Old Crime is New Crime.... Or Is It?

I don't have a television set up. I find it to be a HUGE distraction from my creativity and works, so when the switch to that 'little box' came about, I never switched over. I simply left my TV off and used that as the turning point to break away from watching so much television. I found that even if I had the TV on for just the 'white noise' as I went about my daily work, something on it would always catch my eye (or ear) as I walked past and before you knew it, I was sitting there watching for who knows how long, work setting undone.

There are; however, a few shows that I like to watch. And those shows are great to keep me occupied while I am working on my knitting or crocheting. Although I don't like a lot of the modern day technology, I do love being able to pull up the shows that I do like, at any time that I want (need), on my computer. It is wonderful to be able to watch them when the time is convenient for me and I can even pause them if I have to get up to tend to something, then go back and pick right up where I left off. When the grids eventually go down, that is one of the few things that I will actually miss.

Amongst the few shows that I really enjoy watching are shows like the CSIs, the Mentalist, Criminal Minds, Revenge, and NCIS. I was really bummed out the other day when it was too cold to do much of anything except sit bundled up close to the fire and knit, but those shows seem to have taken a break for the Holidays and no new ones were on. Then I decided to jump on over to Hulu and see if, just for kicks, I could pull up any of the ones that I watched in my youth.

I was so happy to find that there were several on there! I watched a few episodes of the old Emergency show, then I found Adam-12. Oh, how I use to love that show! I liked it even better than most shows because each of the incidents were actual cases. Actual cases ..... as I now watch that show, and keep that in mind, I am thrown by how the people on that show (and us viewers back then), were horrified at the crimes that were committed back then, yet those crimes committed today are viewed as something small and trivial. *shakes head*

If you look back at the shows that were popular during that time frame, you might be surprised to see that the "subject matter" of the shows that were so popular back then (Hawaii 5-0, Emergency, Adam-12, Rockford Files, Dragnet, etc), is basically the same as that of many that are on the air today. The BIG difference, though, is in the level of the crime the shows center around then, vs now. Back then, we watched the content of those shows with the "Oh, my gosh! That is horrible!" attitude. Now we go back and watch them with the, "Ah, that's nothing." attitude. And THAT is sad and scary!!!! Now, we watch today's much more violent crime shows with the same level of fear and disgust as we did the much milder ones back then. That speaks volumes for the way we, as a society, have allowed ourselves to become conditioned into down playing and even blowing off certain levels of crime, while being able to watch shows today such as Criminal Minds, then go right on to bed and sleep soundly, levels of crime that, once upon a time, would have given us hard chills and nightmares for weeks to come (just from one show)!

Those old shows were also much cleaner than today's shows. If some of the statements, and even innuendos, of today's prime time crime shows were expressed in those old shows, the insulted citizens of America would have taken a stand and the show would have been pulled off the air followed by an apology. I am truly enjoying the advancements of technology in that I can pull up a show at any time I want and enjoy it while I work on my knitting, but as I am enjoying all of those advancements, it has really brought to light the downward fall of our society, the drastic drop in our morals and increases in the acceptance of crimes that, though once deemed a big thing, are now viewed as trivial. Even more than I fear being hit with one of today's increasingly violent and gory crimes, I fear where this is all going. Looking back at those old crime shows, then looking at today's crime shows, I get physically ill at the thought of what the ones 20 years from now will be like. But maybe that won't happen. Maybe the grids will go down by then and we will all be living the Little House lifestyle once again. Wouldn't that be nice!