police (The Sopranos) to many depiction styles in between. The Shield graphically examines
violence and corruption. Police Woman and more recently Cold Case have illustrated some of
the gender challenges faced by female police officers. More recently gritty police procedurals
have shown law enforcement officers dealing with violence, corruption, and the challenges of
urban policing (Homicide: Life on the Streets and the Law and Order franchise). Many of the
currently popular police-based program focus on forensics and criminalistics (the CSI programs
and Criminal Minds). There have even been comical depictions of police officers (Car 54—
Where are You? and most recently Monk). If the media depictions become internalized by
viewers as accurate or at least influential in how the viewer perceives law enforcement, this then
may shape their understanding of the policing profession.
Research on Media
Only recently have scholars in media and culture studies examined the presentation of the
criminal justice system in movies (cites), television (cites), and music (cites). Although research
analyzing the effects of television violence and aggression began in the 1960s, it has been only
within the past several decades that extensive research has been conducted. Clary (2000) cites
specific instances where individuals committing violent or aggressive acts did so after seeing
similar acts on television. In the mid-1980s, several studies reinforced the notion that violence
on television negatively affected children. Eron and Huesmann (1986) found that those who
watched violent television were more likely to commit serious crimes as adults. Furthermore,
they observed second-generation effects: those who watched more violence as children were
more abusive toward spouses and punished their children more severely than those parents who
watched less television as children.
4
Convention