Cops shows that critique cops are still copaganda — a Brooklyn99 viewer
In the wake of the mass mobilizations against police violence in the summer and fall of 2020, many industries have attempted, in their own ways, to respond to social reckonings around policing. The entertainment industry in particular has chosen to offer commentary, for better or worse, on the state of policing and prisons in America. In the last year alone, many incredibly popular TV shows and movies have addressed topics like police violence, structural racism, and systemic oppression — including but not limited to 9–1–1, LA’s Finest, Greys Anatomy, This Is Us, and Brooklyn99.
Brooklyn99 is a great example of a cop show that actively, regularly tells unfavorable stories about police officers, but it wasn’t until their final season that the depictions of cops went from goofy and haphazard to hazardous, and sinister. Some applauded the writers of the show for this evolution and others have aptly pointed out that despite the critique, it feels off to produce (and consume) a show centering cops. There has also seemingly been an uptick of diversified depictions of police officers, specifically casting Black women as officers more frequently (though that won’t be directly addressed in this piece). Regardless of the socioemotional implications of the shows and shows like it, it is critical to examine the political programming offered by the show to the audience on behalf of the State.
Shows of this nature clearly identify and display some of the ills of living in a Police state, but we must pay attention to the framing of each story. The only approaches presented to end police violence in shows like Brooklyn99 are reforms, or ‘good’ cops stopping the ‘bad’ ones — but maintaining the institution in the process. In response to months of mass uprisings largely in favor of Defunding the Police, and by extension abolition, these shows admit systemic change is needed but ignore the obvious solution — abolition. This is because cop shows that critique cops are still copaganda. The purpose they serve is to justify the existence of police and policing by framing ‘virtuous’ cops as the anecdote to a diseased institution.
We cannot afford to be fooled or lulled into appreciation of these propagandistic messages of support for police masked by mere acknowledgements of our realities. We have to ask ourselves: why is “defund” in the national conversation but featured in none of our nationally-syndicated entertainment that is positioning itself to be reflective of the current sociopolitical moment? Any show that critiques cops but ignores the only true solution to their violence; abolition, is intentionally attempting to steer the masses away from revolutionary intervention.
Our ability to imagine a world without policing is being targeted by these very shows — and as revolutionaries it is our duty to expand our imagination. Our ability to build a new world rests upon our ability to envision one. These shows and media companies know this and are intentionally crafting media that limits the viewer’s vision. Before you know it, you feel like you can count on the Jake Perralta’s of the world to stop the head of the police union from framing innocent civilians. Spoiler alert — you can’t count on a cop to do the right thing to the detriment of other officers. You can’t count on the rest of police departments to respond to accountability without violence.
What would an abolitionist show look like? A show where community members conquer policing. A show where communities are resources, they split that piggy bank open and we get to see how just transition looks forreal. Maybe an abolitionist show could be full of action — a revolutionary plot. One thing for sure is that it wouldn’t be no cops saving the day cause we know that shit doesn’t happen in real life.
Honestly, consuming any show about police officers is subjecting oneself to pro-police propaganda, even with the sharpest analysis. If you must partake, keep in mind that even shows appearing on the surface to be “on your side” and willing to critique cops will attempt to convince you that out of the many things we can do about policing, getting rid of them is simply not an option. Don’t let them.
