The image of a policeman in TV series in the context of global transformations (based on the materials of content analysis)

About the authors:

Ekaterina V. Kargapolova, Dr. Sci. (Soc.), Professor, Department of Political Analysis and Socio-Psychological Processes, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Moscow, Russia; k474671@list.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2892-3953

Yulia S. Polyakova, Undergraduate Student, Department of Sociology, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Moscow, Russia; yuliya.polyakova.03@list.ru

Yulia A. Shlyakhetko, Undergraduate Student, Department of Sociology, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Moscow, Russia; yushlyakhetko@gmail.com

Abstract:

The police in stable social systems are one of the most important factors in maintaining order and ensuring the freedom of citizens. At the same time, the analysis of scientific literature shows signs of a dysfunctional position of the police in postmodern society. The media image of a policeman is also ambiguous, which actualizes its study. The purpose of this study is to analyze the image of police officers in domestic and foreign TV series, which make up a significant part of media texts. The main research method is content analysis. The novelty of the study is as follows. The presence of media images of an overweight, small-stature policeman has been recorded, which is at odds with the ideal of a courageous hero-defender. A trend has been revealed to replace an older man who is not perfect in appearance with an ideal young woman. This indicates the deflation of the postmodern serial culture of traditional ideas about both a woman and a male defender. It is shown that most often in television series, police officers perform the functions of protecting public order, solving crimes related to physical violence in risky conditions. This characterizes the modern social system as unstable. and such media images only perpetuate instability. In about half of the cases, the professional moral principles of police work are not respected, which also indicates the pathology of the social organism. It is recorded that in domestic TV series, the law enforcement officer adheres to professional principles more often than in foreign ones. But in terms of personal qualities, police officers in domestic TV series are inferior to their colleagues in foreign TV series. In general, the media image of a policeman reflects the realities of postmodern society in the blurring of law enforcement in the absence of the basis of the social system — moral principles and requires prompt revision in the face of the challenges that Russia faces as the vanguard of the formation of a new multipolar just world order based on law and law.

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