[Suki]

Originally Posted by RobinMask

You know, everyone always worries what effect watching these shows has on people, does anyone ever worry about the people who write them? I mean take a look at how horrific some of these crime shows are, or some movies like Saw, I think it's far more worrying that someone can actually get into the mind of a psycho and write these things than for someone to watch and be mildly occupied for an hour . . .

That's not how it works. The writers don't just sit in front of their Macs and type it off the top of their head. They get police reports and interview murderers in prison, so most of the crimes they write have actually happened, and all they do is add a bit of imagination to their research when writing the episode.

Since you mentioned Saw, the 6th movie was banned in Spain and never shown in theaters.

Thanks ColinHowell for the link. I'm gonna quote some of it for those of you who are too lazy to click on it:

The CSI effect may alter how crimes are committed. In 2000, the year that CSI: Crime Scene Investigation debuted, 46.9 percent of all rape cases in the United States were solved by police. By 2005, the solve rate had fallen to 41.3 percent. Some investigators attributed this decline to the CSI effect, as crime shows often explain in detail how criminals can conceal or destroy evidence. Several rape victims have reported that their assailants forced them to shower or clean themselves with bleach after their assaults.[45] In December 2005, Jermaine McKinney broke into a home in Trumbull County, Ohio, where he murdered two women. A fan of CSI, McKinney went to unusual lengths to remove evidence of his crime: he cleaned his hands with bleach, burned the bodies and his clothing, and attempted to dispose of the murder weapon in a lake. McKinney was eventually apprehended.[46] Ray Peavy, head of the Los Angeles County homicide division, commented that, in addition to teaching criminals how to conceal evidence, crime shows may even "encourage them when they see how simple it is to get away with [it] on television." [from: CSI effect]

Originally Posted by pumpum

Lots of people however share your views and what i have noticed is that youre all mostly law-abiding more "middle class" type people who are far removed from the reality of the common street and you get romanticised by the fantasy aspect of the crime becasue of the way it is displayed on screen.

So you're saying the type of crimes we see on these shows are unrealistic? Dude, you'd be surprised.

Originally Posted by pumpum

In reality....Killing someone is not difficult at all and extremely commonplace without getting caught.

Yeah, right. If you're a drop out with nothing to lose you may just kill the one you wanna kill and not bother to set it up so that it doesn't look like you're the murderer. BUT if you are psycho killer (that is, someone whose brains do not work properly) you're gonna wanna have it planned and you're gonna be looking at ways to do it without getting caught. Moreover, most of these people have admitted to enjoying planning the whole thing, so for someone who's psycho enough to plan a murder these shows are gonna be pure inspiration. Jeez, they make me wish I had someone to kill so that I'd get to try out all the things I've learned from watching it on TV!

Originally Posted by pumpum

there is a difference between how they portray death on tv and how uncomplicated it really is.

My point is not: killing someone is complicated and what they show on TV is all lies.

My point is: These kinda shows have some true in them because they're mostly based on actual cases that happened in the past. Also, watching it on TV may inspire other (potential) killers to imitate what they've seen.