Violence in Our Country

The following is the twenty-eighth in a series of essays written in response to the media analysis assignment described in the January 28, 2000 article on this topic page. Colorado State University student Emily Webster describes how shows like NYPD Blue "illustrate violence as a problem amongst all classes."

Violence in Our Country by Emily Webster

Every day the American public is surrounded and influenced by the media. The media serves as an educational tool for us in both negative and positive ways, whether through books, movies, newspapers, news shows, or fictional shows. We use these tools to understand and relate to the world that we live in today. Where to draw the line of what is proper and improper to show to the public is rather difficult however somehow we manage to use some discretion. Unfortunately there are times when we tend to overlook the way that things are portrayed, especially on television. Although we enforce many more laws concerning violence and weaponry than most countries, America is extremely far from becoming a safer nation. Frequently we read and see horrid stories of violence, such as the shooting in Michigan, which both opens our eyes yet gives us a gruesome feeling within. Violence on TV both depicts as well as influences the ways of our society. The common idea seems to be that violence only occurs in the lower class however many shows such as NYPD Blue illustrate violence as a problem amongst all classes.

NYPD Blue is a "gritty depiction of men and women whose relentless pursuit of criminals is only matched by their unfailing pursuit of humanity." Each episode revolves around investigating crime scenes, sweet-talking a confession, and putting their lives in danger all because of the commitment to their job ad each other. Within every episode there are several cases being looked into and throughout the series these cases are amongst all classes of America. While NYPD Blue reassures viewers that the police force do their job well, it also resists the common idea that violence occurs only in the lower class. In a recent episode two of the detectives investigated a love-triangle homicide, which involved three middle-class business people in the city. On another episode detectives Sipowicz and Sorenson are trying to find a thief who stole a very expensive piece of art. It turned out that the thief was a well-respected antique collector who was extremely wealthy.

This television show and ones like it have an effect on the public in several ways. First, many viewers probably believe that crimes such as the ones on NYPD Blue would never happen to them. They feel almost invincible. However, the truth is two out of five crimes that occur daily are amongst the middle and upper classes. On the other hand, some viewers may already have enough fear that they need reassurance that the police and detectives of our country are doing their job. In almost every episode of NYPD Blue they solve the crime, which makes viewers feel good.

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