"The fear of crime and the
media's reassurance that something is being done constitute a closed world of
threat and reinforcement which imprison the viewer. This truly signals the era
of the postmodern spectacle."[1]
Why is
the representation of the police on television programmes such as 'Road Wars'
and 'Police, Camera, Action!' over sensationalised?
Since the rise of the media as a central
societal institution, we as an audience have seen a significant change in the
representation of the police; from being “a stable image of the caring but firm
British bobby at the centre of community life”[2]to
a sensationalised force of power that has the ability to find and end any
threat of crime that is posed by criminals. If you take a quick glance through
television schedules for the week or headlines of today’s newspapers, you will
find that the “general population has a vast and insatiable interest in the police”[3], the way they operate and
the steps they take to protect the population from crime.
As a genre, reality television has
revolutionised mainstream broadcasting by changing the media landscape and
opening the door for semi scripted programmes such as “Made in Chelsea” and “The
Only Way is Essex”. Programmes such as ‘Road Wars’ and ‘Police, Camera, Action’
implement codes and conventions that are more often associated with the
spectacle and cinematic styles of Hollywood such as non-diegetic high tempo
action music. These reality television shows “[rely] on three types of visual
evidence, 'authentic footage from camera crews observing arrests or rescue
operations; footage from surveillance videos and recordings (often by amateurs)
of dramatic accidents and dangerous situations'. The reality police show is
predominantly shot using camera crews and surveillance videos”[4].
The implementation of such codes and convention creates an arguably inaccurate
representation about the police because these media texts cannot help but inform people's perception of law
enforcement agents as controllers rather than carers”[5].One could simply
argue that the reason why the police have been sensationalised by the media is
to satisfy the audiences’ addiction to spectacle that has been created by
Hollywood. However, by looking at retrospective examples and works from
theorists such as Althusser and Gramsci, evidence suggests other reasons why
representation of the police on television programmes such as 'Road Wars' and 'Police,
Camera, Action!' is so sensationalised.
Taking into consideration the styles and
conventions used in texts such as ‘Road Wars’ and ‘Police, Camera, Action’,
perhaps the sensationalism of the police could be to attract audiences. For
example, by only knowing one side of the story, we as the audience label the
antagonist as a criminal who is harming the audience. “Crime is the great unifier in making everyone a
victim and all viewers equal in their potential victimness."[6].
By allowing audiences to identify with each other as potential victims, this
keeps audiences interested in the text. Also, high tempo non diegetic music has been used to
attract and entertain audiences whilst also offering a sense of escapism. For
example, in the programme “Road Wars”, the during the opening credit sequence,
the use of action style music creates an almost fictional world where the
audience can have the opportunity to become a police officer. This sense of
escapism is further supported by the use of direct-mode of address from the
narrators and police officers, and the use of the handheld camera which creates
the illusion that you are a police officer rather than just an audience member
which according to Blulmer and Katz’s Uses and Gratifications theory[7],
is the reasons why audiences absorb media texts in the first place.
The over sensationalism of the police
can arguably be to control society’s behaviour by the media manipulating the
ideology of the audience. Louis Althusser takes a Marxist perspective and
argues that by the use of “the repressive state apparatus”[8]
which includes the police, and the “ideological state apparatus”[9] which coincidentally
encapsulates the mass media; the “working class are persuaded that the
capitalist system is legitimate”[10].
However, how does Althusser’s theory of ideology
relate to how the police have been sensationalised in television programmes
such as 'Road Wars' and 'police, Camera, Action? “The media has a major effect
on the way people think[11]. By sensationalising the
work of the police and giving a tougher representation, prospective criminals or
“strugglers”[12] as Young and Rubicam[13]define
them as, are subconsciously warned that they will always be caught if they
choose to commit a crime because within these texts the police catch every
criminal which arguably is an unrealistic sensationalised representation. Secondly,
broadcasters use diegetic sounds such as police language as evidence of the
writers' familiarity with the law profession's codes. Trade jargon is deployed
significantly. Beyond describing police operations, it is taken on in an effort
to share the excitement of the hunt for wrongdoers. In these new documentaries
the broadcasters deploy working policemen's jargon to conjure up excitement and
police formality. For example in an episode of ‘Police, Camera, Action’, the policemen
wait in the "ARV" to go to "Level Two" and "Code
Green" before the "ops" begin.So therefore from an ideological
perspective, the overuse of police jargon creates a sensationalist
representation of an organised and professional group of crime-stoppers which
reduces crime and from a Marxist point of view, protects the belongings of the
ruling class.Therefore these
programmes act as a form of “propaganda”[14]
absorbed by the mass consciousness through the “Hypodermic Needle model”[15]
Significantly, the possible reason why
the police have been sensationalised in texts such as ‘Road Wars’ and ‘Police,
Camera, Action’ is to stabilise the ideology of prospective criminals that the police
are a strong, unified and powerful force. This ideology would therefore result
in less crime being committed because audience members are convinced that they
would be caught due to the unrealistic arrest rates that are shown on ‘Police,
Camera, Acton’. However, Althusser’s theory of ideology fails to explain how
all audience members are affected because by implementing Halls “Audience
Reception Theory”[16],
by taking an oppositional reading and pluralisticperspective
of such texts, perhaps one person’s ideology may be different to another. Although
ideology can differ between different audience members, hegemonic ideas are
often universally consistent between members of the audience.
