海外大学教师谢振礼
>Why do criminal programs and films on TV have become so popular? What are the reasons for it and the effect on the society? Use examples from your own knowledge or experience and give reasons for your answer.
Example Essay:
The popularity of crime programs goes with the emergence of successful television series featuring gangsters, detectives, lawyers and the police. Many such crime fictions are designed to portray real-life situations in which society prepares the crime and criminal commits it. Their effect on the society is largely harmless because most crime dramas are usually morality tales with a message: crime does not pay.
The reasons behind the popularity of crime stories on TV are not associated with the want to learn how to commit a crime but rather with the feeling of being immensely entertained by dramatic plots about the rise and fall of gangsters. People seem relieved to see that crimes against God or law are punished one way or another in the society. In this respect, the effect on the society is not dangerous because apparently it does not negatively affect the audience, including children when properly guided by responsible adults. In most crime films, crime figures are doomed to fail and suffer violent deaths. It is as if telling a moral lesson that nobody should secure happiness out of crime. Although without admitting it, perhaps people like the dramatic presentation of crimes and punishments and pretend to believe that behind every fortune lies a crime and behind every crime lies a tragedy.
Obviously not all crime films, however entertaining, can be regarded as desirable in any moral-conscious society. Here, a different lesson is told about crime: there would be no crime if crime does not pay. When people watch TV for their favorite crime programs, they tend to be emotionally affected, even confused, by violent scenes and criminal minds. There is a perception that crimes, if not caught, are rewarding, and this is particularly misleading to immature people because crime, if taught from early years, may become a part of nature. Besides being immoral, film gangsters are materialistic and street smart, sometimes actually getting what they want without getting penalized as they deserve. Some of those crime films are thought to be encouraging the society to witness crime and experience the fear of crime permeating the fabric of people's everyday life.
Of all kinds of popular programs, crime films in particular focus on the life of criminals and interpret the judicial justice or divine justice in the social context. As seen on TV, the society without strong moral principles and efficient law-enforcing systems could become as guilty as criminals who commit serious offenses against law or God. Of course, people do not watch TV and look for moral lessons on purpose, and what is a better reason of enjoying a good crime film than simply digesting time? (谢振礼原创)
