John Oliver offers fair criticism of Dick Wolff’s law and order

In the criminal justice system, people are represented by two separate but equally important groups: the actual criminal justice system and how Dick Wolf believes it works, or should work. Actually, scratch that–One of these two groups is graphic fantasy and the other is one of the most influential systems of American government. Most often, as John Oliver points out in the particularly appropriate Sunday episode of last week tonightThe world of Dick Wolf and the real world exist in complete opposition to each other.

in a panel discussion Law and order, Oliver takes aim at the franchise’s long-running portrayal of the justice system, stating that the series “makes a lot of choices that greatly distort the big picture of the police.” Oliver also notes that Wolf, the series The creator, he has historically maintained “a close behind-the-scenes relationship with the NYPD, employing officers as advisors and taking pride in the access he had.”

“Law and order He will never grapple with the reality of policing in a meaningful way…” says Oliver. “Because basically, the person responsible for Law and order and its trademark Dick Wolf.” Wolf has previously described himself as an “unabashed pro-law.”

Oliver also cites an old interview in which Wolf explains it Law and orderHis target is not “the act of Abner Loyma,” the black man who was raped and beaten by NYPD officers in 1997.

“It just happened horrible, but this represents one or two rotten apples in a 35,000-strong police force,” says Wolf, echoing a classic pro-police argument that asks the question: Can a few rotten apples really be compared to one massive, systemically violent orange? ?

Per Oliver, many Law and orderIts problems stem from the fact that the reality of policing in America will be “unobservable” for most audiences. “No one wants to watch a show where 97 percent of episodes end with two attorneys striking a deal in a windowless room, and then you watch the defendant spend six months struggling to get a job at the local jiffy lube,” he asserts.

Oliver also cites the endless stream of wealthy white defendants in series, a written decision that Wolff explained in interviews by saying that “there are no pressure groups for the rich white man. You can do anything you want to the rich white men and no one cares.” What this mentality achieves, Oliver argues, is that “Instead of portraying a flawed system filled with structural racism, the show presents exceptionally competent cops working within a largely fair framework that often condemns white people.”

In conclusion, Oliver argues that Law and order It plays a lesser role in the crime series and is more like a police advertisement. But unlike the influx of good cops in the series, Oliver confirms it Law and order He failed to capture his “flawed” subject. In Wolf’s distorted on-screen world, Oliver says, “the cops can always tell who did it, the defense attorneys are nagging obstacles to overcome, and even if the cop beats the suspect, it’s all in pursuit of a fair outcome.”