Hegemony can be described as the shared
‘common knowledge’ between members of society in regards to a particular group,
topic or place. Once the hegemony of a particular group is established, it can
be very hard to change; however it does happen. For example, pre 1980’s
hegemonic values in regards to the police would have positive and this can be
seen in the representations of the police in media texts during that time.
Looking retrospectively at the representation of the police in the media, one
of the programs that created the first symbolic representation of the police
came from the series ‘Dixon of Dock Green’; “a BBC television series following
the activities of police officers at a fictional Metropolitan police station in
the East End of London.”[17]The main protagonist was police
Constable George Dixon, “a "bobby" on the beat as well as a widower
raising an only daughter”[18].This representation of a police
officer in comparison to current representations is strikingly different due to
the 1950’s “British Social Realism”[19]
that this text attempted to create. For example there is a clear overuse of mid
shots, a lack of non-diegetic music and the use of realistic costumes and props
such as 1950’s police uniforms which all blend together to create a 1950’s
mis-en-scene.
However, “The representation of the police
over time can be viewed as the gradual erosion of respect and authority”[20].
This was never more evident than during the “Coal Miners Strike”[21]
of 1985. The hegemonic ideology is regards to the police changed from being an
integral part of the local community, to becoming the enemy of the general
public, audiences and the mass media. The reputation of the police was also
harmed massively by the findings of a public inquiry headed William Macpherson
which found the Metropolitan police Force to be “institutionally racist”[22]
and also, the recent “plebgate”[23]
scandal which involves further police corruption[24].
Arguably, the reason why the representation of the police is sensationalised is
to counter balance the negative representation of the police which would then
lead to a change in society’s hegemonic values in regards to the police.
The attempts of the police to change the
hegemonic ideology of the audience can be seen throughout the texts. For
example, the narrative of the text has been utilised to ensure that the police
are represented as keeping society in balance. Using Todorov’s narrative theory[25],
chase sequences within these programmes startwithin an equilibrium which is
maintained by the patrol of the police. There is then a disturbance often
associated with a criminal who throws the narrative into disequilibrium by
committing a crime but the criminal is then dealt with swiftly by the police
which restores the equilibrium and maintains the balance within society. This
is a sensationalist representation because these texts show the police success
rate is almost 100% which is unrealistic but slowly changes the hegemonic
ideology of the audience. These programmes also create what Propp described as
Character Types[26], which is used to coerce
the audience that the police are the ‘heroes’ whilst the criminals are the real
‘villains’. When viewers see the police playing and sometimes narrating themselves
in episodes depicting the successful capture of criminals, the crime show
offers the viewers strong reasons to be grateful for the police force's
vigilance. By creating this representation as’ heroes’ and vigilantes who serve
in the interest of the audience, this would change negative hegemonic
ideologies and return the police officer to their rightful place in the centre
of local communities.
In conclusion, we as an audience would
be too naïve to believe the sensationalised representation of the police is for
entertainment purposes only. If this was the case, why not make a documentary
about the army which would be possibly more entertaining and definitely more
realistic. For example the recent special report by Sky News, ‘Prince Harry:
Back On The Frontline’[27],
the program was interesting and realistic despite the fact it has been
described as “unsensational”[28].
Evidently there has to be another reason. From Althusser’s perspective, the
ruling class has used the ideological state apparatus to control the audience
on a subconscious level by offering a sensationalist representation of the police
as tactical and efficient at catching criminals. This sensationalised
representation then causes criminals to think twice about committing crimes
which Marxists argue, is in the interest of the ruling class. However Althusser’s
argument is based on the idea that all audiences are pre-disposed to commit
crime which hinders this argument as the reason why the police has been
sensationalised. The most convincing argument is based the polices’ attempt to
change the audiences’ hegemonic ideology in regards to the police which has
been tarnished over the last thirty five years due to controversy such as The
Miners’ Strike, the Steven Lawrence case[29]
and more recently the ‘Plebgate’[30]
scandal. Clearly, texts such as ‘Police, Camera, Action’ have used underhand
techniques to create and stabilise positive hegemonic values in relation to the
Police; sorry but your nicked.
