The first reading by Renee Goldsmith Kasinsky, Patrolling the Facts: Media, Cops, and Crime, discusses the difference between the type of work cops do in the real world, and how cop and detective work is protrayed by the media. More often than not, there is a disparity between the two. In the real world, cops have a lot of paperwork and sit at a desk for most of the time. In television and movies, we don't see this type of work being portrayed. Usually we see cops out in the field arresting criminals who are running from the law. Cops are portrayed as crime fighters, that have a lot of power and authority to take matters into their hands and uphold the law. Kasinsky also talks about the Rodney King beating and how cops were portrayed as the major perpetrators of the violence. This is an interesting case, because usually the cops want to be portrayed in a certain way, even if its not really that way. However, the media actually portrayed to the public that cops are not perfect, and police brutality is an issue that needs to be looked into. I thought it was interesting how the cops always want to be on the good side of journalists, newspapers, and television, and how they have a power to manipulate the media in order to portray a certain image to the public.
In the Rafter reading for this week, she talks about Cop and detective films and how they are portrayed in this way. Cops can be portrayed in different lights through films, but usually the image that they are portrayed is in a positive light. They are seen as holding a certain power to fight crime, and sometimes take matters into their own hands (as we see in Dirty Harry) in order to keep law and order. Since the Dirty Harry movies came out, We see a lot of characters that stem from these same tropes. There are a lot of vigilante type cop films in which the cop has to go his own way, rebel against the bureaucratic system in order to fight crime. Cops are portrayed as smart and knowledgeable, physically fit, masculine. tough, showing little emotion. This notion of the ideal cop in cop and detective films is not exactly a realistic portrayal of cops in society. Cop and detective work is dramatized and exaggerated through films.
After watching Dirty Harry we talked about the portrayal of the cop and detective role. In this film, Dirty Harry is the vigilante type cop, and takes matters into his own hand when it comes to upholding the law in San Francisco, California. He is anti-bureaucratic and sees the system as inept, corrupt, and unable to actually get any crime-fighting accomplished. Harry makes crime fighting look effortless and easy when he happens to stumble upon a bank robbery. He simply fires one shot per criminal and the job is taken care of. We all know this is not an accurate depiction of police work and crime fighting in the real world. This ties right into our discussions and readings of how cop work is portrayed in the media. Cops want to be portrayed as living an exciting life of crime fighting on the streets, even if its not realistic. These images reinforce our beliefs about cops and the type of work they do.
On CNN. com I found an article about a California cop who is pleading not guilty for being charged with beating a mentally ill homeless man to death. The police officer apparently attacked the man after an altercation on the street. The order goes on to discuss other instances of police brutality in the Los Angelas area. The district attorney said the cops behavior was unacceptable and not protecting or serving the public. The cop could now be sentenced to 15 years in jail. I thought it was somewhat ironic how the cop is portrayed here. Cops are supposed to be good right? Or at lease we think. The person that is supposed to protect and serve is now the one put on try for committing a criminal act of murder. I think it is important for the media to not be one sided and just show the heroic stories of police work but also show how cops are human too and make mistakes, just like us, or just like criminals.
In the Rafter reading for this week, she talks about Cop and detective films and how they are portrayed in this way. Cops can be portrayed in different lights through films, but usually the image that they are portrayed is in a positive light. They are seen as holding a certain power to fight crime, and sometimes take matters into their own hands (as we see in Dirty Harry) in order to keep law and order. Since the Dirty Harry movies came out, We see a lot of characters that stem from these same tropes. There are a lot of vigilante type cop films in which the cop has to go his own way, rebel against the bureaucratic system in order to fight crime. Cops are portrayed as smart and knowledgeable, physically fit, masculine. tough, showing little emotion. This notion of the ideal cop in cop and detective films is not exactly a realistic portrayal of cops in society. Cop and detective work is dramatized and exaggerated through films.
After watching Dirty Harry we talked about the portrayal of the cop and detective role. In this film, Dirty Harry is the vigilante type cop, and takes matters into his own hand when it comes to upholding the law in San Francisco, California. He is anti-bureaucratic and sees the system as inept, corrupt, and unable to actually get any crime-fighting accomplished. Harry makes crime fighting look effortless and easy when he happens to stumble upon a bank robbery. He simply fires one shot per criminal and the job is taken care of. We all know this is not an accurate depiction of police work and crime fighting in the real world. This ties right into our discussions and readings of how cop work is portrayed in the media. Cops want to be portrayed as living an exciting life of crime fighting on the streets, even if its not realistic. These images reinforce our beliefs about cops and the type of work they do.
On CNN. com I found an article about a California cop who is pleading not guilty for being charged with beating a mentally ill homeless man to death. The police officer apparently attacked the man after an altercation on the street. The order goes on to discuss other instances of police brutality in the Los Angelas area. The district attorney said the cops behavior was unacceptable and not protecting or serving the public. The cop could now be sentenced to 15 years in jail. I thought it was somewhat ironic how the cop is portrayed here. Cops are supposed to be good right? Or at lease we think. The person that is supposed to protect and serve is now the one put on try for committing a criminal act of murder. I think it is important for the media to not be one sided and just show the heroic stories of police work but also show how cops are human too and make mistakes, just like us, or just like criminals.
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