Lingmiao's Blog

This article mainly talks about the way in which TV news reconstructs racial inequality as social order based on the theories of Baudrillard and of Hall via two videotapes – Rodey King and Reginald Denny. The author found both of theories have limitation, but together they provide a spectacle way of examining and explaining two videos. Author agree with part of Baudrillard’s theory that the reduplication of two “hyperreal” news is a stimulation which reinforces dominant power structures “racism”. The repetition of videos of Rodey King and Reginald Denny created the illusion of sequential order. On the other hands, author acclaims Hall’s theory that the seduction of the spectacle and the implosion of meaning lead us to the preferred readings. The preferred reading of Rodey King is that the men against man or the violence of the group against individual which encourages moral indignation at the brutality. As for the Reginald Denny, the preferred reading is encoded by newscasters’ rhetorical framework. The skin color as a signifier is mistaken for the code it conventionally signifies – racism. Encoded texts limit the realm of possible readings. Together, these video simulations of racism distracted and diverted audiences’ attention from institutional and inferential racism. Consent culminated from silence.

A. The summary of article “CSI and moral authority: The police and science”:

This article discusses about how CSI asserts the police as a moral authority, how CSI portrays a sense of forensic realism and acclaims the veracity of science, how CSI conveys the cultural meaning.

This article starts with reality of police and science. The authors said police’s failures to process evidence that might have prevented the tragedy make police lost some of the moral authority and science sometimes seems to be contradictory. At this time, CSI appears. It offers the public surety and certainty. That is why CSI is so popular.

CSI has a lot of common with traditional crime TV show, but it is also different in many ways. Like traditional show, CSI usually focus on violent crime and the quest for justice. However, comparing with earlier show, CSI increases the appearance of woman and updates the portrayal of masculinity and also represents race in the assimilationist style. CSI also include more details about the police sub-culture and about personal lives of the police (the ‘police family’). And the tension between a protagonist and others is abandoned. What’s more, in CSI, occasionally criminals are sympathetic character.

CSI exhibits an iconography which is marked by the accouterment of science. It suggests science solves problems and reaffirm the veracity of science. It achieves this significant influence by using specialized equipment, scientific jargon, forensic databases and even conducting experiments or re-enactments of the crime. Besides, cinematographic effects are also applied to visually supplement the complicated forensic language, including flashback.

CSI’s combination of melodrama and realism converge with police themes to enhance the cultural meanings that CSI conveys. CSI show the crime is normal and opportunist and reinforces contemporary criminological theory. And CSI is also contextual with other programs.

Ironically, the legitimacy of policing and of science in CSI is controversial. Not all of CSI’s science is valid and CSI have produced a dilemma, the so-called ‘CSI Effect’

B. The summary of CSI episode:

This episode of CSI begins with the leading actor Mac and his team solve a bank robbery case. The criminal in this case is a old man who do not want to go to nusing hospital. And Mac encounters a pharmacy robbery in which mac shoots a criminal, but then be shot by a girl who looks like innocent. That shoot makes Mac lose a significant amount of blood and become unconscious. So,  Mac is sent to the hospital for a surgery. While mac is in a surgery, his families, including his police family, are very worry about him. Joe is the first one to arrive at hospital. She cries a lot of times when she talks about mac. Christine prays for mac, Lindsey and other team members try everything they can to catch the criminals and etc. On the other hand, mac meets with his families in his mind during the surgery. He talks with them one by one. The topics are about life, love and death. Finally, mac recovers after the surgery and is back to the team after six months.

C. How the episode support article:

I feel this episode supports the article perfectly. In this episode, we can see the appearance of female characters, such as Lindsay and Joe. And both of these female characters have a big influence in the process of solving case. Besides we can also see the appearance of black character. These is no sexist in the show. This episode extremely stress personal lives of the police via the viewpoint of mac, espically his life with his police family. While mac is dying, he talks with his team members about life and love. For example, in the conversation between mac and Joe, “what are you gonna miss most” “the people， the team……your friendship and your post notes” “you cannot leave, I cannot do this without you…… I need you to hold on mac”. Article acclaims “occasionally criminals are sympathetic character …… more often however, CSI’s villains are unsympathetic characters who lack moral values”. The first criminal in the show is sympathetic character while the second one is totally lack of moral value.

CSI exhibits science solves problems and reaffirm the veracity of science by using specialized equipment, scientific jargon, forensic databases and even conducting experiments or re-enactments of the crime. In this episode, we can easily identify that CSI use specialized equipment, scientific jargon and forensic databases. For example, when CSI are trying to catch the female criminal by fingerprint that they got from the desk of pharmacy, they refer to the forensic databases. Another example, CSI uses some specialized equipment to collect and record the fingerprint. The flashback is using in many part of this episode, such as the flashback of conversation between mac and his wife at the end.

After watching this episode of CSI, I try to connect it with the theories that raise from the article. This episode did make me believe the crime is normal and did increase my fear towards crime. I don’t know why. But I just feel maybe I will be skilled by gun some day. And this episode makes me believe the existence of police family. They care about each other, love each other. Maybe this is how CSI reflects and shapes our ideology and culture.

Welcome to Lingmiao’s Blog!

I believe most people had not seen a combination of letters like “Lingmiao” before they met me. “Lingmiao Qiu”, that is my name! I used to dislike my name since my name in Chinese (邱苓淼) is so hard to write and my classmates always made fun of it. However, this dislike was totally gone when I found the beautiful meaning behind it. It means even if I am as small as a drop now, I can be as strong as an ocean one day.

The meaning behind my name is also my goal. That is why I always give myself challenges, for example taking “FYS 100: Cop, Crime, and Pop Culture”. Before I arrived at the University of Richmond, I already chatted with other freshman from China via Chinese Facebook. One day in June, we talked about which First Year Seminar that we would select for. Most of them tried to take the SAME First Year Seminar course. I definitely know the class will become easier if I can have the same class with them. But, finally, I chose not to follow their steps. Following my heart, I decide to take “Cop, Crime, and Pop Culture” to fulfill my FYS requirement. And this blog is going to record everything I learn from this class. And my every single thoughts concerning about this topic.

I really like this topic. I saw some Criminal TV shows (like CSI, Criminal Mind, Lie To Me) before and found it can be really interesting. Most of you know CSI and Criminal Mind, but might not be familiar with Lie To Me. Lie to me, in fact, is the first criminal show that I saw. This show depicts the story of a deception expert, Dr. Cal Lightman, who helps uncover the truth for the FBI, local police, law firms, corporations, and individuals via microexpressions and body language. At fist, I was simply obsessed with those microexpressions and body language. However, one sentence from the leading actor of Lie To Me touched me and switched my focus. It is “whether people are lying or not is not that important. It is more important to find out why people are lying.” Sometimes, people just unconsciously put too much stress on the result rather than the truth behind result. This sentence reminds me that don’t judge some cases or events only by their appearances. The cause is far more important than effect. So, then, I try to dig the deeper relationship between cops and crime in the show. Cops and crime are not often be talked by people since most of them deem cop and crime are just the business of government. However, studying crime and policing, from my perspective, can open our minds. The relationship of policing and crime is not just police detect crime and figure it out. There are more stories in this relationship! I mean this study can really reveal a part of world we have not seen. For example, how police detect criminals and capture them in the reality crime programming? What is the motivation of criminals? And whether the crime show displays the reality? Do cops usually capture criminals successful like we saw in TV show?

Challenging myself, I believe I can provide you with thought-provoking perspective. This blog will display my every single insight concerning about cops, crime and pop culture. Hope you enjoy this blog!