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+--- Thread: Research Manufacturing white criminals on television: a political necessity (the network) (/thread-21038.html)
Manufacturing white criminals on television: a political necessity (the network) - C C - Aug 6, 2026
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/23311886.2015.1104977
In an interview, the creator of the TV show COPS, John Langley, admits that he goes out of his way to show more white suspects on the show...
-- EXCERPT --
LANGLEY: "Here's the reality of street crime. Approximately 60% to 70% is committed by people of color. Only 30-35% of the suspects are white people. In prisons, the numbers are pretty much the same. Around 35% of the inmates are white and the rest are black, hispanic, etc.
Now on COPS, we reverse that. We show 60% to 70% white suspects and only 30%, sometimes maybe as high as 40% of people of color. Why do we do that? Because I don't want to contribute to negative stereotyping. Everyone knows that street crime takes place in the ghettos. We all know that, or should know that. All of the white criminals are in corporate boardrooms and places like that because they're not disenfranchised, so they do different kinds of crime."
In an interview, John Langley, the creator and executive producer of the reality television police drama COPS, admitted that he purposely did not present race and violent crime accurately on his show, which centered around race and crime, because of the potential impact it would have on the audience. Langley essentially concedes television’s power to impact how the audience sees the world and therefore consciously decided to present a false reality where whites were seen committing violent crime disproportionate to real-world statistics and reality.
Langley’s admission is not surprising as research has long shown that the media can shape thought and culture, and provide a powerful tool for individuals to learn about their social world particularly on issues like race and violence. Since the advent of television, politicians and the public have voiced concern about its impact on political beliefs and social attitudes.
Biased or inaccurate messages may influence the audience and potentially reinforce stereotypes and therefore remain a vital area of inquiry for researchers. When the public is presented a narrow range of ideas in the media, and become accustomed to this narrow view, they begin to accept this portrayal as representative of society and the real world even if it is not an accurate representation. This becomes a greater concern as audiences select programming they find entertaining and conforming to their own perceptions/beliefs of the world, which reinforce these perceptions... (MORE - details)
RE: Manufacturing white criminals on television: a political necessity (the network) - Zinjanthropos - Aug 7, 2026
From now on every world war movie should consist primarily of black/non-white actors. All world war film footage should be colorized so represents non-white participants in the same way. Not saying there were no non-whites fighting at those times but way too many white Germans, Italians, American, Canadians, English, Europeans, Russians represented. Movies & TV aren’t reality. How easily duped people are. IOW actors acting like ……..
RE: Manufacturing white criminals on television: a political necessity (the network) - Syne - Aug 7, 2026
Same with black representation in TV shows, where their prevalence makes people think they are a larger percent of the population.