Good Cop, Bad Cop: The Po-Po In Pop Culture
Welcome to the least important post about policemen that you'll see today.
Cops are a universally maligned bunch, often for indefensible acts as witnessed this past weekend at Sydney’s Mardi Gras, and often for issuing you with a parking ticket when you’re just answering a phone-call in a loading zone, for fuck’s sake, don’t you have criminals to catch. Also, to quote some old guy, absolute power corrupts absolutely, which means it’s simply an occupational hazard to be transformed into a big-time dick.
Like any profession, though, law enforcement is a microcosm of humanity itself: there are good cops, there are bad cops. So what leads someone to enter ‘the force’ when they could become a doctor or a comedian or a beloved pastry chef instead? Here’s our thoroughly researched analysis…
Why Become A Cop? Here’s Why.
A Thirst For Power: Dirty Harry
Like your 8th grade school teacher, some cops take sadistic pleasure in enforcing humiliation on the rest of us lowly plebs. Maybe they’re racist and bigoted (Sheriff Lamb from Veronica Mars; Vic Mackey from The Shield), maybe they’ve been driven to sociopathic tendencies by the volatile nature of their jobs (Popeye Doyle in The French Connection; Harry Callahan from the Dirty Harry series), or maybe they’re just evil jerks (Harvey Keitel in Bad Lieutenant, who infamously uses his position of authority to score some roadside, uh, “action”).
A Chip On The Shoulder: Olivia Benson from Law & Order: SVU
Sometimes you don’t choose law enforcement, sometimes law enforcement chooses you. Mariska Hargitay’s classic sex-crimes detective entered the force because she was born after her own mother’s assault. She uses her personal tragedy as motivation to bring a positive change into the world. Other examples aren’t so upstanding, like The Wire‘s Jimmy McNulty, an arrogant, alcoholic nutcase who fights crime in spite of himself.
An Upstanding Attitude: Dave Sanderson In Parks & Rec
Some cops enter the force with virtuous aims. They just wanna weed out the criminals, keep their community safe, save kittens from tall trees. Take for example, awesome dad Carl Winslow in Family Matters, shorts-lovin’ Lt. Dangle from Reno 911! or the eternally sweet Dave Sanderson (Louis CK in Parks And Recreation). If every cop was a Dave, there wouldn’t be riots.
A Need For Respect: The Cops From Superbad
What’s the difference between a cop and a pizza? A pizza can feed a family of four. That’s the kinda respect cops get. Much like a dentist, no one’s ever happy to see a policeman. That kinda public disdain can be bad for one’s self-esteem, especially since we’re all trying to achieve some level of personal satisfaction from our professions. Take, for example, Seth Rogen and Bill Hader in Superbad. These two bumbling bros take a teenage kid (McLovin’) under their reigns for a night, buying him beers and letting him fire off their pistols to prove that cops aren’t always dicks.
The Donuts: Chief Wiggum
Yeah, sometimes all it takes is pastries.