CSI: How Much Is Hollywood?

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CSI How Much Is Hollywood?
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Your Assignment (Part 1)

• Unscramble the titles of the television shows
  that deal with forensic science.

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• Why Are These Shows So Popular?
• What Is The Basic Template For These Shows?
• Where do the writers get ideas for the storylines?

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Top Stories from 2013

• You may see shows that incorporate events from
  these true cases
• Key Witness in Mob Boss Trial Found Dead
• Jodi Arias Trial
• Boston Marathon Bombing
• DNA testing and Boston Strangler
• NSA and Edward Snowden Scandal
• Zimmerman Trial
• Detroit Files For Bankruptcy

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Brainstorming Rules

• Rule 1 Postpone and withhold judgment of ideas.
• Rule 2 Encourage wild and exaggerated ideas.
• Rule 3 Quantity counts, not quality, at this
  stage.
• Rule 4 Build on the ideas put forward by others.
• Rule 5 Every person and every idea has equal
  worth.

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Your Assignment (Part 2)

• Use the ideas from the brainstorming session and
  the class discussion to create a visual that
  compares/contrasts television shows such as CSI
  to real crime scene investigations.

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Venn Diagram Peer Review
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Number of ideas in each category At least one category is blank Each category has at least one idea Most categories have more than one idea Each category has several ideas
How reasonable are the ideas in each category Less than half of the ideas are reasonable At least half of the ideas are reasonable Most of the ideas are reasonable All of the ideas are reasonable
Variety of ideas Too few ideas to assess variety All ideas are related to one topic Some variety in ideas A great variety of ideas
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The real world is not like the reel world.
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How Hollywood Gets It Wrong!

• Myth- The Quick Death
• Fact- A gunshot/stab wound rarely causes instant
  death. Most people bleed to death.
• Myth- The Pretty Death
• Fact- Dead people are pale, waxy and gray color.
  The eyes are usually open.

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How Hollywood Gets It Wrong! (cont)

• Myth- The Bleeding Corpse
• Fact Dead people do not bleed! Blood will clot
  within minutes.
• Myth- The Exact Time of Death
• Fact- The medical examiner gives a range of death.

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How Hollywood Gets It Wrong! (cont)

• Myth- The One-Punch Knockout
• Fact Think about boxing. One punch does not
  normally knock someone out.
• Myth- The Disappearing Black Eye
• Fact- It usually takes at least two weeks for a
  black eye to disappear.

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How Hollywood Gets It Wrong! (cont)

• Myth- Investigators/criminals are great athletes
• Fact - The average person cannot run
  indefinitely, especially not at a fast pace while
  jumping over fences, etc.
• Myth- High- Tech Lab
• Fact Most labs are understaffed and do not have
  all of the latest equipment.

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How Hollywood Gets It Wrong! (cont)

• Myth- The Fast Acting Poison
• Fact- Most poison deaths occur due to
  accumulation of the toxin in the body.
• Myth- Untraceable Poison
• Fact It takes time, but can be traced.

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How Hollywood Gets It Wrong! (cont)

• Myth - The Multi-Faceted Investigator
• Fact Crime Scene Investigators specialize in
  one area and not are responsible for multiple
  tasks.
• Myth Fingerprints are Everywhere!
• Fact Criminals watch television also and so
  they wear gloves and do not leave prints.

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How Hollywood Gets It Wrong! (cont)

• Myth Instant Lab Results
• Fact It takes time to analyze evidence so
  results are not instantaneous.
• Myth Lawyers work one case at a time
• Fact Lawyers have numerous cases in progress
  simultaneously

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Forensic Science as Entertainment
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The BeginningCrime stories in literature

• 1. The Bible and the Apocrypha both contain
  non-fiction stories of crimes and subsequent
  investigations. For example, Cain commits the
  first murder when he kills his brother Abel.
• 2. Between 1590 and 1610 William Shakespeare
  wrote many plays that included murder and treason
  For example, Desdemona is smothered by her
  jealous husband in Othello.

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The BeginningCrime stories in literature

• 3. Edgar Allan Poe is considered the inventor of
  detective fiction. Poes detective, C. Auguste
  Dupin, first appeared in The Murder in the Rue
  Morgue (1841).
• 4. In 1912, Freeman wrote the first inverted
  detective story. An inverted story reveals the
  killer and his methods at the beginning of the
  story. This rest of the story discusses how the
  detective solves the case.

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The BeginningCrime stories in literature

• 5. In 1887, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote A Study
  in Scarlet. This story introduced the character
  of Sherlock Holmes.

