Cinema Cops

Level(s): Grades 7 to 12

Overview

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In this lesson students develop awareness of the ways in which public perceptions of law enforcement have been both reflected in and influenced by film and television depictions of police over the past eighty years. Students begin by completing a "Cinema Cop Profile" based on images of police from TV and movies, followed by class discussion on how law enforcement is represented in different film and television genres, and whether or not these representations reflect reality. A "Cinema Cop Scavenger Hunt" provides students with an opportunity to research the ways in which police have historically been portrayed in film.

Learning Outcomes

Students demonstrate:

an awareness of the media's role in molding their perceptions of law enforcement officers
an understanding of the gap that exists between the media's portrayal of policing and real life law enforcement
an appreciation of the ways in which Hollywood has portrayed law enforcement from the 1920s to the present

Preparation and Materials

Showing an old gangster or detective movie would be an interesting start to this unit. Check your school's video library for available films.

The resource links on the right sidebar also provide excellent background resources.

Photocopy:

(Arrange for library time and reserve resources for the scavenger hunt assignment.)

Procedure

Guided Discussion

Historically, entertainment media have not been noted for accuracy in their portrayal of the lives of police officers. Yet when most of us think of cops, we think of the cops we see on TV and in the movies.

Distribute the Cinema Cop Profile to students and ask them to create a profile of a "cinema cop" based on the images of police that they have seen in movies and on TV. Once students have completed their profiles, create a Master profile on the blackboard, based on their work.

Ask your students:

What types of police work aren't shown in TV and movies? Police duties such as writing tickets, community policing, filling out reports and forms, traffic duties, etc. are seldom shown on TV.
What about reality-based cop shows like "Cops", "Rescue 911" and "America's Most Wanted"? Do these shows give us a more balanced view of police work?
How is the filming of reality-based shows different from that of regular police dramas?

Live, "on-the-scene" locations are featured; hand-held cameras are used to film the action; editing is sometimes choppy; a narrator's voice-over often guides the viewer through the action; the camera crew literally follows the police as they go about their duties; these shows feature real victims, criminals and police.
What is the effect of this sort of filming technique on the viewer?

Let's take a look at the types of crimes cop shows deal with:

Judging by these programs, what three crimes do you think are the most common?

Violent crimes are most common in television crime. However, according to Ontario Provincial Police statistics, violent crime occupies only 12% of total offences, property crime (at 51%) being the most common criminal offence. According to 1998 Statistics Canada information, the average police officer in Canada deals with only 47 criminal code incidents a year, excluding traffic offences.
What percentage of crimes is solved in police shows?

Most crimes on television are solved. In real life, approximately 80% of murders are solved, and only 20% of burglaries. In TV and films, criminals are sent to prison far more than they are in real life.
What about the police force? What attitudes toward policing seem to be held by Hollywood writers?
Create a list of "police myths" based on cop shows and movies. (For example, reality-based crime shows feed the myth that police cannot solve crimes without the public's involvement. Some prime-time police dramas imply that cops who "follow the book" can't solve crime effectively.) Discuss these myths.

Activity

The Cinema Cop Scavenger Hunt is an opportunity for students to explore the history of the ways in which police have been portrayed on film. High school students should be able to complete their hunt in the school library, using resources such as books on history, popular culture, television or film, almanacs, encyclopedias and, if available, the Internet or CD Roms. (Teachers may want to discuss this project with their school's teacher-librarian prior to assigning it, in order to reserve relevant materials.)

Younger students may need a couple of days to complete this assignment. Along with library and Internet resources, parents and older siblings (who may be more familiar with these programs and movies) may be a good source of information.

Excellent sources of information on the Internet include Dr. Greek's lectures; the "Film History by Decade" Web site; and John Blaser's "Film Noir and the Hard-Boiled Detective Hero" (links to these resources appear on the right sidebar of this page).

To begin the hunt:

Divide the class into teams of four or five students.
Distribute the Cinema Cop Scavenger Hunt to team members.
Review scavenger hunt guidelines:
- Team members fill in their own sheets, but each team will submit only one sheet for the final tally.
- Students will receive one mark for each correct point.
- Watch out for double-point questions. (For example, question 3 is worth two marks: one for identifying the Hayes Production Code, and another for answering why it was implemented.)
- Team sheets must be submitted within the allotted time.
- A bonus mark will be awarded to the first team to submit a sheet with the most correct and completed answers. (For example, if the second team to submit its sheet has more correct answers than the first team, it gets the bonus mark.)

Once the hunt has been completed, discuss the answers with students. For the questions that relate to types of cop shows from previous decades, have students consider how the genre has evolved, and the similarities and differences between today's cop shows and their predecessors.

Evaluation

Completed Cinema Cop Scavenger Hunt forms.