The Changes in Police and Crime Drama Over Time

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The Changes in Police and Crime Drama Over Time

Crime drama has always been featured as one of the most popular genres

of our society. However over the year’s crime drama has been changed

and adapted to fit into different times. Many aspects of crime drama

have been changed such as camera shots, seriousness of crimes and

police language/jargon in order for crime drama to change with the

times, become more realistic and retain its former popularity.

Throughout time many crime programmes featured on T.V have changed

through Media language (Iconography, editing, camerawork and music).

The Bill, first created in 1984 featured a lot of Iconography. At the

start of the title sequence the camera focuses on a police shield on

top of a police hat. This can be seen as one of the obvious symbols of

the police. It can be compared to a later title sequence in the late

80’s, which featured a close up of a blue light. This can be seen as

more symbolic, symbolising the way in which good overcomes evil

compared to the way police overcome crime. In the mid 90’s a new tile

sequence was used. Here we see many different images such as

fingerprints, a close up of the police cell, mug shots, data on a

computer screen and a police cell door closing. Here Iconography is

more varied and is used to portray the different aspects of a

policeman’s job and show how the nature of police work has changed. It

has also become more modern and features more technology. The final

title sequence created in 2000 features less iconography. We see

images of the victims of crime and the different emotions they

experience. This allows viewers to see the emotions that people

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...ery society and in all social

classes, a genre that affects everyone. For other people crime drama

is simply reassuring, a genre in which good always overcomes evil and

where you feel that society is under the right protection.

Police drama has good as well as bad points. Crime drama is popular as

the seamy side of life fascinates people and allows them to identify

with that side of their character. However crime drama also makes us

believe that crime is a regular thing that we should not be shocked

by.

Crime drama always features the police overcoming crime. In this way

police are always represented as positive contributors to the running

of society whether in 1952 or 2004. Police drama will always feature a

crime that is the most horrific in their time and this is one-way

crime drama will adapt in the future.

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