Criminal Minds

I read an article with the best title today. “Newflash: Serial Killers Are Not Cool.” This appeared in The Age and is about our society’s fascination with serial killers. I have to admit, I’m one of these people who find them fascinating. I prefer to think that’s because that the behavior is so aberrant and disgusting that it is necessary for me to understand how people could possibly do that. I don’t know. I’ve often thought that it is very odd that our entertainment consists of people getting murdered and raped and the more violent and unusual, the better.

The author of American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis, has a theory that serial killers are so empty and soulless that the only way they can feel anything is to kill in some vile way. And readers read about them to fill the same void. This is creepy, but I think true to some extent. If you’ve ever read American Psycho, you know that the book’s main character is an extremely violent freak. The things he fantasizes about and does, and how he feels about it, are so disgusting. It’s everything the killers from Criminal Minds are except in extreme detail.

It’s repulsive, but we keep wanting more of it. So many tv shows and movies are about seriel killers, a lot of books are. Our culture is saturated with the mystique of the serial killer. Middendorp talks about the paintings of John Wayne Gacy in his article. This is the ultimate symbol of our fascination with depraved killers. Gacy raped and killed 33 boys and young men. He also happened to finish a few oil paintings in his lifetime, and these are astoundingly in-demand. Actor Johnny Depp even boasted of having one. If that isn’t sick, I don’t know what is. But at the same time, I can kind of understand it.

Jonathan Davis of Korn wanted to open his own serial killer museum. He has Gacy paintings and the very disturbing clown suit that Gacy used to dress up in. He even has Ted Bundy’s VW, with which Bundy picked up women he later killed. When I first read this, I was thinking “What a freak. Who would do this? Who would collect serial killer memorabilia and open a museum?” But then I thought, “Yeah, I’d go.”

The author of this article, Chris Middendorp, points out the popularity of shows like CSI, Criminal Minds, and Bones, and movies like Silence of the Lambs. He writes that the “serial killer has replaced Satan as the ultimate symbol of evil.” Our ultimate fear isn’t of demons and supernatural forces. It’s of other people.

Middendorp also discusses the huge numbers of serial killers that populate tv and movies:

If we are to accept the bombastic premise behind popular TV crime shows such as CSI, Bones, Waking the Dead, NCIS, Wire in the Blood, Criminal Minds, Law & Order and many others, there’s some kind of debased homicidal predator lurking on every second block. If there really were as many serial killers as these shows would have us believe, the world population explosion would clearly not be an issue; we’d be more worried about population shrinkage.

Ok, so there aren’t really serial killers lurking in all of our bushes waiting to attack, but we still like to hear about them. Maybe because they’re NOT in our bushes or likely to kill the average citizen?

It’s nothing new that our culture likes to watch and read about the most disgusting members of society. If it’s because we identify with them in some way or have absolutely no idea how they operate, I don’t kow. I don’t think it’s likely to change soon, though that’s what Middendorp would like to see. The articles parting words:

None of this is useful or healthy in an era that desperately needs to establish harmony between people and cultures. What does it say about us that accounts of grotesque depravity are one of our favourite forms of entertainment? Our serial killer fixation is a measure of a culture’s dislocation and it is imperative we do something to remedy this.
It’s just possible that if we improve the quality of the stories that entertain us, we’ll improve the quality of our society too.

Maybe that would work, but I don’t see it happening.

The National Post of Canada has an article today about the WGA strike. Both sides have indicated that they will resume talks next Monday. The strike started on November 5, and viewers haven’t felt the impact for the most part. The strike has, however, affected the thousands of people who are employed in the entertainment industry. This ranges from costume designers to hair stylists to maintainance people. It overflows into the community as well. Coffee shops, restaurants, and stores lose business when these employees cut spending. The entertainment industry pumps a lot of money into the local economy, and that lack of money is hard felt by the citizens.
In the face of this economic hardship, it behooves both sides to end the strike quickly from a PR standpoint.
The writers have been supported by actors and even politicians. Barack Obama has publically sided with the writers, and CA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been calling for a quick end to the strike so the effects his state aren’t as profound.
Economic effects are also being felt in Canada. About twenty US shows, including Criminal Minds and Bionic Woman, are made in Vancouver, Canada, where production has shut down.
The full article is at The National Post.
The Vancouver Sun also has a good article about the effects of the WGA strike on Canada.

