Television Blog

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I watched an episode of Law & Order on January 29 2013 at 4:00 PM.  There was an all day marathon on the USA Network, called the Benson Bull SVU Marathon.  The genre of the show is a crime-drama.  In this episode titled "Hate," A women named, Mira is found raped and burned alive in an alley.  Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler are assigned to the case.  Further into the episode it is revealed that the woman was Muslim and her death is a hate crime.  It is also revealed that Mira was having an affair with a Jewish man, that she met through an organization working on building bridges between Muslims and Jews.  It is also revealed that Mira's Husband as well as her mother-in-law knew about her affair and were ashamed of her as she brought shame to the their family by cheating and by also seeing a Jewish man.  Later another death with the same Modus Operandi as Mira is found, and the man is revealed to be an Arab as well.  The man killed, named Tariq also belonged to the same organization as Mira.  They find a suspect, Sean Webster, who confesses to disliking Arabs in America.  While Benson and Stabler are interrogating Webster,  Detectives Fin Tutuola and John Munch are searching Sean's apartment, and greeted by Sean's irritated mother.  While there, they find a cleaning solution, that has an ingredient which he used as an accelerate to burn the victims.  Sean admits to killing Mira and Tariq, since they are Arabs he believes they are a danger to everyone and need to be stopped.  During the interrogation he begins to insult Tutuola (who is black) and also insinuates that he is too Arab, and that Benson looks as though she has some color in her.  Tutuola has some words for Sean though and calls him a killer and a psycho.  Sean believes that Arabs come to America with their oil money, take classes on aviation and engineering then uses that to attack America.  At the SVU unit Dr. Huang a Forensic Psychiatrist and Criminal Profiler, interviews Sean and believes he is a Sociopath who wants to be heard.  The SVU unit gets a call, while at central booking Sean Webster killed an inmate who was an Arab.  Sean's lawyer Oliver Gates, Played by Barry Bostwick is claiming as Sean's defense that he is not responsible for his for the murders because he was born with a "genetic predisposition towards hatred and violence." All the detectives are stunned by this case because if it flies no one will ever be accountable for anything.  Dr. Huang speaks to a genetic specialist, who says that hatred is biologically given and not learned.  During the trial, the specialist talks about hatred is a brain deficiency in the pre-frontal cortex of the brain.  She then shows a brain scan of Sean's his pre frontal cortex is much smaller when compared to a normal brain and it lights up when her hears the word "Arab."  She also says that violent people more activity in the sub-cortex, and the even mention of the word "Arab" put Sean in a state of extreme hatred and violence.  In the rebuttal ADA Casey Novak asks the specialist if she can predict when a person can become violent and the specialist says eventually, but not now.  When Dr. Huang is on the stand he says that behavior even if it is genetic it is still learned.  And no one can predict when someone will become violent because anyone can.  When Sean is on the stand he says that when he was a kid, and then continues on his rantings about Arabs and how dangerous they are to us. Near the end of the episode Sean's father arrives and it is revealed that he did not die in Desert Storm, like his mother told him but left them for an Arab woman.  When his father tried to visit him, Sean's mother wouldn't let him, and then began telling Sean that Arabs are all dangerous horrible people.  At the end of the episode Sean ends up getting killed at Riker's, by friends of the Arab inmate he killed earlier in the episode.          

Some of the primary actors are: Mariska Hargitay who plays Olivia Benson.  Christopher Meloni who plays Elliot Stabler.   Ice-T who plays Fin Tutuola.  Richard Belzer plays John Munch.  Diane Neal as ADA Casey Novak.  Dann Florek who plays Captain Don Cragen.  Special Guest Star is Barry Bostwick who plays Oliver Gates.  The noted Creator and Producer is Dick Wolf, who created produces the Law and Order franchise as well as Miami Vice.

The ads that were advertised during the show were:

• Psych- New season on USA network
• NCIS-New episodes to USA network
• Life Alert- button that calls 911 when elderly people fall or injure themselves
• Quick and Loan App- new app for iPhone or Smart phones, you can calculate your mortgage and interest rates on your phone
• All State- Value Plan for people who live on a budget also receive great insurance 
• Move Free- cream that helps maintains and repair cartilage in joints
• Vitamin- MegaRed more Omega 3s no fish smell and easier to swallow
• Xfinity- Paranormal Activity 4 coming out On-Demand
• Law & Order SVU-Don't crack a smile marathon on USA
• Suits- show on USA new episode on Thursdays at 8        
• Westminister Kennel dog show advertisement
• Turbo Tax- a new app to do taxes on your iphone or Droid or any Smartphone  
• My Day- new calendar calorie counting from Jenny Craig
• Hotwire- Low hotel cost and low car rental costs
• SpaceBag- storage item; can put multiple things into then shrinks in size by taking the air out.
• Discover-foregivness plan: no late fees or increase interest rate when you miss a payment    
• Children's Motrin-child's fever reducer
• Do No Harm- New series on NBC
• ITT Tech Institute-scholarship opportunities
• Re-phresh-balancing pH Cream
• One Reverse Mortgage-Loan Agency, helps you lower your mortgage rate, gives you a tax free cash from equity
• The Problem Solver Loan- gives you a $10,000 loan without collateral and only 6 month payments
• Comcast- Business class; new faster voice and internet
• The Game Plan-movie airing on USA
• Symbicart- improves lung functioning from that of defected lungs and those who have asthma
• Cash Now- get more money from settlements 
• Avon walk for the Cure- Breast Cancer charity
• Cerave-helps moisturize the driest skin 
• Psych-New season of the series starts in February
• Suits- New epsiodes

