By: Cassy Rymas
One show that is watched by thousands is ‘Suits’. However, this show misrepresents the legal field. ‘Suits’ is set at a law firm in New York City. The show is based around a talented college dropout Mike Ross, who works as a law associate for Harvey Specter, despite never attending law school. I have not watched this show, but just from what I have read up on it, it’s worth watching even though it’s not the reality of the legal profession.
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| the cover photo for 'Suits' |
First and foremost, you cannot be a law associate without attending law school. You really can’t do anything in the legal field without attending three years of law school. This is essentially why the show works in some people’s eyes. That this situation is a metaphor for the high-end scale of the legal field. Throughout the show, you get a panicky feeling as you constantly think Mike is going to be exposed for not attending law school. This is the metaphor, lawyers at the high end of the scale are going to be exposed. One source relates it to ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ because although the actual situation the show portrays is impossible. The metaphor within the show is relatable.
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| the cover photo for 'law and order' |
Another show that is watched by even more Americans is ‘Law and Order’, this too if full of misrepresentation. One example of misrepresentation is the rate of violent crimes. No one would watch the show if the crimes presented were boring. So, producers must keep it interesting and high speed with high end crimes. These crimes are usually classified as serious felony crimes which according to my criminal justice textbook only 10% of crimes actually are. Another problem of misrepresentation is the race of the criminals. A study done showed that the criminals were black 40-50% of the time. More specifically young black males.
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/01/suits-does-for-lawyers-what-downton-abbey-does-for-aristocrats/267280/
http://www.alternet.org/media/8-ways-crime-shows-law-and-order-mess-your-head
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