Shemar Moore made People’s list of sexiest men for 2007. He came in at #10!

AJ Cook spoke with LA’s Daily News about the strike and Mandy Patinkin’s departure from the show.

In the beginning, it was very stressful because nobody really knew what was going on, but it’s been such a great transition. If ever there could be a great transition, this was it. Joe’s fabulous, he really does feel like he’s been there from the very beginning. He fits in so perfectly.

AJ seems like the type of person who is as nice as she appears. Hopefully, the writers and networks will reach a decision soon so we can see more of JJ’s evolution.
Ratings for the new season are just as high as they were for the previous two seasons with Patinkin. Another thing that AJ likes is the way her character, JJ, is changing.

I like that J.J. has seriously evolved. She went from being a couple of lines per episode to really coming into her own. I love it whenever she gets to pull her gun out - that’s exciting for me. Or when I get to put the FBI vest on and storm a building with everyone else. It’s a lot of fun. She’s badass now, I like it.

She’s also an important part of the team - Hotch takes her advice very seriously. There are cases that he agrees to investigate based on JJ’s say-so.

On the WGA strike:

We are entering into the great unknown here and I really feel for our crew. Many of them live paycheck to paycheck and can’t afford to have a five- or six-month strike. I support the writers and I understand; I just want it to be over quickly.

IF Magazine listed Criminal Minds as its #4 show to watch for the week of November 12. In the upcoming episode, Jamie Kennedy plays a cannibalistic serial killer. If you’re looking for something else to watch this weekend, check out IF.

The Sydney Morning Herald is sassy again this morning. David Dale writers about the Hollywood Writers Strike. Since a lot of us Americans are egocentric (not me, though), it’s interesting to see what other places think of the strike.
It doesn’t seem Sydney will be affected too much in the short-term. According to Dale, Australia’s favorite US shows, Criminal Minds, House, The Simpsons, Ghost Whisperer, CSI, and My Name is Earl, have plenty of new episodes to last through the end of Australia’s ratings season, which ends in three weeks. Shows more affected by the strike, Heroes, Bionic Woman, and Prison Break, are not getting big audiences anyway.
Dale sees three big advantages to the US writers’ strike. First, better shows:

In the case of Heroes, which has been slow this season, the creator, Tim Kring, phoned Entertainment Weekly magazine from the picket line promising to make good use of his time off: “The message is that we’ve heard the complaints and we’re doing something about it.” According to EW, “The cliffhangers are back. Narrative purpose has been discovered. Old favourites such as Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) and Horn Rimmed Glasses (Jack Coleman) take centre stage.” A good omen for other strike-affected programs which have been disappointing us lately.

Second, Australia will start shopping around for shows in Canada and England. Dale believes this will “widen our understanding of the world,” while at the same time diverting funds directed to US shows. Hopefully, he says, the Australian networks, Seven, Nine, and Ten, will produce more Australian-made shows. Shows such as Kath & Kim, and City Homicide are home-grown successes.

Third, television writers will have a precedent for demanding more of a share in digital revenue, and “Australia’s best writers will be able to give up their part-time jobs as waiters and cleaners.”

(Writers of America’s Next Top Model held their own strike in July of 2006. They weren’t represented by WGA-West and in November the writers on strike were taken off payroll.)

The writers strike has been getting a huge amount of attention, and rightly so. The issues they are fighting for are groundbreaking - a bigger cut of digital and internet revenues. The actors are also affected by the strike. A lot of shows have already shut down production - the AP reports that at least seven sitcoms, including The Office, and popular shows like Desperate Housewives have stopped production.

The writers strike not only affects the writers and the actors. There are hundreds of support personnel whose livliehoods are at stake. Gary Gentile of the AP writes:

They’re not on screen or on strike, but somewhere way behind the scenes in Hollywood, legions of workers are off the job as writers strike against studios.
A growing number of caterers, hairdressers, set builders, crew members and people who rent everything from trucks to portable dressing rooms have been idled in this industry town, as filming shuts down and studios yank funding from production companies.
With no deal is sight, the toll will only mount.

