Sometimes I get mad at movies like the Borne identity. I wonder if the FBI or CIA is some how an executive producer on them. Uses them as form of propaganda to make Americans think they exist, that they are competent, powerful, fast, technology savvy and deadly. When in truth they could be anything but. That same jackass that sits next to you in the cube. You know the one who can't get the copier to work... He also works for the FBI.
CSI Miami is a TV show. It is fiction. But it has a great propaganda value in that it makes you think that everybody gets caught. You are probably less likely to commit a crime if you watch it. Marveling at the technology, the intelligence, the sophistication of the team.
You obviously have not visited or met anyone who actually works on these teams. Yes, their are some smart people. But they are not any smarter then your office team...and not any more productive either.
For example how many murders get away with it? TV Would leave you to think that they are all solved.
But a little googling will tell you that is definitely not the case.
In 2004 there were 16,137 case of murder or non-negligent manslaughter. Four years later 37.4% are still unsolved with no prime suspect. If 50% of all murders are committed between domestic partners where that is to say in 50% of all murder cases the suspect is known these agencies do a terrible job of actually catching anybody.
So if you believe the data you should go kill someone you are not in a relationship with....you have a pretty good chance of getting away with it. (That was sarcasm)
What I hate about these shows, these movies is it has the effect of making a citizen afraid of the government. When really it should be the other way around.
I am always skeptical of people who take public service jobs that give them a gun and approval to use it.
I mean who takes a low paying government job? To me they are the scariest people. People who don't hold a objective standard. People who are motivated by patriotism *shudder* people who are motivated power by fighting terrorists....
But then what is a terrorist? Is the FBI a terrorist? The CIA? Gangs? The KKK? Your Book Club? Maybe one day the free thinking Knights of LETLAR will be considered a terrorist and they will come for me.
I don't really know where this rant is going. Just that I don't like these kind of movies and the influence they have on shaping our view of our government services. That seem more aligned to protect the government from us then us from them.
And we think it is just entertainment.
3 comments:
I think anyone who watches TV and movies, or even the news for that matter and thinks that that is the way the world works seriously needs to have their head examined.
Personally, I love watching shows like Law & Order....and The Bourne series is one of my favorites. But the best thing about movies and TV is escaping real life. For me anyway.
As for law enforcement....I know five people personally that serve as police officers in my neck of the woods and I'll be the first to say it certainly takes a certain personality type to be a cop. Like, power issues, low self esteem, some sort of traumatic event as a child....it's what makes them able to handle death, violence, brutality and the ability to pull a trigger. They are scary people but ya know, I'd rather they were cops than me.
Shit, did I just write a blog, in a comment, on your blog?
Well, I get good ideas from the CSI-type shows I watch. For example, I learned via C.S.I.: N.Y. that you can pretty much instantly kill a foe by spraying foam insulation down their windpipe ... so now I always carry a can with me. ;-)
Just kidding, but perhaps one day I will. The enemy you know is probably the one that will try to get you.
Interesting perspective. I wrote a paper once on the desensitizing of America, based on those shows. I had just read In Cold Blood, which was touted as the first true-life fiction (I guess they ruled out every Film Noir movie ever made). Anyhow, part of my research included a count of how many CSI type television shows aired in a typical week. It was something like 200.
I work for the government, and I can certainly tell you that nobody is motivated by anything other than their paycheck and the security of their position. You give us far too much credit.
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