"The Shield"

Status
Not open for further replies.
A

AR-10

New member
I have watched both episodes of the the new TV series The Shield, and it bothers me that I like it so much.

I do like it. It's slick, on the edge, and it has my good friend Tony, from that other cop show where he was a good guy police commissioner. "The Commish"? Whatever.

Unfortunately the writers seem to be trying to set a record for showing the most ethics and rights violations in the least amount of time for any police drama ever aired.

The first episode showed them doing a no-knock on a drug dealer, which burned me up. I turned to my wife, who was enjoying the action as they shot the dealer about ten times (he shot first), and said "That could be us". Suddenly she wasn't enjoying it so much.

The second episode showed them doing a no-knock on a guy who assaulted and attempted to rape a girl. She looked through some mug shots and said "that's the guy". So they go to his house, hook a winch to his security/storm door, rip it off and into the yard, and bust in with guns drawn. There he sits on the couch, uhh, busy.

There's about a gazzilion other minor "we are above the law" incidents peppered throughout the shows that I watched (Tony's a "different kind of cop"), but these no-knock scenes are what really bother me.

To me it seems as though this is yet another step toward desensitizing the public regarding what is reasonable and what is clearly a violation of the Bill of Rights. If the leader of a Police State wanted to brainwash the masses he could not pick a better way to go about it.

Just a rant, I guess.
 
Y

yorec

New member
All the previews I saw bragged it up that this show was going to be this way. You guys sound surprised? ;)

What I fear is that people are going to think that police are/should be this way. You know how they believe everything they see on TV? It worries me a bit...
 
I

IamNOTaNUT

New member
Okay AR10, here is my rant. It seems that ALL the new guys on the department watch this kind of crap 24/7. If not this then COPS, or Sipowitz on NYPD Blue. Okay, Sipowitz is cool, but he'll still get your butt fired if you emulate him. COPS is, in my opinion, a manual on how to get yourself sued for violating other people's rights. Put a camera on a guy and he loses his head trying to act cool for the audience. What a bunch of BS.

If you pull this kind of Hollywood stuff on the street you are going to be looking for a new job. Or should be.

Maybe I am a bit of an oddball, but I have never had to the desire to watch COPS. When I am off duty I am off duty. Unless someone is getting the snot kicked out of them, of course. Otherwise, I am on my own time with my family and friends. If you live the job you get burned out and become less effective, and less sensitive to those you serve. Just my opinion.
 
A

AR-10

New member
Exactly.

Joe Public watches the show and thinks "Well, that's the way it is in the big city".

During the second episode I turned to my wife and said "I sure hope none of the younger cops in our town are watching this".

Just think shows like those mentioned above lower the moral bar a notch or two. They make a "different kind of Cop" look acceptable to citizens and seductive to agressive LEOs.

But then, it's TV, what was I thinking?
 
H

Hkmp5sd

New member
I think we're going a little overboard here. Watching this show isn't going to make all new cops turn into the Gestapo any more than watching Harry Potter is going to convert all of our kids into witches or anyone that has a gun in his/her house is going to kill their family one day.

There are cops out there that act just this way. Isn't the ATF one of our favorite love to hate organizations and their actions viewed in just this light? This is a fictional show telling a side of law enforcement rarely portrayed, especially on TV. It's not very pretty and hopefully, not very common, but it is still possible.
 
R

ruger89

New member
I ended up really turned off from this show. The first episode was ripping off the movie Training Day. They replace good writing with bad language and anti social acts. I liked the show Vengeance Unlimited but this show is weak even when they pack it full of swears. I hope it gets cancelled.
 
V

Veloce851

New member
I agree AR-10 I was disturbed that I liked the show.
But when you realize that "desensitizing" is exactly what its doing. That's scary.
I also agree with those who say.. "hey its just a tv show its not going to make people emulate it in real life"
I agree only to the extent that, for those of us that have enough of a brain to realize this. The sad fact is that alot of people out there believe WAY too much of what they see on TV and the movies. Education is the only thing that will prevent that. And unfortunetly there are alot of parents that don't think about educating there children on these kinds of subtle inferences.

I watched "Training Day" the other day.. and I laughed. Had Alanzo been a white actor. The liberal left would have been up in arms about how the black & inner city community was being portrayed. But since Denzel played him and was going to win an Oscar for it. Never a word uttered. There have been plenty of other shows and movies that the NAACP screamed "racial discrimination" or felt that black Americans were being portrayed in a negative light. Funny how Training Day didnt' get that kind of attention.

As for the Shield. As much as I like the actor playing the "different kind of cop" I'll be skipping it, I don't need to be pissed off at how blindly they can make LEO's look evil. I know some are. But most LEO's are honest stand up excelent civil servents.

I'll be watching Combat Missions on USA thank you :)
 
B

Bogie

New member
Ooooh... I've learned that there's a faster way to open a door than using a 48" bumper jack to separate the jamb... Just hook up the trailer hitch and boogie...
 
P

pate

New member
I disagree completely. They are showing a small group of corrupt cops doing corrupt things. If anything, I think it is beneficial to show what can happen when you allow cops to operate beyond the rules because they "get the job done". I hardly think the producers are attempting to desensitize people to cops murdering other cops, accepting bribes, etc.
 
F

FLM

New member
They may have lost me when they had the two guys kissing. That's a little more realism than I need.
 
S

spacemanspiff

New member
this show is also trying to push down everyones throats that its okay for a 'religious' person to be gay. now everyone may have their own opinions on this, but when you see the character that in last weeks episode was coerced from going to church so he could get a bj from a barslut, and now turns out to be gay, just doesnt sit well with me. the only thing that will make me watch the shield anymore is more naked women. and not that crackhead prostitute either. as far as the rest of the show is concerned, its been hyped up too much. i never really liked the 'commish'.

and why is it that whenever a show tries to be 'divergent' and create characters that are homos, they never have lesbians. well, the decent shows don't. nypd has the gay paa, and the shield has a black officer. are all the hot lesbos only doing porn?

p.s. yes i do know how hypocritical this post is, and thats what its meant to be.
 
N

Nanaimo Barr

New member
"if thats not how it is. then they couldn't show it on TV right?"

I get so sick of hearing that..

especialy about shows like "COPS" and "Wildest Police Videos"
 
S

SteelyDan

New member
This was a show that I wanted to like. But as soon as the lead character shot one of his partners, I couldn't respect what I might have otherwise.
 
W

Watchman

Moderator
I heard a bunch of hype about it so I watched it for the first time last night.

This show has gone beyond the limits of decency while trying to be "entertaining".

Hmm...lets see.....in just ONE episode there was:

interacial sex...that did'nt leave much to the imagination.

two men swapping spit

a guy jacking off into a jar

a gal in the office of a cop smoking crack that HE supplys her with

illegal detention of an NBA player

For those of you that say it is just another attemp to "desenitize" the public, I think you hit the nail right on the head.
It trys to "normalize" homosexuality, interacial relataionships and seems to portray that the "end justifies the means", while making illegal activity seem "normal."

I just about puked when I saw the white guy KISSING the black cop, while trying to get him to "admit" his homsexuality.

Have we in soicety stooped so low as to call this "entertainment"?

Ill not be quilty of watching it agin.


:rolleyes:
 
T

Tango27

New member
Did anyone notice that one of the actors on the "Strike Team" won an Academy Award for best short film?

Strange world.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top