Crime Show Investigation

Sitting on the edge of a chair, foot tapping with uncertainty, a gasp is let out as the climax of the crime is relieved. Crime shows are filled with anticipation, shocking reveals and thrills. Our society’s fascination with this genre of television is clear by the number of crime shows currently on the air. They range from the high thrilling government crimes of Scandal to the gore filled plots of Dexter. One aspect of these crime shows that seems to be true across most shows is the representation of the main female characters. Though these characters are strong, extremely intelligent and successful, they always have deep-rooted issues that undermine their talent to make them functional in the male controlled field. Olivia Benson and Olivia Pope embody these strong female characters with deeply rooted issues.

            Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, or SVU for short, has been on TV since the late 90’s. The fearless detectives solve sexually based cases in order to bring justice for victims. One of the main detectives, Olivia Benson, is your typical “badass” female detective. She can fearlessly take down a large man twice her size. She can grill a confession out of almost anyone. Olivia is portrayed as a sexy, smart detective who can aid in putting horrendous criminals behind bars. However, as “badass” as Olivia may be, her immense talent in the field of crime is hindered by underlying life issues. In numerous episodes, Olivia is shown to be so overworked that her social life is nonexistent. The other detectives have families and significant others. Benson does not because in order for the women on crime shows to be successful, they must dedicate all their time to work. This in turn wears these characters down to a mental state of emotionally unstable. In multiple episodes, Benson is so worn down that she potentially throws away a conviction by not following legal procedures. As discussed by Jamieson, women who succeed in careers will be analyzed under a different lens than successful men (327). In order to make these strong, intelligent, powerful women, such as Olivia Benson, fit into the structure of a television show; the women must have flaws that expose a non-feminine aspect to their personality. By making these women dedicated their life to work, they are challenging social norms. Therefore, in order to make Benson less feminine, she is framed as workaholic.

            Although the show frames Benson as a “workaholic,” when she is at work, there are other underlying issues that prevent her from being the top detective. In order to make the character functional in the male dominated crime field, she has to have a reason as to why she wants to work in the field. Therefore, Benson is given a deep story related to sexual crimes. Revealed in multiple episodes, she discloses that she is a product of her mother’s rape. This immediately attaches meaning to Benson’s work. If this was not done, viewers may not understand why Benson is such a “badass.” According to Kathleen Sullivan, subjects are effects of our expectations (Sullivan). As a society, we expect that there’s a reason a woman is working in the sexual crimes field. Laura Barcella discusses that writers must show strong female characters in this genre with issues because it disrupts strong “feminine characteristics” such as kindness (Barcella). By having Benson be the product of a rape, it attaches an idea of revenge and anger at the rapists she is stopping. Therefore, audiences understand why she is working in the sex crime field.

Much like Benson, Olivia Pope of ABC’s Scandal is framed as a workaholic. She is beautiful, smart and extremely successful. However, that means, like Benson, she has underlying issues. Pope runs her own firm that is famous for fixing or freeing persons from government related scandals. In many episodes, Pope is shown working even when she is at home. There is no concept of leaving work at the office for Pope. In some episodes, characters joke of how Pope never sleeps because she is constantly working. This in turn affects her social life and wears it down to almost nonexistent. When Pope does have time away from the office, even the social events she attends tie in with work such as government dinners. Alongside her workaholic personality, Pope has an ongoing affair with the president of the United States. This secret controls her life and all decision she makes involving work. Thorne Godinho discusses the idea that many crime shows have the powerful female characters be controlled by men (Godinho). He argues that most crime shows portray women with daddy or boyfriend issues (Godinho). Scandal’s Pope spends numerous episodes waiting on the president’s phone call or even ends other relationships for him, completely ignoring the fact that he is married. Pope lets her affair with the president consume her mind, causing her to make poor work decisions. Tsilia Romm discusses that for years crime shows have portrayed female characters as successful in mission but subordinate in relationships (24). Olivia Pope of Scandal embodies that exact concept. Devoting her life to work, Pope is unstoppable but when she begins an affair with the president, her social life is in ruins. She is just another example of the portrayal of women in crime shows.

Pope and Benson are prime illustrations of how crime shows of this time all depict an obvious trend across female characters. These strong, beautiful, successful women are portrayed with underlying issues to make them functional in this male dominated field. This trend of female characters is clear across crime shows. Next time your on the edge of your seat, waiting to see what the latest criminal has done, hold on because it is sure to reveal the next issue among the high powered female solving the case too.

Works Cited

Barcella, Laura. "Why Are All The Women On Our Favorite Crime TV Shows So Riddled

With Issues?." xoJanecom RSS. Say Media, Inc., 21 Sept. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.xojane.com/entertainment/why-are-all-the-women-on-my-favorite-tv-crime-shows-batsht>.

Godinho, Thorne. "Where’s our Female Grissom? The Absence of Worthwhile Women in

Crime Series." Vada 13 Aug. 2013: n. pag. Vada Magazine. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

Jamieson, Kathleen Hall. Beyond the double bind: women and leadership. New York:

Oxford University Press, 1995. Print.

Romm, Tsilia. "Role Conflict In The Portrayal Of Female Heroes Of Television Crime

Dramas: A Theoretical Conceptualization." Interchange 17.1 (1986): 23-32. Print.

Sullivan, Nikki. A critical introduction to queer theory. New York: New York University

Press, 2003. Print.