Fictional cops rarely have any ethics. Quite famously, they ignore people civil rights or liberties when they “know” that person is guilty.
It’s like the male lead of a shitty romance novel acting super creepy, abusive, and rapey, but it’s okay because it’s fiction and they always luck out and the woman is into it.
Which is why most cop shows function as authoritarian propaganda. They show an idealist fairy tale version that nonetheless creates this aspirational image of cops in mainstream culture. It gives cover to the true cop culture. Just like villains in movies are always just a bad apple that is corrupt and once eliminated all is well, when in real world the rules of the system is what breeds corruption. It’s not meant to be, but it acts as authoritarian propaganda.
I love cop shows, they are my guilty pleasure, but one needs to be aware that this is fairy tale.
If cops in real life acted like cops in fiction, people wouldn’t hate them as much
That’s because most fictional cops have ethics, empathy, and a conscience.
Fictional cops rarely have any ethics. Quite famously, they ignore people civil rights or liberties when they “know” that person is guilty.
It’s like the male lead of a shitty romance novel acting super creepy, abusive, and rapey, but it’s okay because it’s fiction and they always luck out and the woman is into it.
Which is why most cop shows function as authoritarian propaganda. They show an idealist fairy tale version that nonetheless creates this aspirational image of cops in mainstream culture. It gives cover to the true cop culture. Just like villains in movies are always just a bad apple that is corrupt and once eliminated all is well, when in real world the rules of the system is what breeds corruption. It’s not meant to be, but it acts as authoritarian propaganda.
I love cop shows, they are my guilty pleasure, but one needs to be aware that this is fairy tale.
Often such movies and military movies must be approved by the government and get funded by them so the military gets to co-write the propaganda