The world is changing, many of you may have heard people talking about wanting to abolish the police, the unchecked violence perpetrated against POC communities finally being seen by the masses, people finally willing to hold others accountable. This cultural shift has the potential to enforce real change, which is incredibly exciting, though, admittedly, late. There is also a lot to talk about in this subject, but I am not qualified to do so. If you’re interested in learning more about the overall concept of abolishing the police I will leave some links below for you to check out, but what I would really like to talk about, potentially something I feel more qualified to speak on, is Brooklyn Nine Nine.
First, let me just acknowledge the privilege I have, that when I heard about the concept one of the first places my mind went was cop-television. For those of you who don’t know, I love a good police procedural, and I’m not the only one. The sheer number of shows that take place in law enforcement prove their popularity, and they do an unimaginable amount of good for people’s perception of the police. Cops are the heros in these shows, the main characters and as a kid, loving mysteries I truly believed I wanted to grow up to be a detective.
Many shows have begun to pull away from the classic crime procedural, instead featuring characters outside of general law enforcement. For instance instead of having the main characters be cops solving murders in the show ‘How to Get Away with Murder’ we follow a group of law students doing everything in their power to stay out of prison after killing a man. But shows like Rizzoli and Isles, Lucifer, and iZombie all follow people who work for police. My personal favorite isn’t even a true crime show, Brooklyn Nine Nine runs more like a sitcom than a crime procedural, and while they have tackled some more hard hitting topics in their runtime, usually the show pulls away from the policing aspect and focuses on the social lives of the characters.
They still are police though, the show takes place in a new york police department and stars Jake Peralta, a detective who, very similarly to my own experience, loved cop movies so much he dreamed of becoming one.
So a month or two ago, when protesting began and the general public began talking about abolishing the police, it didn’t take long for me to start wondering what this shift meant for shows that exist in police departments. If police funds really were reallocated to different areas better suited to helping prevent crime, rather than responding to it, if police were abolished, would Brooklyn Nine Nine end? Knowing I couldn’t be the first one to wonder about this, I googled it, and what I found made me laugh.
Someone had floated the idea that when the show came back, rather than taking place in a police department it would take place in a post office. The idea was that the show simply wouldn’t address the change as it could continue to function incredibly similarly, being a show about coworkers, without the police setting. At first? This made me laugh. I like it, honestly, at first glance its a fun way to pull away from something problematic… but the more I thought about it, the more it didn’t sit right with me.
The idea here is that because Brooklyn Nine Nine is a show about coworkers relationships to one another as well as many episodes not needing them to be police for the scenarios to make sense, maybe just changing the setting is a good way to evolve with the times… which sounds good in theory. I don’t pretend to understand how frustrating it must be to see people, like myself, hero-worship a job that has caused so much pain and suffering. These shows, in many ways, contributed very strongly to the world ignoring deadly actions taken by police. They don’t show you the reality of policing, by leaving out the violence they make it easy for people to stay ignorant. Plus, they make the good guys cops, they make them relatable and well intentioned and the truth thats definetly not always the case.
So in theory, yes, I agree its problematic for Brooklyn Nine Nine to be set in a police station, and I also agree that moving forward, change is going to have to happen in order for the show to not seem socially tone deaf, however I truly hope they don’t just erase the shows history.
Wouldn’t it be a much stronger message to show us Jake Peralta fighting with the realization that a system he has idolized for so long, and dedicated his life to is inherently racist? Wouldn’t watching these characters begin to evolve and change with the world give a much stronger message of understanding? The way I see it, reframing the show in a post office ignores one of the main characters strongest beliefs. Forget not that Jake Peralta loves, and I mean loves cop-shows. He and I have fallen in the same trap, the intelligence and wit of fictional police have made us blind to the racism and injustice that actually exists. I believe there would be real power in showing us what abolishing the police looks like, to show us how it effects the characters lives.
As much as I agree certain situations don’t require armed, untrained men and women thrown into them, I have a hard time believing detectives as a whole will be eradicated, crimes will still need to be solved and it’s very likely that people who hold those positions now will move to doing a similar job under a different institution. Following the characters in Brooklyn Nine Nine as their place of employment is defunded, as they come to terms with the fact they’ve been working for a racist system, unlearning prejudice and potentially just fully losing their jobs would, in my opinion be a much stronger message of support for the movement than pretending that these characters never contributed to the problem.
Brooklyn Nine Nine has always handled tough subject matter with grace and kindness, and more than anything, I believe it deserves to continue that tradition.
TL;DR : While it’s a super funny idea to change the setting of Brooklyn Nine Nine to a Post Office with no explanation, my personal belief is it would be a much stronger message if they showed us the characters coming to terms with an evolving world, and would probably also help people who are still not getting why abolishing the police is necessary to concur some of that ignorance.
Not sure what I mean when I say Abolish the Police, or just want to learn more? Here are some helpful links that explain it much better than I could.
Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police - By Mariame Kaba
Understanding #AbolishThePolice - Twitter Thread by Bridget Eileen
Police Abolition Movement - Wikipedia
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