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Reading the above analysis might give the impression that prime time series are filled with violent themes. In fact, only a few shows this season consistently raised issues about violence. Many shows impressed us with how well they were able to convey conflict and grittiness without resorting to excessive or contextually inappropriate uses of violence. The 10:00 dramas were particularly outstanding in how they handled violent themes while never resorting to excessive, graphic images or gratuitous or glorified violence. The work of Steven Bochco, David Kelley, Dick Wolf and Michael Crichton was especially notable in its sensitive handling of violence. It is encouraging to see that violence can be portrayed so responsibly.
An entire season of monitoring NYPD Blue 18 times, The Commish 12 times, Picket Fences 12 times, Under Suspicion 12 times, ER 16 times, Homicide 12 times, and Law and Order 8 times produced no inappropriate portrayals of violence. Although these shows deal with themes containing violence, they do so in a fashion such that the violence is not overly graphic, is relevant to the story and is in a time period suitable for such themes. There is much to commend in these shows and they should serve as models for how to deal with violence in an intelligent and responsible manner. These shows appear across all four networks. In the following analyses we have tried to explain what we feel is impressive in these shows.
Envisioned as broadcast television's first R-rated drama, NYPD Blue consistently deals with violent themes in a responsible manner. Famous for its use of some semi-nudity and explicit (for network television) language, the show was never found to be irresponsible in its use of violence. Many people unfamiliar with the show associate it with other police shows containing explicit violence. Those who watch NYPD Blue know that it contains little violence and when it does address violent themes, they are always completely relevant to the story.
Based on the New York City Police Department, the show necessarily deals with violence. It would not be possible to portray the lives of New York cops without frequently dealing with violence. Unlike older police shows such as Adam-12, the officers are not completely virtuous. Pushed to the wall by the pressures of their dangerous jobs, the officers struggle and occasionally we see police officers acting brutally when arresting suspects or getting a confession out of them. While the 12/20/94 episode raised the issue of excessive police force, it ultimately dealt responsibly with the issue.
The show also deals extensively with the psychological implications of violence. Violence is depicted as a realistic part of daily life in the city. However, the show is not overrun by guns. The violence is often born of frustration, such as slaps or threats. The police officers frequently consider acting violently and then demonstrate restraint.
Violence is portrayed as problematic. The police are depicted as human and multi-dimensional characters. The bad guys are not pure evil. This leads to a responsible and realistic handling of violence. The producers understand that it is not necessary to show graphic scenes of violence in order to deal with violence in the show.
Every scene of violence in NYPD Blue is contextually appropriate. Nothing is excessive, everything is realistic and the consequences are always shown. NYPD is close to a textbook example of how to deal with violent material and others can benefit by studying its methods.
Homicide contains few scenes of violence and some episodes contain none at all. Frequently scenes are nothing more than already dead bodies that are used to set up a homicide investigation. The show is often just a murder mystery without the murder. Very rarely do we actually see a murder. The act of killing is typically not contextually relevant to the unfolding of the story which emphasizes the investigation, not the crime. The show focuses on the psychological dimension of violent crime rather than the graphicness or exciting quality of the violence itself. Like NYPD Blue, Homicide presents a world in which violence and conflict are prevalent in urban life.
Almost all the violence and its outcomes are realistic and demonstrate consequences. Frequently action is taken to prevent violence. Homicide effectively avoids gratuitous violence while, at the same time, portraying the gritty reality of urban life.
"In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate but equally important groups: the police, who investigate, and district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories." With this statement, Law and Order begins. This is an unusual show which dedicates approximately half of its one-hour program to a police investigation and the other half to the follow-up prosecution of the earlier case. The goal of the show is to depict the justice system in the most realistic light possible. This is achieved through character and plot development which is gritty, intense and consequential.
A typical episode of Law and Order consists of one act of violence at the beginning of the show. This act is used as the story line's driving force. The use of violence is always contextually appropriate. Furthermore, the consequences of the violence are dealt with in a very commendable manner. In one episode, an off-duty police officer shoots two adolescents, hurting one and killing the other, because they tried to rob her at gunpoint. Never is this shown as exciting or glamorous. The police officer is repeatedly shown expressing grief and remorse to the dead child's mother and to a police psychologist.
In trying to remain consistent with its reality-based format, the show occasionally portrays the police as bullying some suspects through threatening language or some physical coercion. In one episode, a police officer pushes a suspect during an interrogation. However, these acts are never overdone or gratuitous in nature, and the violence is not shown as leading to a suspect's admission of guilt. Thus, it is not rewarded.
Law and Order integrates violence into the plot in a very responsible fashion. The violent acts are not heroic, glamorized or prolonged. Law and Order substitutes graphic images and realistic consequences that work in tandem to give the show a more violent feel without having to see the violent act. The dramatic edge is provided by the detailed rigors of police investigations, which often create mysteries that the District Attorney's office must solve. Then, the dramatic tension is continued by the atmosphere of the courtroom in which a verdict of guilt or innocence is never predictable. This is a cop show without a lot of violence and yet it has compelling elements that keep its viewers riveted to the show.
These dramatic series are commendable not because they avoid dealing with violence. Most comedies do this. What is so impressive about these shows is that they achieve a high level of grittiness and excitement without overemphasizing violence. A recommendation that a police show simply avoid violence would be unrealistic given the demands of the genre. These shows deal with violent themes but consistently do so in a contextually appropriate manner. Some conclusions we have drawn regarding responsible depictions of violence are as follows:
These shows understand that violence does occur in 20th century urban America. They do not have to invent unusual ways or methods of portraying violence.
When violence is depicted on these shows it is never exaggerated, cartoonish or sanitized and the consequences are shown.
Violence does not exist in a vacuum. Rarely do police shoot or kill suspects, even guilty ones, and call it a day. Deciding to commit a violent act can be difficult. Often a character struggles with other options before resorting to violence. After committing a violent act, one often undergoes a painful process of self-examination and reflection.
It is not always necessary to show violence in order to adequately make a certain point, advance the plot or develop a particular character. Graphically depicting violence is seldom necessary and often serves merely to sensationalize rather than elucidate.
These shows require the creation of multi-dimensional characters whose actions are not always predictable. The characters cannot be superficially drawn because viewers have to understand their backgrounds and personalities in order to comprehend their actions. More traditional action shows can use simplistic characters who reflexively resort to violence as the solution to problems.
These guidelines point to ways in which programs can effectively deal with violent themes in an appropriate contextual manner that rarely, if ever, raises concerns.
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