'Law & Order: SVU': Will Cancellation Happen Amid Growing Police Brutality Protests?
06/14/2020 12:22 pm EDT
While many fictional police officers have come under a microscope, Mariska Hargitay's Benson had been seen by many as untouchable. After all, SVU goes out of its way to show Benson will do anything for victims of sexual assault, who are often mistreated in the real world. Benson is a victim of sexual assault herself and will do everything to help victims on the show. Hargitay even began a real-world effort to end the rape kit backlogs across the country.
However, Rolling Stone's E.J. Dickinson suggested Benson and SVU should not be immune from reconsideration. The show's first 12 seasons included Christopher Meloni's Det. Elliot Stabler, who was a physically abusive "bad cop" and is expected to make a cameo in the Season 22 premiere. Many police officers have cited the show as inspiring their careers. In addition, a Color for Change report noted that crime shows often turn police officers who violate rights into heroes and often to not show the real consequences of an officer's actions.
Dickinson argued that viewers cannot be selective about which fictional police officers should be changed. "No matter how much you love Olivia Benson, you have to be willing to grapple with the fact that she plays a major role in perpetuating the idea that cops are inherently trustworthy and heroic, and that many viewers are unable to distinguish between the gossamer fantasy of how justice should be handled, and how it actually is," Dickinson wrote.
While Hargitay has not spoken out about this particular issue herself, Jamie Grey Hyder, the newest member of the SVU cast has. In an Instagram post published on June 11, Hyder said she believes the show does not shy away "from discussing the shortcomings of the criminal justice and law enforcement systems, and the lack of caring for minority and impoverished victims." Hyder believes her character Kat "would be marching right alongside me, but that would be some meta-a— s—."
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