Review: Law & Order A Cultural History (by Bernadette Giacomazzo)

 

Review:  
Law & Order A Cultural History 
Bernadette Giacomazzo

I’ve been watching Law & Order for decades, and have seen all 500+ episodes.  Season 25 will begin in the fall of 2025, and there is no sign the series is going away any time soon.   One cannot ignore the sheer number of stories Law & Order has told, many of them “ripped from the headlines”, which often uses current hot-button events as the basis for the episode.  Now, someone has taken a hard look at the series from a standpoint of its influence on, and it being influenced by, the culture of the times. I was given the opportunity to read an advance copy* of “Law & Order A Cultural History” by Bernadette Giacomazzo and I found myself learning new things about a show I thought I knew everything about.  

In the introduction, the author uses the phase “real life and reel life”  and one can’t get any more succinct of an overview of the book.  Before showing those parallels, Giacomazzo digs into television’s foray into the genre of police procedurals, going back into the 1950s.  (I realize I’m showing my age by saying this, but I’ve seen quite a few of those old shows.)  It was interesting to read how these older shows set up what would become the Law & Order procedural (and others like it) that we have today. 

The book examines the history and evolution of the NYPD, which over many decades has been rife with waves of corruption, then subsequent clean-ups and changes in policies. This background is necessary to understand Law & Order and its own evolution.   The author studies the first 8 seasons of the series (plus “Exiled: A Law & Order Movie")  and, using a select number of episodes from each season, details how the episode has reflected law enforcement and the legal system of those times.   The headlines from which these episodes drew brought back many memories of famous cases and phrases, like “family annihilators”, the “Twinkie Defense”, and the phrase “indict a ham sandwich”, the latter which I always thought was an invention of the show’s creative writers.   

There is also a look at the influences from the legal system, social issues, and technology, the latter two topics in constant state of change and upheaval while Law & Order has been in existence.   

The author also analyzes her “top ten” episodes and what inspired them.  Many fans have their own “top ten”  or favorites list, but this chapter isn’t about fan popularity.  It’s about relating the fictional cases to their infamous real-life counterparts, cases such as the “Central Park Jogger” and the Menendez brothers.  If it’s a major media and/or controversial case, you can be assured that Law & Order has (or will) cover it.  Some of these cases still have ripple effects reaching to present times. 

This book is a highly interesting read for anyone who enjoys the show, or who is interested in police procedurals and law enforcement in general.   I learned many new things about the “ripped from the headlines” stories, and the real people and cultural happenings behind them.  Seeing Law & Order’s shift over the years, in tandem with changes in law enforcement culture and the influence of social media, it’s understandable why some call it “copaganda”.   Make your own decision after reading the book!

*Note: I received a free copy of this book and my review was written independently and without financial compensation

Pre-Order Information

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers: “Law & Order A Cultural History”

Amazon.com: “Law & Order A Cultural History” (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers)