
How America’s obsession with TV cop shows enables police brutality in real life - M_Grey
http://qz.com/783384/law-order-svu-season-18-premiere-americas-love-of-cop-shows-enables-police-brutality/
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JoeAltmaier
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.

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M_Grey
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.

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squozzer
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?

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pasbesoin
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.

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

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steveeq1
One can also make the argument that rap music and games like "Grand Theft
Auto" encourages violent behavior in black youths.

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Retric
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.