Word Count: 2200
[1] Kidd-Hewitt, David, Eds. Kidd-Hewitt, D. and Osbourne,
Richard, p. 21
[3]Marsh, I., & Melville, G. (2009)
[4]Biressi, A., & Nunn, H. (2005).
[5] M. Stephens and S. Becker,p. 224.
[7]Peter Vorderer p144
[8]Althusser, Louis. p204
[9] ibid
[10] ibid
[11]
http://usftherapist.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/adolescence-and-the-portrayal-of-teens-in-film-and-television/
[12]Lamb, Charles W., Joseph F. Hair, Carl D. McDaniel, and
Daniel L. Wardlow.
[13]Marchand, R., &Marchand, R. (1985).
[14] Fraser, L. M. (1957) p.87
[15] Park, D. W.,&Pooley, J. (2008). P.344
[16]Stephen Hill, Bevis Fenner p.59
[18]ibid
[19]Lay, Samantha. British social realism: from documentary
to Brit-grit. London: Wallflower, 2002 p31
[20]http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/mm21_rep_police.html - Changing
representation of the police
[24]http://uk.news.yahoo.com/plebgate-officer-made-mitchell-claims-201257008.html#Pho3FLU – Police conspire against Mitchell
[25]Selden, R. (1985) p.22
[26]Gray, G. (2010) p.177
[27]http://news.sky.com/story/982152/prince-harry-back-on-afghanistan-front-line
- Prince Harry: Back On The Front Line
[28]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/9832619/Prince-Harry-Frontline-Afghanistan-BBC-Three-review.html
- Prince Harry: Back On The Front Line Review
[30]http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/dec/19/plebgate-andrew-mitchell-police-conservatives - Police conspire against
Mitchell
Bibliography
Bibliography
Works
Cited
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Benyon,
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the Miners' Strike. London: Verso. pp. 1–25
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A., & Nunn, H. (2005). Reality
TV: realism and revelation. London: Wallflower Press.
Bryant,
J., &Vorderer, P. (2006).Psychology of entertainment.Mahway, N.J.: Lawrence
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G. (2010). Cinema: a visual anthropology (English ed.). Oxford: Berg.
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Wallflower, 2002
Osbourne,
R., p.27
M. Stephens and S. Becker, "The Matrix of Care
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Ratings
for POLICE: CAMERA: ACTION derived from Broadcast magazinefor 1998 season,
April 1998.
Selden,
R. (1985). A reader's guide to
contemporary literary theory. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of
Kentucky.
Web
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/plebgate-officer-made-mitchell-claims-201257008.html#Pho3FLU – “Plebgate:
Probe Looks At Police Conspiracy”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/1999/feb/24/lawrence.ukcrime12 - “The
Macpherson report: summary”
http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/mm21_rep_police.html
- “Police in the Media”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/1999/feb/24/lawrence.ukcrime12 - “The
Macpherson report: summary”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/dec/19/plebgate-andrew-mitchell-police-conservatives –“ Adolescence
and the Portrayal of Teens in Film and Television”
http://usftherapist.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/adolescence-and-the-portrayal-of-teens-in-film-and-television/
- “adolescence and the portrayal of teens in film and television
http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/JC42folder/UKpoliceShows.html#n
– “UK Police shows”
http://news.sky.com/story/982152/prince-harry-back-on-afghanistan-front-line
- Prince
Harry: Back On The Front Line
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/9832619/Prince-Harry-Frontline-Afghanistan-BBC-Three-review.html
- Prince
Harry: Back On The Front Line Review
Moving image
Police Camera Action! - Carlton Television
(1994–2002)
Road Wars - Raw Cut TV (26 July 2003 – 24 January
2010)
Dixon of Dock Green – BBC (9 July 1955 – 1 May 1976)
Works Consulted
Bennett, Tony.
"Recent Developments in Community Policing" in Police Force/Police
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Gearty, Comer and Ewing, Keith, "History of a Dog's Dinner: The Police Bill,"London Review of Books. Feb. 6, 1977, pp. 7-10.
Graef, Roger. Talking
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"The New Production Context for Documentary in Britain,"Media,
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Tagg, John. "Power and Photography: A Means of Surveillance" in Culture, Ideology and Social Process. Eds. Bennett, Tony; Martin, Graham; Mercer, Cohn; and Woollacott, Janet (London: Batsford Academic, 1981)