The attitude of this episode definitely relates to how some people felt after 9/11.  When seeing Arabs on the street or in airports became a little weary and paranoid.  Their were those extremist who do believe that all Iraqis or Arabs are terrorists and are out to destroy and takeover America.  I think they did a good job in showing us that we need to take a step back and realize not everyone from the middle east is out to get us.  The character talk very articulately about the subject that is being focused on as well as throwing in sarcasm here and there.  You can tell in there clothes, which are seen as big trench coat or pea coat with leather gloves and scarves so you can tell that it is Winter or Fall in New York.  The show is filmed both on location throughout New York and on sets such as the squad room or court rooms.  How it is similar to other T.V show is that it covers the crime-drama aspect with sexual tension between the characters.  It is in New York like a lot of shows.  What is different about it is that what it covers are sex related crimes and child cases such as murder or disappearance and this is something I have not seen before.  Especially for rape cases to be such a sensitive subject to form a show around I think shows a lot about how much we have evolved with in T.V. because even mentioning sex was such a taboo.  Now we see it everywhere in music, in entertainment, movies, advertisements, I mean lets face it sex does sell, but seeing another form of it and that it can be used as a weapon against people shines a new light on it and I think people really do put it in perspective, that it is not just a light but also a dark side to it.

Some of the stereotypes of this episode were obviously the way that Sean Webster to his fear and hatred of Arabs and Muslims to such a high extent.  I don't if there are people out there who are on that level of fear and hatred but, you definitely see people weary of them.  Even just people, who are wearing turbans, people stereotype those into being a potential terrorist.  Another stereotype was the character Sean Webster saying that Olivia might have some color in her because she looks somewhat tan, and is not agreeing with Sean that Arabs should not be here in America.  As well as assuming Fin Tutuola is Arab sue to racial mixing in South Africa (the character's words, not mine).  Olivia throughout the episode didn't like Sean from the get go, nor did she understand how he could think the way that he did, that people who are not American don't deserve to come to America.  Which is absurd since America was built of immigrants.  Fin is not fazed by being called a coon by Sean, he has been desensitized of that word being called it numerous times by racist criminals.

The advertisements targeted a number of audience, it did not have just one.  A number had to do with mortgage rates and taxes, another bunch had to do with insurance companies.  The other ones had to do with actual products such as joint pain cream and vitamins these would be targeted at usually elderly people and the following to Law & Order are in the 18-36ish range.  I am thinking that they don't have target to advertise to and are just showing their sponsors.  Other advertisements are of the networks new shows and episodes coming out soon.  If I were from another country I would take that people from this country can be very generalizing and judgmental, but still have a sense of decency and still have a head on her shoulders.  That are culture is very evolved what was once considered taboo is now the norm, and what was considered once the norm is now taboo.

I think the shows strengths are that it shows and interprets real issues in the world and tackles them head on.  I think sometimes they definitely play up and instill fear and people, but I thinks that is a good thing, because people are definitely naive about things and this show pops the bubble they live in.  It does a good job in entertainment  and reflect real life situations that happen everyday and go unnoticed. I like about the show is that it tackles a number of issues in one episode the twists and turns it takes.  at the same time it can be predictable.  On TVtropes.com talks about the shows characters and how their personal problems inflict with the show and that the spinoff focuses more on the detectives rather than the attorneys.  I agree with thins I think its good that we see into the character's personal lives and issues they're dealing with, it makes them relatable to viewers.  

I watch this show normally on a regular basis, I will miss it a time or two though.  Most of my family, and my friends watch the show.  I have not liked the Facebook page on the show.  I go on the website to view episodes I missed.   Something that people don't probably know about Mariska Hargitay is that while filming a stunt for the show is that she suffered a partial collapsed lung.  That is dedication if I have ever seen it before.

What I have learned from this assignment is that there is more than reaches the eye when watching television, there is always a message being sent somewhere whether we see it or not.  What I was surprised to learn about the show was that a lot of people are obsessed with the sexual tension between Olivia Benson and ADA Alexandra Cabot.  People are just bent on the fact that the female cop is straight.

>Please disregard the Im Hungry Video and Kesha video I was testing the add video and I don't know how to take them off