According to Jay S. Albanese of Virginia Commonwealth University, crimes are “Forms of conduct that society prohibits in order to maintain order” (Albanese, 12), but do you think of that definition while you watch your local news, or while watching television crime dramas such as CSI or Law and Order?
Crime-oriented shows are some of the most popular forms of entertainment today. Although they are fictional and strictly meant for entertainment purposes, many feel as though they are more so to inform rather than entertain. "Many people, however, derive a significant part of what they know about crime from crime drams; most people do not have personal experience with violent crime" (Mandel, 43).
A great number of crime-oriented shows do focus on violent cases such as homicides, which is ironic because a homicide is the least common series of crimes. While watching a crime-oriented television series, you will notice that their only focus is carefully collecting substantial evidence, rather than devoting their time to analyze the causes of the actual criminal behavior; "blind passions, crazy plots, ... clinical madness" (Surette). Therefore, many believe these shows are causing crimes rather than just entertaining audiences.
However, I believe that these shows are actually helping prevention. Think about it, after the end of each hour episode, the crime is solved, and the murderer/suspects are caught and brought to justice. If everyone watches, they should realize that no matter what, evidence is everywhere and you will get caught. Yes, any old random Joe can watch these shows, but only a percentage can actually understand them and the forensic processes that occur. While asking 10 people if they knew what Luminol *BlueStar* is and used for, only 4 people knew. Two of which major in forensic science like my self, and the other two watch CSI religiously. Therefore, that proved that crime-oriented shows such as CSI, really do their job of entertaining because people watch, and informing because people learn. However, what they do learn, (the use of luminol), is not telling them how to commit a murder, it's in fact telling them the easy way to get caught.
Luminol (BlueStar): is used primarily at crime scenes where clean-up of blood is suspected.
Works Cited/Works Consulted:
Fabianic, David. "Television Dramas and Homicide Causation," Journal of Criminal Justice 25 (1997), p. 200.
Mandel, E., Delightful Murder (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1984), p. 43.
Surette, Ray. Media Crime, and Criminal Justice: Images Realities, and Policies, 3rd Ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2007).
No comments:
Post a Comment