Does police brutality affect your enthusiasm in watching cop TV shows or movies?

[Jim Kelly]

I come to this site because I like comics, T.V. and movies--not because I like vigilantes.

I thought the recent PERRY MASON series did a fair job of displaying the corruption in the L.A. police force in the early 1930s. However, I didn't like that Perry cut so many corners in his first case as a lawyer. He didn't even get to be a lawyer on the strength of his skills and then he had to cheat in the actual case. I feel like Perry should be a lot stronger than that, if we're really going to have faith in him. A little fiddling the system is okay--since it is corrupt--but I like to be able to tell the good guys from the bad guys.

[A Small Talent For War]

I did start getting turned off by police procedurals and especially FBI centered shows after learning more about the long history of civil rights abuses. Ironically, though, most of the actual police I know also rarely watch shows or movies about police work essentially because it is so outrageous. Most are actually turned off by how often police in entertainment casually violate suspects' rights -- also, whenever I watch a true crime show where the police interrogate a person without a lawyer present, it drives me crazy. No one should ever agree to talk directly to police without legal representation.
Essentially though, even the most realistic police shows - and often those ostensibly based on true stories like NetFlix's NARCOS - are so divorced from the reality, the reality of policing has no bearing on the enjoyment of the story. Just like shows about doctors or set in hospitals rarely reflect anything like what actual medical workers or patients experience. Television and movies are not about providing instruction manuals or a view on the real world -- mostly, they try to do the opposite.

[Ronin705]

Nawwww man, ain't no cops as cool as ll cool J in NCIS lmao

[MyriVerse]

Puh-lease... He isn't even the coolest in the NCIS-verse. Jethro and King got him beat. King's got more coolness in his ivory-tickling pinkies than Sam.

Come to think of it... Sam might be the least cool guy on NCIS:LA, thus proving the truly stellar acting of the cast. Sam's generally been the straight-edged family guy. He even calls the lead white cop "G." (yeah yeah it's his real initial) And Hettie is cooler than Sam. Even the nerdy techs are cooler.

[Cyke]

Nawwww man, ain't no cops as cool as ll cool J in NCIS lmao

lol, he has this certain air of doucheness in any role that just doesn't sit well with me, cop show or not

[Joker]

My own half-brother is a retired NYPD officer. He's an ok guy and generally defends his colleagues.

But when i confront him about the problems with the police and how the police union covers up the criminality, he can't really offer any defense.

Right. I mean, "not all cops" is definitely true, but the "fraternal order" as a whole? Bad. In the end it doesn't matter when a good individual operates with and within a bad organization. Especially if you're not trying to fight that system. Most good cops turn a blind eye, refuse to partner with, the bad cops.

[chamber-music]

The whole Us vs Them mindset and blue brotherhood culture is ironically not that different from gang culture.

[Midvillian1322]

The whole Us vs Them mindset and blue brotherhood culture is ironically not that different from gang culture.

America, whole Lotta gang ****.

[RockyHorror]

No, but #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo make a lot of old shows cringe worthy now. Current militants have even affected my enjoyment of certain episodes of classic Barney Miller.

[SJNeal]

I recently started rewatching my favorite cop show of all time - Reno 911!

They relied heavily on playing "police brutality" for laughs, and I thought it was hilarious 15 yrs ago. And while I still enjoy the show for the most part, I'm definitely laughing a little less this time around.

[OrangeRangerPete]

During lockdown, I've been watching Hawaii 5-0 (the recent one, with the absurd levels of hoyay between Steve and Danny). It's basically police brutality with pineapples, and sometimes, it can be a little uncomfortable to watch. But the show leans into it's own absurdity. 5-0 was so ridiculous and over-the-top (Steve once took out a terrorist by shooting him with a surface-to-air missile launcher) that it's very hard to take the show that seriously in the first place. I think that's probably why it lasted 8 or so seasons, it knew how absurd the whole thing was, and "realistic" was never something you could accuse it of being.

I still loved the episode where Steve and Danny foil a terrorist plot on three continents and end the episode getting a medal of valour from Queen Elisabeth herself, all in forty minutes.

[Alan2099]

I don't care what anyone says, this is still hilarious.

[Gray Lensman]

I recently started rewatching my favorite cop show of all time - Reno 911!

They relied heavily on playing "police brutality" for laughs, and I thought it was hilarious 15 yrs ago. And while I still enjoy the show for the most part, I'm definitely laughing a little less this time around.

I was never overly fond of that show, but the televangelist episode had one of the greatest lines of all time.

[Powerboy]

I grew up in an era when almost everything on television was unrealistic including cop shows, almost everyone knew they were unrealistic, people joked in school about it and critics knew it so the idea of shows not matching reality isn't a new concept for me. Maybe the real surprise is that shows are still usually just as unrealistic but in a different way.

[Mark Trail]

No, I know the difference between RL and make believe.
I also don’t generalize and believe all police are bad because some police are bad.

There you go, bringing logic into a discussion.