’cause that would be racist
Popular television shows inaccurately portray violent crime. Odd. Based on TeeVee, I always thought most murders in the country were committed by affluent white people for either insurance money or because of skeleton in the closet. Or a random serial killer. Turns out, not so much:
When researchers compared the shows to the CDC data, they discovered the strongest misrepresentations were related to alcohol use, relationships, and race among perpetrators and victims. Previous studies of actual statistics have shown that both perpetrator and victim were often under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs when the crime occurred, differing from what the shows portrayed. Also, CSI and CSI: Miami were more likely to have described the victim and the attacker as Caucasian, which is misrepresentative. Finally, according to the CDC data, homicide victims typically knew their assailant; however, the television series were more likely to have portrayed the perpetrator as a stranger.
May 20th, 2009 at 9:26 am
Well Gee!
You mean TV aint real…… go figure.
If the News lie’s for ratings or political correctness what makes Shows different.
May 20th, 2009 at 9:38 am
well, at least shows hold themselves out as fiction. the news doesn’t.
May 20th, 2009 at 10:12 am
That’s why I watch shows like Crime 360 and The First 48. I prefer reality to fiction.
May 20th, 2009 at 10:26 am
I understand the point, but really, how interesting would CSI be if every week was just another rehash of common murders? Agatha Christie’s murder mysteries are classics, yet how real are any of they?
May 20th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Well, to be fair to CSI, the crime in the areas they investigate mostly centers around caucasians. (I don’t watch the show, so I can’t say if the work mostly around the inner-city or not.) And bear in mind that meeting a person once means they are not a stranger (it could be just someone the victim sees, but does not talk to).