TV CSI and Real CSI
Just a few thoughts about the two.
I usually listen to NPR both on my way to and my
way from work. I miss quite a bit and driving home today they were reading some
letters about a segment they did earlier comparing the real crime lab in Las
Vegas to the television show,
"CSI".
I've been in favor of the
television show even though I know it's heavily dramatized. They wrap things up
way too early and the graphics on the show are those of a big-budget television
show and not that of a crime lab. However, my take has always been that anything
to expose the general public to more science, even if very hyped-up, is good.
The public knows it's just a television show. After all, people don't go into
the ER expecting it to be like "ER",
right?
I guess that's now quite
correct. The letter that I heard about the NPR show talked about how difficult
it is to convince district attorneys and the public in trials that they can't do
all the fancy graphics stuff they do in TV. My initial thoughts about the letter
were "aw, just deal with it." Again, it's a television show that does show some
science to people.
And then I
remembered a television show that I started watching and quickly dropped. I
watched the Fox television show "Boston Public" when it first came out. While I
teach at a community college and not a high school, I thought it would be
interesting to see a show that focused on
teachers.
I thought it was ok until a
gun episode. A teacher fired off a gun in class to "make a point." And nothing
severe happened to him. Another employee had an affair with a student, and more,
and more. Until I just couldn't take it. It was almost as if they took a
lifetime of controversy that a single school might have in a lifetime and made
it into a couple of episodes. And I stopped watching
it.
And then I understood what the
person was complaining about with respect to the CSI television show. I still
like it but I wonder if the typical viewer knows just how much "Hollywood" magic
goes into the show.
Posted: Thu - May 27, 2004 at 11:45 PM