The main story of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, Sunday revolved around the long-running, hugely popular crime drama Law & Order, which first aired in 1990. Oliver criticized the series for intentionally mischaracterizing the police force in the United States.
“It presents a world where the cops can always find out who did it, defenders are irritating obstacles to overcome, and even when a cop beats up a suspect it’s all about a fair outcome,” said Oliver and soon added , “Under all of this, it’s a commercial, and a commercial produced by a man who, in his own words, is unabashedly pro-law enforcement. And he’s very good at selling things. And in this case he’s selling a complete fantasy that a lot of people in this country are only too happy to buy.”
Oliver pointed to a 2015 study to suggest that shows like Law & Order have skewed viewers’ opinions about law enforcement.
“One study found that viewers of crime dramas are more likely to believe that the police are successful in reducing crime, use violence only when necessary, and that misconduct does not typically lead to false confessions,” Oliver said. “Which would be great if it were true, but if you watch this show, you probably know it’s not.”
Oliver went on to quote a writer from the show who said it was in their best interest to cast the police in a positive light, and broadcast clips of actors from Law & Order saying law enforcement officers thanked them for doing so.
“One writer who worked on the series said, ‘…there was always a sense that the NYPD could make it very difficult for us to shoot in New York if we told stories that reflected too badly on the police force throw.’ what makes sense right? The NYPD is notoriously opposed to shootings unless they are the ones doing it.”
Finally, Oliver quoted a 2019 tweet from one of the stars of Law & Order: SVU, Ice-T.
“It’s an ad for a defective product,” Oliver said, “because if I may quote one last time from the Alexandria library, that’s the Ice-T Twitter account: ‘You gotta KNOW who the fuck with you have to do. Could the cops be…’”
The story goes on
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