I was struggling with what to write for my personal entry this week. I decided on something I enjoy doing...watching Law and Order SVU. I do not watch a whole lot of television, however this is one show that I look forward to every week. My mom finds this obsession disturbing because of how gruesome some of the crimes depicted in the show are, but I still like to see if I can solve the crimes before the detectives.
There is a huge amount of violence, rape, child abuse and sex that are portrayed in the episodes and sometimes I do find it a little disturbing how I can sit in front of this type of show and watch multiple episodes at a time. I want to be a social worker and work with victims of sexual abuse and other forms of physical abuse, so I tell myself that perhaps that is why I am drawn to these shows.
When I think about it, however, I do think these types of shows say a lot about our culture. There are so many television shows that portray sex crimes, drug abuse, child abuse etc. and more are being produced because we continually watch them (not to mention all the violent video games that are being produced). I wonder what is so intriguing about violence that makes it pleasurable to watch. Is it because we know that it is not real? But even so, similar crimes do happen too often in reality. Many of the crimes that are portrayed in this particular show, show women as the helpless victims of horrendous crimes. As a feminist, shouldn't I question this?
When I read newspaper articles about similar crimes that really happen, I feel sick. And, as a profession I hope to provide support to victims of such crimes. So why do I/we as a society enjoy watching crimes portrayed on television so much if we find these same crimes so horrific when carried out in reality? Is it not perhaps perpetuating the cycle of violence by encouraging us to watch it for enjoyment?
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