One aspect about our culture that I don't really understand is why we seem to be so obsessed with police officers.They seem to be everywhere.
Dramas about police officers.
Movies about police officers.
Reality shows about police officers.
There's even a video game called Prison Tycoon.
Don't get me wrong, I think police officers are awesome. They are the common man's heroes, and they sacrifice everything to enforce the law and to keep the people safe from all kinds of crime. Our world would be a very bad, inhospitable, anarchial place without them and their unwavering service.
But what I don't understand is why it almost seems as though our culture is practically obsessed with the men and women in blue.
Don't believe me?
Law and Order.
Law and Order: SVU.
NCIS.
CSI.
CSI: New York.
CSI: Miami.
Monk.
Bones.
Blue Bloods.
21 Jump Street.
Magnum P.I.
Cops.
Psych.
Hot Fuzz.
Dredd.
And now added to that list, End of Watch.
Now I don't know if any other cultures are like this, but at least in America we seem to have a strange fixation with police officers and law enforcement. Not only do we have TV and film dramatizations of law enforcement, but we also have reality shows like Cops that show us the nitty gritty details of police work.
It's something I don't understand, and part of me thinks I never will. True, I like watching Monk, but it seems like every other show on TV today is a hospital or law drama. And that is something I don't understand.
Needless to say, America's cultural obsession with cops seemed to be proven again last weekend at the box office when the police drama End of Watch nabbed (or maybe arrested?) the #1 spot.
Close behind End of Watch's $13.2 million debut was the horror film House at the End of the Street and the sports film Trouble with the Curve. In fact "Based on studio estimates Sunday, 'End of Watch' and 'House at the End of the Street' were tied for No. 1 with $13 million each...But once the entire weekend's ticket sales were counted, 'End of Watch' came in slightly ahead of Sunday's projections" (Star Tribune).
Even though it landed in third place on its debut, CLint Eastwood's Trouble with the Curve will likely stay on at the box office for quite a while. This is because his movies "tend to start modestly but stick around awhile at theaters because he draws older crowds that do not rush out in big numbers over opening weekend" (Star Tribune).
What I'm interested in seeing is whether End of Watch will remain on the box office Top Ten longer than Trouble with the Curve. Do Americans prefer cops or feel-good sports movies?
Maybe this weekend's numbers will give us some insight into that.
Here are the top ten movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters from Friday September 21st through Sunday September 23rd, courtesy of the Star Tribune:
1. End of Watch - $13.2 million
2. House at the End of the Street - $12.3 million
3. Trouble with the Curve - $12.2 million
4. Finding Nemo 3D - $9.6 million
5. Resident Evil: Retribution - $6.7 million
6. Dredd - $6.3 million
7. The Master - $4.4 million
8. The Possession - $2.6 million
9. ParaNorman - $2.3 million
10. Lawless - $2.3 million
- Edessa, signing off
It's a conspiracy! I've been telling people for ages! (jk not really) The government's got control of the media and is using it to send subliminal messages to our brains! They're gonna take over someday. By setting up the police as heroes, they'll hypnotize us into the notion that the government is infallibly good and anyone who opposes said government is undeniably evil. Save yourselves! Prepare for the age of tyranny!
ReplyDelete*runs off into the hills to go find John Conner*
Oh and you forgot Hawaii 5-0. *just remembered* =P
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