There are people being harmed by the strike that we would never think of. The entertainment industry contributes $80 million a day to LA’s economy. Without the money pouring in, spending on restaurants and shopping will decrease. The cost of the strike in 1988 was $500 million, and I assume that it would be much more now.

Gentile writes:

A study commissioned in 2001 by then-Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan concluded that a possible walkout of several months by writers would put 130,000 people out of work. Nearly one-third of those jobs would never return, the study concluded.

That is an enormous amount of people thrown out of work, and some of them have doubts about the strike. While they want to support the writers, many of them wonder if they’ll get the deal they want. More importantly, will production resume in time for these support people to go back to work?

There is a lot of support for the writers - deservedly. They create the shows, and give our favorite characters life. Some other sites have suggested sending donations to buy the writers pizza as they strike. This is a nice idea, but I have to wonder about the hairdressers, costume designers, cooks, and everyone else who contribute to the shows we watch. What about them? They are out of the spotlight and out of work. When the actors and writers go back to work, what will happen to them?
To see what’s happening with your favorite shows, check out 451 Press.

Julia Louis Dreyfus supports the writers.

Tonight’s episode, “Identity,” has the team racing to find one half of a killing duo. The other half killed himself when apprehended by authorities. They travel to Montana to investigate the kidnappings and murders of four women, and another woman is kidnapped.

Criminal Minds has aired six episodes this season, and they have scripts for six more. CBS fares pretty well (not ideal, but ok) in the strike. They have a lot of crime shows in their lineup, which do well in reruns. This summer, Criminal Minds did very well in the ratings with reruns. CBS also has popular reality shows, Amazing Race, Survivor, and Big Brother, which may return early.

The Power of Ten and Password are also ready to go should they be needed, and they can also be produced very quickly. New episodes of Jericho and The New Adventures of Old Christine are also available.

Fox also fares well because American Idol, which can begin as early as January, will fill up a lot of Fox’s airtime. They also have Kitchen Nightmares and Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader, whose writers are not governed by the WGA.

Shows that are in danger are Pushing Daisies and Heroes. They could disappear from the lineup altogether as they run out of new episodes.

If we run out of new Criminal Minds episodes, we can start checking out the books based on the series.

WGA members and networks couldn’t reach an agreement, so the writers have gone on strike. WGA - East is set to strike Monday in front of NBC headquarters. LA writers will stand on the picket line from 9-5 protesting until a deal is reached. Negotiations with a federal mediator failed to resolve the big issue - a bigger cut of digital revenue. After 11 hours of talks, writers were informed that there was to be a strike.
Check out the full story on yahoo.

Writers are ready to strike. They decided Thursday night that they would strike if they didn’t negotiate a contract agreement with the networks. They put it off, leaving the networks and tv lovers in suspense. Will they strike tomorrow?
There were last-ditch effort talks on today to see if an agreement could be reached. Writers want a bigger cut of the revenue that is brought in from dvd and also from shows and movies streamed over the net or cell phones. Their contract expired November 1, and it was four years old. It gave the writers 1.2% of revenue for shows streamed online for one-time viewing. The don’t get anything for shows or movies downloaded from sites like iTunes.
AFP reported on the possible strike and gave an example of this:

…if an entire blockbuster film supported by ads is shown free of charge on the Internet, writers get no money because studios label the display “promotional.”

A writers stike could cost the entertainment industry as much as a billion dollars. First affected woud be late-night talk shows, like David Letterman, who depend on writers for content. TV shows would be affected if the strike lasted longer. This means a lot of game shows, news shows, and reality shows, which aren’t covered by the Writers Guild.
A federal mediator was called in to help with negotiations. If they don’t reach one, WGA leaders and network officials expect a long strike.

Yesterday I wrote about Wednesday night ratings. Today, Contact Music.com is saying that Criminal Minds was the top rated show of Wednesday night, beating out Private Practice. Hmmmm….guess it depends on the ratings area? In Australia, Private Practice won out over CM by 9%.
Media Week.com also reports CM as having won the night. So congratulations, Criminal Minds. It’s a solid show, consistently in the top twenty for the week.

