During class yesterday when Professor Harris asked who watches shows such as the CSIs, Law & Order (Special Victims Unit, Los Angeles, United Kingdom, Criminal Intent and plain ol’ Law& Order), Criminal Minds, etc, etc. I really should have raised both hands. Yes, I am a HUGE crime show nerd. Every night before bed I watch at least one episode of the above listed and keep up to date on the regular L&O: SVU and Criminal Minds. To be honest, the creator of Law and Order Dick Wolf is always on my list to be one of the people invited to my fictional ‘if you could have ten people over for dinner dead or alive …’ However, my somewhat obsession has its negative effects. My friends joke that I am paranoid about walking outside alone after dark, I don’t like staying over night in my house alone and am nervous about my big move to London this fall alone (because on so many episodes the victim is always the girl living alone who has no one to check up on her). When Professor Harris mentioned the substantial difference between the homicides in Manhattan on prime time (108 over four shows in one season) versus the actual amount (59 in one year), it actually was kind of reassuring for me. I know that I must sound like a nut bar who should just stop watching crime shows and separate what is fiction and what is real. However, whenever I do put on the news, the headlines are always speaking of shootings, car accidents, break ins, trials, child pornography, and wars. In my neighbourhood newspaper The Village Post, there is a page devoted to the burglaries and violence in my area since the last issue. After reading these excerpts in each issue, I become frightened that my house will be next. This causes me to wonder, is my irrational fear of something happening to me rooted in my love for crime shows and overactive imagination? Or is it driven by the medias constant reporting on violent crimes?
I'm not going to write an entire post here, but I am going to name drop someone to make myself feel special. My mom's cousin worked for Law & Order creator Dick Wolf for close to 20 years. She was first the nanny to his children and then she moved on to various other jobs for him. I too am a HUMONGOUS Law & Order fan, and I always enjoy telling other fans of my little six degrees of separation from the man responsible for bringing one of my top-five favourite shows to the small screen.
ReplyDeleteHey great post
ReplyDeleteI replied to it here:
http://faithbooknews.blogspot.com/2011/03/response-to-kathleens-personal-paranoia.html
Kathleen your post reminds me so much of myself. I am also a huge Law and Order SVU and Criminal Minds fan, and am also a huge fan of Dateline 20/20, Cold Case Files, and The First 48. I would consider myself significantly more paranoid than the average twenty year old. I am the girl within my friend circle who feels obligated to forward all the email chain letters about recent attacks on women and the methods of assault used in order to warn those around me. When I get off the subway and proceed to walk home I scan the street, frequently look behind me, and always stay on the phone until I make it home. In Brown’s reading last week she cited Gerbner’s (1994) “Mean World Syndrome” in which one “...exaggerates fear of crime and overestimates individual chances in the involvement with violence” (Brown, 2007, 5). I have heard of this before but still have problems reconciling with it in my mind, maybe I do have a problem? I mean ok, suppose the world is not as scary as I perceive and crime ratios are statistically lower than the media would have me believe, I still do not think this takes away from my inner dialogue which says “Well, why CAN’T it happen to me?” Whether the ratio be 1 in 1000 or 100 in 1000, I feel that regardless of the statistic, it doesn’t take away from my paranoia even though the probability may be more dense or disperse.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I do not think my cautious nature is problematic or unhealthy because when I hear stories of some of my girl-friends that walk home from a club alone or have gotten rides back from random strangers I think they’re not only dumb but completely ignorant. As cliché as it might sound, I am definitely a believer in “Better Safe than Sorry”, and I think this is definitely a good thing. I do not think people, particularly women should feel any insecurities about being aware of their surroundings and being tuned in to what is going on even though it may come off as paranoia or reflective of a “Mean World Syndrome” just because they are going out of their way to ensure their safety. I would rather feel minor anxiety associated with my paranoia than risk being raped or being put in a body bag! Lol that may have been a little extreme but I am trying to get my point across! Even if I may exhibit characteristics of one who has developed a “Mean World Syndrome” I value pre-cautious mannerisms over other’s ignorance.
Hey Kathleen,
ReplyDeleteHere is my response post!
http://across-the-christian-universe.blogspot.com/2011/04/response-to-kathleens-post-personal.html