Reality in Legal Dramas
Introduction:
The public relies on television as its primary source of information about the legal system. Many American’s turn to television media for general entertainment, but watch certain genres for informative purposes. Watching crime based shows is one example of this theory. People look to crime shows to gain knowledge of how crime solving works and what kind of job duties each person has, when what is shown on television is not always reality. Take the shows Law and Order: SVU and Hawaii 5-0. These shows reveal the aspects of detectives’ everyday lives inside the job. They have a high tolerance for violence and depict an unrealistic representation of certain occupations.
Methodology:
Reading two essays, researching television media and genres, observing two shows and participating in a Roundtable Discussion on American Media Images (RDAMI) were the steps I took in putting together my ideas on television media. “Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie and “Where Have All the Parents Gone” by Barbara Dafoe Whitehead were the two essays I read for this paper. They develop ideas on what has an impact on American people and culture. I observed two episodes of two different television shows. Law and Order: SVU was one of the shows. Law and Order: SVU is a show about sexually based crimes, SVU meaning “Special Victims Unit”. “Friending Emily” and “Manhattan Vigil” were the two episodes with the main characters being senior detectives Olivia Benson and Odafin “Fin” Tutuola, detectives Nick Amara and Amanda Rollins, Sergeant John Munch and Captain Donald Cragen. Hawaii 5-0 was the other show I observed. Hawaii doesn't have its own state police force but the Governor has set up a special task force, which becomes known as "Five-0", to investigate serious crimes on the islands. “Popilikia”, which stands for misfortune in Hawaiian and “Pu’olo” which stands for the package, were the two episodes of Hawaii 5-0 with the main characters being Steve McGarrett, the leader of the 5-0, Danny Williams, second in command, Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua who are detectives, Dr Max Bergman, Chief Medical Examiner and Kamekona who is an entrepreneur and confidential informant to the 5-0.
Results
Violence: Police Force and Criminals Two-thirds of all programming contains some sort of violence. This was stated in an article I read during my research. Violence is depicted in the actions of police officers and in the works of the criminals. Detective Fin Tutuola in the episode “Manhattan Vigil” of Law and Order: SVU recognizes a man from a police lineup, coming out of a victim’s apartment. He yells at him “Hey, STOP! Police!” The man takes off running, so Fin goes after him. He catches him, plowing him to the ground and when the man doesn’t stop fighting, Fin punches him in the face, knocking him out. “If only you would have stopped,” Fin says. When he gets back to the squad room, Benson asks him “Do you feel the need to punch everyone?” Fin replies, “Only when they feel the need to run.” It was only a small violent act performed by a police officer to accomplish what he wanted. Threats are another small act of violence that police officers use. Detective Amara told a suspect during an interrogation, “If you don’t tell me where you’re hiding her, you’re gonna wish it was you that was lost.” It was one of about 8 times during the episode “Friending Emily” that the detectives used threats as one way to get what they wanted out of the suspects. Fin uses violence again, only this time in the interrogation room. He doesn’t like the answer the suspect gives when asked where he was on the night in question. “I was home alone. Went to bed around 11, had to be at work early the next morning,” the suspect states. Fin grabs him and pushes him up against the wall, “At home?! How convenient for you. You know we can’t really check that alibi if there was no one there?” If the suspects still didn’t cooperate, according to the detectives liking, they would then use brutality and try to “rough them up”. Once again, a small act of violence the police force used in the television shows. However, the police force is not the only group that has used violence. The criminals in the community have started taking violence to a new, more graphic, disturbing level. Criminals are turning to more graphic acts of violence in the media. In an episode of Hawaii 5-0, “Popilikia”, meaning misfortune in Hawaiian, the team investigates the grisly murder of a polo player. He was riding his horse during practice and when he scored a goal, his horse ran through the goal, decapitating him. The team found that what had done that was a sharp, durable wire that had been strung between the two goal posts and just the right height. Criminals and murderers are stopping at nothing, even when it comes to the violence of children. In an episode of Law and Order: SVU “Manhattan Vigil”, the detectives are tracking down a man who had been kidnapping children. Just 13 years earlier, Detective Benson had been a part of an investigation in trying to find a man who had kidnapped this little 12 year old boy. He was never found. During the current case, another 12 year old boy from the same neighborhood had been taken. They traced him back to a man who owned an abandoned building. They found the little boy from 13 years earlier buried under a slab of cement. Shortly after, they found the little boy who had been kidnapped a few days earlier, in the same abandoned building, still alive. Burying victims in cement is a heinous form of violence, although it is not the only thing depicted in these shows. An unrealistic representation of certain occupations is portrayed to viewers.