On the potential writers strike: The New York Times reported this morning that union leaders will inform members whether or not they are striking by Friday afternoon. As an entertainment lawyer said yesterday, the Writers Guild has two weapons. A strike and the threat of a strike, so this could very well continue to be unsettled for days. We’ll see by this afternoon what they decide to do.

Today, the AP is reporting that a writers guild strike could happen as soon as Friday - tonight, members will meet to discuss whether to keep working without a contract or walk out.
The writers and networks haven’t reached an agreement on payment for dvd sales, digital revenue, and shows shown online. Writers get paid pennies on the sale of dvds. They want a cut of the advertising revenue when shows and movies are streamed over the internet for free (right now, they’re getting nothing).
The networks counter by saying that dvd sales offset the increased costs of production, and they don’t want to committ to paying more money in an uncertain economic climate.

John Handel is an entertainment lawyer who once served as counsel to the WGA. He says that delaying a strike benefits the writers.

The writers guild has two weapons: one is a strike, the other is the threat of a strike. It has no reason to toss that weapon away without using it for a bit.

If writers do strike, primetime shows and movies would not be affected immediately. The first ones to feel the strike’s effects would be late-night talk shows, which depend on writers for monologues and skits. They depend on current events and there will be no one to write them up. After the shows ran out of scripts, they’d have to run reality shows, reruns, and game shows to fill up the gaps.

So writers are meeting tonight and may decide to strike tomorrow. Or they could postpone the decision for a few days. It doesn’t seem like they’re going to get what they want from the networks - which is money from digital/dvd sales. Let’s see what happens.

Check out 451Press for more on your favorite shows - which hopefully will continue showing new episodes!

The Writers Guild of America has voted to strike as nearly as Thursday, November 1, if an agreement with networks is not reached - which seems unlikely at this late date. CNN reports that networks have enough scripts in stock to last through New Year, and possibly into February. After that, it’s reality shows, game shows, or reruns. The writers strike could also affect next season’s shows.
The AP reports that “[p]ilots for next fall are being written now and the development process, which includes rewrites and casting, extends through the spring.” If the writers aren’t working, the process is stalled.
The impending strike would affect networks, and advertisers as well. If not as many people are watching tv, because they’re sick of reruns and reality, much less money is being generated. The writers and their families, though, are the ones who have to deal with the uncertainty of their futures: their jobs are in jeopardy, and they’re not getting paid their usual salaries.

For more info on the Writers Guild strike, click on the CNN link above, or visit an earlier post I did that is in a little more detail.

It’s a harsh world we live in when television shows are awarded because of their portrayal of torture. Human Rights First chose to create their Excellence in Television award because of the prevalance of torture on tv. According to their statistics, incidents of torture on tv have increased greatly since 2000.

I became aware of this because of its connection to Criminal Minds. Of course, the episode that was recognized was “Lessons Learned,” in which Gideon interviews a Guantanamo Bay detainee. Also nominated were The Closer, The Shield, Lost, and Boston Legal. On HRF’s website, you can view clips of each of these shows, as well as a 14 minute feature on torture in television. (This is very interesting.)
What I found equally as interesting was all the criticism surrounding 24 and torture. I should say that I have never seen 24 - in which a season follows the course of events of one single day- so this was surprising to me. Everytime I would read about torture and television, 24 inevitably showed up.

Joel Surnow is the executive producer of 24. In his office is an American flag that once flew in Iraq. It was presented to Surnow by soldiers who had shared a collection of 24 DVDs.
In a recent New Yorker article, Surnow says:

The military loves our show. People in the Administration love the series, too. It’s a patriotic show. They should love it….Isn’t it obvious that if there was a nuke in New York City that was about to blow—or any other city in this country—that, even if you were going to go to jail, it would be the right thing to do?

