The last decade has seen the emergence of a new style of entertainment: violent media based on the lives of various professionals. These shows and films chronicle the lives of military and police personnel in the course of their work. The fascination with realism in entertainment has aided in the long-term success of shows like COPS, which has been running for 23 seasons (Langley, 1989), as well as new shows like Dexter and Spartacus: Blood and Sand. These programs have been successful over their broadcast history and continue to be so today. I am familiar with these examples, having watched them all on multiple occasions. The main thing to consider regarding these shows is whether they offer more than just an entertainment factor, and, if so, can it be considered an educational tool for teaching viewers more than just what they can learn in a school classroom?
The educational factor of a media source should be considered based on its content and application to reality. College courses are designed to teach students about the principles related to a specific job field. For instance, the California State University, Sacramento(CSUS), course catalog (2010), lists the purpose for the class Interviewing and Detection of Deception, as “Principles and techniques of interviewing and detection of deception studied from communication, physiological and psycho-social points of view. Introduction to the use of the polygraph; laws pertaining to confessions and admissions.” This description tells of the benefits of the course. The sole purpose of a college is, after all, to educate; something that most television shows do not have. However, does that necessarily mean that there is no educational quality in entertainment shows?
For a show like COPS (Langley, 1989), the educational benefits can be seen in many of the people who have grown up watching it. Understanding concepts like the Miranda Rights and the duties of patrol officers is one example of what can be learned from a television series. Nathan Bruschi (2010) wrote a blog specifying the lessons he learned from watching COPS. These lessons include the importance of Miranda Rights and obvious lessons of why one should not point a gun at a police officer. Although these “lessons” can be viewed as comical, they do indicate the educational benefit of a law enforcement show to the viewers.
While COPS follows police officers as they perform their duties in the United States some shows chronicle different professions. As an example, there is one new film receiving a lot of recognition by the American public, despite only a small percentage of the public actually having experience in the profession. The 2010 film documentary Restrepo chronicles the lives of a platoon of infantry soldiers over the course of a year-long deployment in Afghanistan. Although the experiences of these soldiers are unlike what most of the issues American viewers will come across in their lives, there are still useful messages to be gained from it. The primary benefit of this show is that it provides viewers with a look at life in an active infantry unit. The documentary includes footage of active firefights resulting in friendly casualties and losses. This type of footage is beneficial to the public because it shows us what is happening with our military from the perspective of the soldiers, rather than from a reporter that heard about it after-the-fact. The cameramen/producers rarely make any comments and just film the actions of the platoon as they unfold. The real educational benefit of this documentary comes from this neutral position taken by the filmmakers. They allow us a glimpse into a combat unit without the slant of a news reporter.
Modern media has expanded over the last few years in pursuit of entertaining the masses. The side effect of some of these shows has been the creation of new forms of education. Although these new prospects do not address traditional education, they are useful for keeping Americans “street smart”. These concepts are just as important as formal education because they deal directly with real-life matters.
References
Bruschi, N. (2010, September 2). The 8 Lessons I’ve Learned From COPS. [Web Log]. Retrieved from http://thelittlegreenblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/8-lessons-ive-learned-from-cops.html
CRJ 152: Interviewing and Detection of Deception (2010). California State University, Sacramento, Course Catalog Online: Criminal Justice Division. Retrieved from http://catalog.csus.edu/current/programs/crj.html
Junger, S. & Hetherington, T. (Producers & Directors). (2010). Restrepo [Motion Picture Documentary]. United States: National Geographic Entertainment.
Langley, J. (Producer). (1989). COPS [television show]. United States: Langley Productions.
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