Occupational Representation: Detectives and Medical Personnel Many images of the law depict it in a way that doubts its ability to be simply neutral and just. The occupational representations of the detectives and medical personnel in these shows help prove that. One example is in the episode “Pu’olo” of Hawaii 5-0. McGarrett and Danny are going to look for a man that might help them in catching the main criminal. They go to a witness’s house to ask him some questions and upon knocking, hear a muffled sound coming from inside. They kick open the door and see a man with a gun standing in the doorway. Without asking questions, McGarrett fires, killing the man. They eventually find out that the man he killed was the man they had been looking to get some information from. The detectives killed him without asking questions or trying to find out what was going on. He was never brought in for questioning and there wasn’t an investigation into why he killed the man. It is the same occupational representation for Benson when she goes against what her captain told her.
“You know how it ended 13 years ago. You remember how bitter and angry she was with you then for giving up on her son. Do you really think that has changed? The years have not made it any easier. Leave it alone Olivia.” That was the order Cragen gave Benson in “Manhattan Vigil” when she said she needed to go talk to the mother of the boy who had been kidnapped and never found from a previous case matching the recent kidnapping of a boy the same age. Yet Benson goes against her superior and seeks out the mother to talk to her once more, hoping there is something she can remember or is willing to share that could help them find the boy recently kidnapped. When Cragen finds out Benson went against his order, he gives her a proverbial slap on the wrist with a warning against doing it again. The detective’s occupation is portrayed as being able to do what you want with the repercussions. This is also true for the medical personnel depicted in television.
Dr Max Bergman is the chief medical examiner on Hawaii 5-0. In the episode “Popilikia”, he is at the crime scene determining the cause of death and the time. He not only determines that, he is able to tell the detectives exactly how it happened and what was used to make it happen. He was able to look at the wire that was strung and determine what type of wire it was, what it is commonly used for, and how it could have managed to decapitate someone. All of this was done in a matter of minutes. It is also the same for the medical personnel in the episode of Law and Order: SVU “Friending Emily”.
On the show, the medical department at the station consists of 2 people, the chief medical examiner and his assistant. Between the two of them, they perform an autopsy, determine the cause of death, and what type of weapon caused it. All of this is done in a matter of hours and by only two people. Along with all that, they are able to get all that information back to the detectives by the end of the day.
Discussion
Violence: Glamorized and Tolerated Violence being used by the police officers has been glamorized in the eyes of America. For example, when Fin plows the guy to the ground and knocks him out for fighting, he wasn’t reprimanded or questioned for why he felt the need to use force. He was looked at as using any means necessary to subdue the suspect. It is the same when Nick and the other detectives use threats to get what they want from the suspects and people they are interrogating. Threats may not be heinous, but they are considered small acts of violence and they are being glamorized along with small acts by police officers. I discussed in my “RDAMI” that it is teaching people it is ok to do what needs to be done to help capture the bad guys. In the same way violence has been glamorized on television, the level of violence has become more tolerated. Watching Hawaii 5-0’s episode “Popilikia”, where the polo player was decapitated, shows that the level of violence on television has grown and is becoming more tolerated in homes. It is also showing that the level to which some criminals and murderers go is becoming more heinous and brutal. It is the same in the episode of Law and Order: SVU “Manhattan Vigil”. The grisly kidnapping, murder and cover up are becoming more atrocious and being watched by viewers every day. It is proof that Americans are ok with watching these types of crimes, tolerating them as part of today’s society.
Occupational Representation: Brazen and Unrealistic Occupational representation in television has become brazen and unrealistic. Detectives are being portrayed as having to account for less of their actions like McGarrett in “Pu’olo” when he kills a man on duty and is never called in for questioning or suspended to perform an investigation. The same goes for Benson when she goes against a direct order to stay away from a mother of a kidnapped boy from her captain. When the captain finds out she went against his direct order, she is never suspended or no action is taken against her. He just pulls her to the side to talk to her about her actions. It is showing America that is it ok to go against your superiors if you feel the need. It says that there is no respect for authority or the repercussions you might face if you take matters into your own hands. It allows them to be brazen in their decisions. In the same way it depicts the medical personnel. Dr Max is shown as being a good medical examiner along with being able to solve the crime by being able to tell what kind of wire was used in the decapitation of a young man. He is able to conclude how it was strung, how it could have done what it did and what kind of wire it was and commonly used for. That is an unrealistic portrayal of the medical examiner. And all of it was done in a few minutes of McGarrett and Danny showing up.