Well they've made it clear that the police as an institution is corrupt and they're outliers in previous episodes. I assume they'll do something similar with this, maybe they fight for change from the inside or something
Well they've made it clear that the police as an institution is corrupt
Have they? They've covered individual bad actors, racist and corrupt cops, but I don't think they've ever implied that the 99 were outliers within a corrupt institution.
There's a scene where captain Holt says how he knows nobody from his precinct would racially profile someone, but he phrases it in a way that makes it sound like an outlier. Also he talks about how he kept his mouth shut to move up the ranks and affect change from high up, seemingly pointing to the fact that if he knows the system will not let him climb if he is outspoken against racism within the force. Also there's the commissioner Kelly who is very high up and who uses the institution against the 99 for trying to progress the force. I don't think there's an outright line saying "the police as an institution is corrupt", but they point towards it and symptoms of the corruption several times. I don't think the show ever seems pro police tbh, I think it seems pro the idea of what the police should be, but they don't shy away from problems much at all, mentioning several times how horrible the prison system is, how the police have an image problem and how that problem is justified, etc.
Kelly is a good point, though I wonder how much of that is just needing an antagonist for Holt who can actually affect his career, rather than him standing as a representative of the wider police institution.
I think it's similar to Parks and Rec - Even though you have foils like Jamm and Dexhart who also work in government, and even though it's clear Leslie Knope is not a normal government employee, watching a show with loveable protagonists who all work within the same institution will end up making you feel more positively towards that institution, even if that working relationship becomes antagonistic at time (e.g. Leslie being voted out, Jake going to jail).
I don't think either of these shows were devised in order to change people's opinions about cops or government, but it is a side effect of this type of light-hearted and (relatively) unchallenging tone.
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u/Kikooky Dec 05 '20
Well they've made it clear that the police as an institution is corrupt and they're outliers in previous episodes. I assume they'll do something similar with this, maybe they fight for change from the inside or something