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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

• Physician - Unsuccessful practice
• Professor Bell used deductive reasoning to
  diagnose disease
• Model for Sherlock Holmes

• 1887- A Study in Scarlet was first story
• Published in Beetons Christmas Annual
• In 2007, a copy of Beetons sold at auction for
  156,000

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Sherlock Holmes

• Eventually starred in 60 works (4 novels and 56
  short stories)
• Lived at 221B Baker Street- Tourist Attraction
• Arch Enemy- Professor Moriarty
• 1893- killed off

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The BeginningCrime stories in literature

• 6. The Golden Age of Detective Fiction
  established the whodunit novel. The Golden Age
  was prominent in the 1920s and 1930s, but is
  still written today.
• 7. DC Comics began to publish detective comic
  books in 1937. Batman appeared in issue 27.

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The Evolution of Criminal Investigation as
Entertainment
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Literary characters evolved into radio celebrities

• Detective fiction began in radio in 1929
• CBS radio broadcast True Detective Magazine
• 1930s- The Shadow, Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan
  and Ellery Queen were the favorites.

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Radio Celebrities

• The Shadow had many crime fighting talents such
  as
• The ability to defy gravity
• Speak any language
• Unravel any code
• Become invisible by clouding mens minds
• The main enemy of The Shadow was The Red Menace.

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Radio Celebrities

• Ellery Queens Minute Mysteries consisted of a
  one minute mystery.
• The listeners could call in to solve the mystery
  and win a prize.
• The answer was broadcast after a winner was found.

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4 Categories of Detective Fiction

• Radio brought detective fiction into everyones
  home. Soon 4 categories of detective fiction were
  established. The categories were

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The Categories Were

• 1. Amateur detective
• 2. Private Investigator
• 3. Police Detective
• 4. Forensic Specialist

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Radio Characters make their debut on Television
in the 1950s

• This was the era of the hard-boiled private
  investigator such as Martin Kane and Peter Gunn.
• Wary executives continued to broadcast the
  characters on radio shows to increase viewership
  on television.
• Dragnet which starred Sgt. Joe Friday debuted in
  1951 and is credited with improving the public
  opinion of police officers.
• Perry Mason debuted in 1957 and became the
  longest running lawyer show to date.

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1960s Crime Television

• This was a difficult era to define.
• Car 54, Where are you? was the first police
  sitcom.
• The Fugitive was the first show based on a true
  story.
• I Spy brought spies into the realm while creating
  the first African-American television hero (Bill
  Cosby).
• Ironsides showcased the first physically
  handicapped detective.

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1970s Crime Television

• This decade had the largest group of enduring
  mystery characters.
• It is considered the most realistic era for crime
  shows.
• Columbo was a bumbling detective that always wore
  a raincoat.
• Kojak was a quirky detective that always had a
  lollipop and asked, Whos loves you baby?
• Quincy, M.E. was the first to showcase the morgue
  and the job of medical examiner.

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1980s Crime Television

• Women detectives were introduced in the 1980s.
• Many of the shows began to focus on looks and
  glamour. These shows included Magnum P.I.,
  Charlies Angels and Miami Vice.
• The more realistic shows included Hill Street
  Blues and Matlock.
• Murder, She Wrote became one of the longest
  running crime and highest ranked series. The show
  ran for nine consecutive years.

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1990s Crime Television

• This was the decade of cult hits such as Twin
  Peaks and Picket Fences. Many shows in the 1990s
  lasted only one season.
• The 1990s also had three of the finest crime
  series of all time
• 1. NYPD Blues
• 2. Homicide Life on the Streets
• 3. Law Order which holds the title as the
  longest running crime series on television. The
  final episode was aired on May 24, 2010. The show
  lasted for 20 years.

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2000s Crime Television

• CSI debuted in October of 2000 and started a new
  fascination with criminal investigation.
• However, CSI was almost canceled before it ever
  began. Disney pulled its financing right before
  the show debuted and it was the last show that
  CBS decided to add to the 2000 season lineup.
• Within one year, CSI was the highest ranked drama
  on television and is still one of the most
  popular and lucrative shows on television.

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What trend do you see in the 2010s for crime
shows???
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Your Assignment

• Each group must create either
• A 2 minute radio show that illustrates a facet of
  crime or crime scene investigation. You must
  include sound effects and have a 15 second
  commercial.
• A 2 minute trailer for a new television show that
  illustrates a facet of crime or crime scene
  investigation. You must include a visual and a
  list of actors and their roles.
• After the presentations, the class will vote for
  a winner!

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Examples of Radio Sound Effects

• Sound Effects