Act Four: A century of police killings on film

What kinds of stories does Hollywood tell about police killings of civilians?   Alyssa Rosenberg on culture and politics   (Illustration by Oliver Munday For The Washington Post) As cellphone, dashboard and body-camera footage have given the public the ability to see at least part of what happens when some civilians are shot, choked or beaten by the police, a debate has sprung up around that footage. Is watching these videos a moral obligation? Are they numbing us to the devastating consequences of these incidents? Will they change anything? Though it’s obviously not an equivalent experience, as part of my exploration of how cops have been depicted in popular culture, I watched fictional stories about police killings of civilians released over a 94-year period. And I think the saddest element of this research was watching culture move from focusing on the moral and social horror of these moments to treating these killings as a routine part of action spectacle. Certainly, this process has made it difficult for me to watch certain stories, such as “Die Hard,” in the same way I once did. I would be curious to know if videos of real incidents have changed your ability to watch police stories. Let’s discuss in Friday’s special edition of the Act Four chat: You can submit questions and comments here. ADVERTISEMENT   In pop culture, there are no bad police shootings Movies, television and novels have trained audiences to excuse almost any police shooting. By Alyssa Rosenberg  •  Read more »   How pop culture's cops turned on their communities Can police officers make their way back to Mayberry? By Alyssa Rosenberg  •  Read more »   How police censorship shaped Hollywood, and how pop culture changed policing The police story is one of the elemental dramas of American popular culture. By Alyssa Rosenberg  •  Read more »   'The father of the modern police novel' Joseph Wambaugh on 'Dragnet,' police shootings and Hollywood's action addiction Wambaugh's "The New Centurions" helped usher in a new era in police storytelling. By Alyssa Rosenberg  •  Read more »   Dragnets, Dirty Harrys and Dying Hard: A syllabus for 100 years of the police in pop culture Everything I watched and read for a series on the police in American pop culture. By Alyssa Rosenberg  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Recommended for you   Intersect The corner of the Internet and interesting, in your inbox weekly. Sign Up »         Share Act Four:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for Act Four. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2016 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071