Janette's Keeping It Real: Reality is a fluid concept!

Reality is a fluid concept.

Article by: Janette Dalgliesh

Time goes fast or slow, depending on whether you’re waiting for a hot date or the dentist. Football’s the best game in the world, if your team is winning; otherwise it sucks. One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. And so on.

Add the word “TV” and you’re in a-whole-nother Bizarro World universe.

I’m not talking about peer groups sharing big houses, or competing cheflings who make us go “awwww”—strange as these shows may be.  I’m talking about the love-child of documentary and current affairs—the ride-along.

You know the genre: we tag along as the cops/border guards/customs officers/dog handlers do their thing. And we get to peek at what really goes on, out there in Law Enforcement Land.

A notable veteran of the genre is COPS, broadcast in Australia on Network Ten’s sports channel, ONE. According to ONE, it’s “a long-running, popular reality show documenting real cops as they do their jobs”.

So how “real” is real? COPS was the subject of a research study which asked that very question, by analysing 50 hours of programming to see how race and gender are depicted in the show.

We learn a lot about the USA from our screens. If I’d been relying on this show to learn about the USA, here are the top three “facts” I’d have gleaned:

1. USA is a very dangerous place

Crimes in the States come in two types: UCR Part I (murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny/theft [over $500], motor vehicle theft and arson) and UCR Part II (everything else). In the 50 hours of COPS analysed, a massive 54 percent of crimes shown were UCR Part I. That’s approximately double the actual national crime stats.

1. Boys rule…

… across the board, apparently. Most cops in the show are male—in 50 hours of programming there was one lone female police officer. And apparently women rarely perpetrate crime—four female offenders appeared in total: all white, and mostly involved in DUI, animal offence or alcohol related crime. There were no non-white women at all. Hm.

1. Black guys are the worst

OK, I totally cringed as I typed that and I’m sure you cringed reading it. Of course they’re not! But a whopping ninety-three percent of the African-American individuals in COPS appear in the “role” of offender.  It’s not much better for Hispanic individuals, with eight-three percent shown as offenders.  Yikes.

But we know it’s not real

Do we?

This is the question being asked by more and more researchers. It’s well-established that most people get their information and—more importantly—form their opinions about law and order from watching current affairs, news and reality TV shows.

The depiction of crime has a significant impact on public opinion; which in turn impacts on public policy.

Producers of these series claim that they simply choose the stories based on what will make “good TV”. But do producers have a responsibility to reflect accurately the reality of policing—for example, that women do have a significant role on both sides of law and order; and that there are plenty of white baddies and non-white good guys?

What do you think? Do you watch this genre? Do you question what you’re shown? Does it influence your opinions on law and order? Tell us what you think.

Disclaimer: I am a complete sucker for the dog handler shows. Just sayin’.

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