Crime and the Media
...dy in 1979 used “the analogy of public responses to rabies. Once the disease metaphor has gained currency, the attribution of specially frightening, wicked and dangerous characteristics to the carriers of the contagion is both useful and particularly forceful” This is slightly ironic as Miami does not appear to be a particularly frightening or dangerous place on the surface. This also shows that Miami is a place which is both corrupted on the outside and the inside. In terms of ethnic politics in Miami Vice, both of the hero’s are “ethnically and socially diverse” They are different in the way they dress, look, talk and act. This shows the way in which the plurality and segregation of American citizens are portrayed on television. They do though have the same aims and purposes in life and in their jobs. The villains of the show are recent arrivals to Miami, if not foreign. This emphasises the idea of tides and epidemics as these drug running foreigners just descend upon the city of Miami without any warning. Prime Suspect is a mini-series which first aired in 1991. Written by Lynda La Plante it stars Helen Mirren as DCI Jane Tennyson. The main issue which Prime Suspect id concerned with is sexism within the police. DCI Tennyson, not only has problems in her public life but also ones in her private life to deal with too. She also then, has to deal with the disapprovement from her male peers due to the fact that she has been promoted ahead of them. To understand this fully we have to look at the Equal Opportunities act of 1974 in which women were supposed to be given equal status with men in the police force. This is not completely followed in Prime Suspect. In Prime Suspect, Tennyson is given equal opportunities by her boss after she pleads with him and then is dismissed by her colleagues. An example of this comes in Prime Suspect I when all of the males in the office venture out to a crime scene. Tennyson is left to do the paper work and answer the telephone even though she is supposed to be in charge. In these episodes, Tennyson is aware she is different and yet she has to attempt to accept this fact. One way in which Tennyson’s differences are shown from the males, is again in Prime Suspect I, when one of their colleagues dies suddenly. All the men put on a brave face and attempt to handle the grief, whilst Tennyson handles it in a rather feminine and emotional way. This furthermore separates her from her male colleagues. Location is extremely important when discussing the changes between gender, genre and the two programmes. Miami Vice is set in the city of Miami where as Prime Suspect is set in one of England’s major cities. Location is one aspect which makes the two programmes appear quite similar as opposed, for example, to one being set in the country side. They are both set in cities in which “the sheer size of the city and its geographical and social segmentation, its scale as a container of power and wealth, its polyglot diversity and ethnic divisions, make it a place for inward exploration” This implies that any kind of crime could take place within these cities and that the clues and answers will always be found in the city itself. An example of this would be in Miami Vice when the hero’s often contemplate the crimes from their high rise offices where they can see the entire city. It has been said that “the real cops are those who explore the whole city” In the case of Tubbs and Crockette this is precisely true. They will often go into the underbelly of the city to investigate a crime. On the other hand, in Prime Suspect, although she wouldn’t admit it, Tennyson would often get left behind while her male colleagues go into the city to investigate. This shows a difference in gender over the years as they see Tennyson as the woman and not capable of ‘men’s’ work. Another example to further back up this point is the case study of Cagney and Lacey and other female crime programmes of the 1980’s. Cagney and Lacey did all of their own investigative work as did Tubbs and Crockette. This shows that women were capable at one point of doing a physical job such as this. Another difference between the locations of Miami Vice and Prime Suspect is that Miami Vice contains both sunshine and sophisticated locations such as yachts and parties. On the other hand, Prime Suspect is aesthetically darker and contains low-working class locations. This shows that just the location of a programme can give it a whole different look and feel. The idea of canteen culture is another way the viewer can see a distinct difference in the way men and women are treated in police shows. Canteen culture is the idea of there being a subculture within the police force in which female officers are excluded. This leaves them feeling unwanted and isolated as, apparently, being a police officer is a ‘male’ job. This theory is extremely prominent in Prime Suspect. An example of this comes in the first few minutes of Prime Suspect I when Tennyson and another female officer are talking in the women’s toilets. One of the male officers just walks in to announce something of little importance. This emphasises the fact that the males assume that not even the female toilets are out of bounds to them and they assume that women will act like “powerless girls” Masculine solidarity and male bonding is another aspect which emphasises the idea of canteen culture. Masculine solidarity “involves a bonding, a solidarity, an unquestioning loyalty to those defined by the culture as insiders, as ‘me and us’ They have a loyalty to individuals rather than to values and principles. This leads to corruption within the police force which is all too evident in crime programmes. This idea may be quite good for women th...