24 creates a sense of urgency - each hour of the show represents an hour in the lives of the characters. Without a digital countdown clock, split screens, and immenent disaster, tension builds until it seems logical, patriotic, and even necessary to torture information out of people.
Surnow acknowledges that the show is formed from people’s anxieties, their fear of being attacked. “America wants the war on terror fought by Jack Bauer. He’s a patriot.” Of course he always saves the day. Why wouldn’t we want someone like him working on our side?
This attitude reaches all the way up - as Surnow says, the Bush Administration loves the show.
From the New Yorker: “Not long after September 11th, Vice-President Dick Cheney alluded vaguely to the fact that America must begin working through the ‘dark side’ in countering terrorism.”
This dark side is sanctioned by the Bush administration. Through secret memos and decisions, harsh interrogation tactics have been authorized. They found that “combined effects” were allowed. This means that the interrogators could use physical measures along with psychological ones to extract information. Among the physical tactics are head slapping, simulated drowning, and frigid temperatures. “Enemy combatants” are sometimes short-chained to the floor or in a fetal position with out food or water. Sleep deprivation and extremely long interrogations are also allowed. The New York Times has an extensive article on this.
But still, if a little sleep deprivation and a day without food or water is necessary to prevent an attack, why not? Professional interrogators agree that it does not work. It is not an effective means of getting information. And, oh yeah, it is inhumane. But concentrating on the effacacy: even the co-creater of 24, Bob Cochran, acknowledges that the situations in the show are not true to life.

Most terrorism experts will tell you that the ‘ticking time bomb’ situation never occurs in real life, or very rarely. But on our show it happens every week

Col. Herrington, a veteren interrogator, said on NPR that in his entire career he’d never come across a “ticking time bomb” type of situation. They simply do not happen, he says.

By using talking and nonviolent techniques, and by treating the detainee as a person, information is more forthcoming. This may sound naive but it’s said again and again by military interrogators who have done this for decades.
It is true that it is entertainment - it’s a television show. But the harm comes when young soldiers or recruits watch 24 and shows like it and think that’s the way the world works. And they do watch it, as Surnow proudly states. In Rachel Thomas’s TV Dramas blog, she writes:

Some U.S. soldiers have even gone so far as violating the Geneva Convention, citing the entertainment industry as the catalyst.

U.S. Army Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan, the dean of the United States Military Academy at West Point, flew to California in November to meet with the producers of 24. He believes that the show adversely affects American soldiers.

The kids see it, and say, ‘If torture is wrong, what about “24”?’ ” The disturbing thing is that although torture may cause Jack Bauer some angst, it is always the patriotic thing to do.

Another interesting point that I read was that extremists will not talk. If they are willing to die for their cause, they will not break down during torture.
Jane Mayer, in her New Yorker article writes:

Cochran (24’s co-creator) demanded to know what the interrogators would do if they faced the imminent threat of a nuclear blast in New York City, and had custody of a suspect who knew how to stop it. One interrogator said that he would apply physical coercion only if he received a personal directive from the President. But Navarro (an FBI expert on questioning techniques), who estimates that he has conducted some twelve thousand interrogations, replied that torture was not an effective response. “These are very determined people, and they won’t turn just because you pull a fingernail out,” he told me. And Finnegan argued that torturing fanatical Islamist terrorists is particularly pointless. “They almost welcome torture,” he said. “They expect it. They want to be martyred.” A ticking time bomb, he pointed out, would make a suspect only more unwilling to talk. “They know if they can simply hold out several hours, all the more glory - the ticking time bomb will go off!”

This is why, in “Lessons Learned,” Gideon has to lie to the detainee. He knows that he will not give up any information otherwise. Not through talking, and definatley not through torture.

There is a lot of information out there on this topic - it’s so important. How the US treats detainees influences the rest of the world’s opinion of us. It seems like the current administration thinks that life is a tv show and that they have to get the bad guys before they get us - and so they can use whatever method they want, including severe physical and emotional pain to get answers to their questions. It’s a scary world that we live in and we live in fear of a terrorist attack. We should also fear losing our humanity.

