both portrayed corrupt cops without glorifying them. Well, mostly.
steveeq1 10y ago
One can also make the argument that rap music and games like "Grand Theft Auto" encourages violent behavior in black youths.
- M_Grey 10y ago
  You think so? I'm not so sure that they're really the same argument. "I've seen so much of X that when I see X now, I just shrug," is a very different argument from, "I've seen so much of X, that now I'm more likely to commit X." I think you could have made your point if the article claimed that those shows encouraged violent behaviors in LEO's.
- Retric 10y ago
  They reduce the time young people spend outside which reduces violence overall. They also allow people to vent in a non-confrontational manor which further curbs violence. PS: Another thing I wonder about is the fact you will get caught by the police in game changes how people think. In real life or fantasy you are very likely to get away with things, but in games failure is much more common.
pasbesoin 10y ago
Not strictly a cop show, but I've said before that I considered "24" to be one of the greatest examples of propaganda ever made. I remember my liberal friends unwilling to miss an episode, and talking more and more about the need to "protect ourselves from the terorists". It was somewhat surreal. And frightening. P.S. Seriously, I'm not sure Bush, Cheney, et al. could have gotten so far down the slippery slope (with many of that bunch sliding willingly) or brought the country with them, without "24". Whether or not the producers of "24" directly intended this.

21 points by M_Grey 10y ago

QZ probably overstates the case, but makes a point worth considering -- cop, fire, and doc dramas rarely hold their professions to something other than reverence. Though I guess we have to at least acknowledge the existence of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Cop Rock. If time travel becomes possible in my lifetime, I would kill to be in the meeting room where Cop Rock was given the green light. OK, maybe I would bump it to second after the JFK assassination. Oops, forgot Car 54 Where Are You?

JoeAltmaier 10y ago

This has been obvious to me since COPS came on the air. It glorifies brutality in every scene. I got to think that recruits are influenced by growing up with this awful example.

spacemanmatt 10y ago
Yup. Normalizing police brutality has pretty much destroyed public outrage.
M_Grey 10y ago
I remember as a young (not black) teen I loved that show; there was no moral or social dimension to me. In my early twenties I broke my ankle and ended up diving into daytime TV for a couple of weeks, and it was unwatchable. The same episodes were not harmless fun, it was somewhere between grotesque and absurd. I think the time has come for a "COPS" show with footage only from bystanders, and which focuses on average citizen-LEO interactions. We need that perspective to be popularized.

Apocryphon 10y ago

The Shield and The Wire may be two of the finest television shows ever, and both portrayed corrupt cops without glorifying them. Well, mostly.

steveeq1 10y ago

One can also make the argument that rap music and games like "Grand Theft Auto" encourages violent behavior in black youths.

M_Grey 10y ago
You think so? I'm not so sure that they're really the same argument. "I've seen so much of X that when I see X now, I just shrug," is a very different argument from, "I've seen so much of X, that now I'm more likely to commit X." I think you could have made your point if the article claimed that those shows encouraged violent behaviors in LEO's.
Retric 10y ago
They reduce the time young people spend outside which reduces violence overall. They also allow people to vent in a non-confrontational manor which further curbs violence. PS: Another thing I wonder about is the fact you will get caught by the police in game changes how people think. In real life or fantasy you are very likely to get away with things, but in games failure is much more common.

pasbesoin 10y ago

Not strictly a cop show, but I've said before that I considered "24" to be one of the greatest examples of propaganda ever made. I remember my liberal friends unwilling to miss an episode, and talking more and more about the need to "protect ourselves from the terorists". It was somewhat surreal. And frightening. P.S. Seriously, I'm not sure Bush, Cheney, et al. could have gotten so far down the slippery slope (with many of that bunch sliding willingly) or brought the country with them, without "24". Whether or not the producers of "24" directly intended this.