I read an essay in college on why torture should be allowed in certain situations. Say the suspect has a victim who will die unless the police get information from him. Or if a bomb will go off and kill many innocent people. If it can prevent a larger loss, why not? The essay was persuasive, and I found myself thinking, “Yeah, why not, if it will save people?”
Why not? Because it doesn’t work. This year Human Rights First created an award for awareness of human rights and torture on television. This award is intended to combat the image of torture we get from tv. Mentioned specifically is 24. In shows like this, torture is almost glamorized. The good guys need information and a few minutes of torture gets this for them so they can save the day. In reality, this intense, agonizing pain lasts and lasts.

Nominated are:
Criminal Minds episode “Lessons Learned.” In this episode, Agents Gideon, Prentiss, and Reid travel to Guantanamo Bay to interrogate a detainee who has information on an imminent terrorist attack. The CIA had been unable to get the detainee to even speak to them, even though they used violent measures. Gideon talks to the man, and by using his intellect, is able to get the man to talk to him.
Human Rights First nominated “Lessons Learned” because it depicts sophisticated techniques garner more information than torture.
The Closer is also nominated for this reason.

On the flip side, The Shield is nominated for depicting torture in a realistic way. Vic Mackey, the show’s main character, is a cop who on occasion bends the rules (by “bends,” I mean he kills people and works with drug dealers and stuff). Anyway, he is torturing a man whom he believes has information on who killed his partner. He beats him with a chain. I haven’t seen this episode, but The Shield can be very disturbing, so I’m sure it’s hard to watch.

The winner of this award will be named on October 15, so I’ll update you on who wins. Among the judges are two former interrogators: Joe Navarro (formerly with the FBI) and Tony Lagouranis (formerly with the Army). So when they say that the nonviolent techniques are more effective, they have the experience and knowledge to know what they’re talking about.

The Human Rights First website is very informative - and they have a section called “Take Action,” where you can read about Human Rights issues and actually do something about them.

National Public Radio also had a story on this subject, with the producer of The Shield episode which was nominated, Adam Fierro, as well as intelligence expert Col. Stuart Herrington. If you go to the NPR website, you can hear the story (just click on National Public Radio above). One interesting thing on this program was when they talked about shows like 24. In them, there is always an emergency and they need the info right away, so they have to resort to torture. Col. Herrington said that he had never been in a situation like that during his entire career. It just didn’t happen like that, he said, but young recruits watching the shows get the idea that is exactly how it happens. That’s another reason Human Rights First created this award - in reality, talking and nonviolent strategies will get more information than torture.

(I had no intention of insulting 24 - check out Watching 24 for more info on the show)

Paget Brewster seems so FBI-ish on Criminal Minds that it’s surprising to me that she is also known for her comedic roles. She lent her voice to American Dad, she was on Friends and The Trouble with Normal.
On Criminal Minds, Paget plays the straight-laced Emily Prentiss. In reality, she differs a little from her character.

In an interview with UnderGround Online, she responds to a question about Hugh Heffner asking her to pose for Playboy.

UGO: I caught you on the Conan O’Brien show a few weeks back. Are you going to take Hugh Heffner up on his offer [to pose in Playboy]?

PAGET: At first, I was like, “I’m not going to do it.” Then I talked about it on Conan and I was like, “God, I do kind of want to do it,” but I can’t do it. You know what I mean? I kind of wanted to, but I don’t know. It doesn’t seem fair. I think the re-touching would be great, and there is something kind of thrilling, dangerous and sexy, and cheesy about being naked in a magazine, but I do actually admire Playboy more than I do Maxim or FHM. When girls do that, all the power to them, have a great time, get all oiled up and put on some lingerie and get your picture taken. But I think if you’re going to do it, really do it. Go to the all-American institution and really damn well do it. But the manager, the agents, the lawyers, they were all, “You can’t do it,” and my mom and dad would have been upset. Even though I talked to them about it and they said, “You know what, if you really want to do it, that’s okay,” but I knew that it would upset them and make them uncomfortable. My parents are so great and I owe them my existence, so I couldn’t do it, but I was really tempted by it. It really is flattering. I’m 37. It’s pretty good. I feel like I’m looking pretty good. I kind of felt like, “I should take pictures of it now. It’s not going to look good in five years.”

Like co-star Shemar Moore, I wouldn’t expect any disrobing from Prentiss.