It‘s almost therapeutic to watch Law & Order.
Image description: Cast of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
I can’t explain the cultural phenomenon that led to nearly every young adult having an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Law & Order. Like yes, it was always running a marathon on non-cable networks, but like, surely we had cartoons or Degrassi reboots we could have been watching instead, right?
When I was in college, it was right at the start of the technological transition from, as I affectionally call them, “the ol’ fatback TVs” to the slim and trim digital TVs. I wasn’t hopping aboard the digital train because I had a pink Hello Kitty TV, and you don’t trade that in even if you’re enrolled in higher academia. It matched my dorm room decor, after all.
In order to use the analog TVs, you had to have a digital converter box, but for whatever reason, I could never get it to work with my TV. Eventually I gave up on it because we were also entering the evolution of online streaming and the social acceptance of hanging out in your fellow freshman’s dorm rooms to mooch off of their stuff, so there wasn’t really a need for me to get that Kitty to purr, so to speak. Still, I was able to get it to run exactly four TV channels: the campus channel, telemundo, black & white throwbacks, and the home of Law & Order… NBC.
It was honestly so convenient to be able to plop down on your funky bean bag chair in between classes and not have to figure out how to occupy your brain with the right entertainment. Law & Order: SVU was always on, and I didn’t even have to search the channel since there were only four at my disposal. Even better was the fact that I didn’t even have to hardcore pay attention to the show: I’d already seen most of the series more than twice. It was like throwing on a little bit of familiar nostalgic comfort while microwaving your Cup o’ Noodles. My roommate would come in and go, “watching Law & Order again?” in an understandingly non-sarcastic tone and then she too would find herself enveloped in the glory that is Mariska Hargitay until our next class. And in the event that we would have to head out before the drama would come to an end, my roomie would regale me of the episode's ending, firmly imprinted in her mind, as we traversed the minor expanse from our dorm to our classroom. It was truly impressive how much SVU we retained and yet how little of our course content we digested. As all adults now, I blame television. Which in this case, is pretty apt.
So what gives? Why was something so intense and occasionally gruesome considered a comfort zone to me and so many young adults from millennials to Gen Z?
One theory is that because Law & Order has such a concrete formula and almost always has a satisfactory resolution, the comfort is in the reliability of the show. It’s not the same as being predictable, but there’s the comfort in knowing how things are ultimately going to play out. Having that constant when everything else in your life is in flux is calming.
There’s also a certain mood that surrounds Law & Order. It’s not depressing, oddly enough. It’s like… when you’re tired of rewatching a blanket comedy because maybe you’re not in a mood for a laugh, but you’re also not trying to get invested in something new. It’s as close to a neutral mood as you can get sometimes because the actors are being so incredulously dramatic that you don’t have to take it too seriously. But also recognizing that the topics of the show are grounded in real life, so when you just need something to acknowledge that life happens without having to be wading knee deep in that reality yourself is comforting. Somebody is talking to you as if you’re a real adult with real problems. You feel seen.
There's a well-known quote by Margaret Atwood that pretty much sums up the female experience: "Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them." It's frustrating to admit, but sometimes women just aren't listened to until they become victims. This also affects men as it treats men like they can't also be victims of crimes, or that they should toughen up when the going gets tough. Sometimes it's comforting to have someone acknowledge your experiences and your totally valid fears when you've gone your whole life having people negate your feelings. And it almost feels like a tool or a weapon we carry, having all this knowledge of newly solved cold cases, reenactments of true crimes, and deeper analysis of the criminals that cause them. It's way more affirming to have real world applications to reference and help you plot escape routes than to have a mini can of pink pepper spray or a glittery stabby-cat keychain that could get you in more trouble for carrying it than your attacker for, you know, attacking you. Insert eye roll here because I'm honestly too tired to find a gif to express this feeling.
Another theory is that it’s something that may be so far on the extreme for you that you don’t relate to it. It’s some of the absurd narratives that you know you wouldn’t find yourself in that gives you a sense of self. It almost makes you feel like things could be worse because you could be that character that’s trying to convince Ice Cube that you were in fact abducted by a man in a Big Bird costume that fed you only bird seed and forced you to take inappropriate photos dressed as a Snuffalupagus (god I have no idea if that’s spelled correctly.) It‘s far enough removed from reality that it’s not affecting your brain, but it’s close enough to make you feel in touch. It’s a weird sensation but it’s not alarming. It’s adult subject matter that you can both connect to and distance yourself from at the same time.
My roommate told me that she's watched Forensic Files so many times through that "I can tell you who the killer is from the intro like nine times out of ten. And that's even taking into account how many times I've fallen asleep during it." I must note that she has also been known to fall asleep to Bob Ross. I think it's the same phenomenon that allowed my favorite video games to be Animal Crossing and Saints Row. At a glance, they are vehemently opposed concepts to each other. But both are used as a form of escapism, much like Forensic Files and Bob Ross. Both take, albeit unique, approaches to tackling the unknown and doing your best to work out a problem. Except also no, because you as the audience member, have no stakes in this situation. So you can comfortably follow along without having to test your skills.
Then there’s the theory that drifts a bit beyond Law & Order and looks at true crime as a whole. My friends and I became obsessed with the Netflix documentary Abducted in Plain Sight. At every step of the way, we were screaming at the TV “how could you not be suspicious of this‽” But I mean, you never know what you’d do when you’re actually put in that situation yourself. Ideally, you'll never be put to the test in situations like these. However, it can't hurt to theorize your own success rate. It's like the world's worst choose-your-own-adventure!
Am I going to end up in a sex cult after moving to New York from my small town to be a big star, all to find out that the sex cult is being run by the actor I moved to New York to aspire to be? Probably not, but it’s also entirely feasible for it to happen to somebody. You can tell yourself that things aren’t that bad because you’re doing better than this fictional character. You can tell yourself your not alone because someone else understands your situation enough to write about it. You can tell yourself that if something like that we’re to happen, you’d be the neighbor to go to the police and not shut the door and ignore it. Let’s you consider the hypotheticals without the real world stakes.
One final theory to posit to you all, courtesy of my aforementioned roomie: the scientific analysis and conclusive findings that SVU simply slaps. It's solid, yo. There's nothing else to it.
I highly recommend you all check out the These Are Their Stories podcast. The hosts not only dissect Law & Order episodes in detail (SVU, Criminal Intent, and "Original recipe"), but with quippy buzzwords, their own brand of theorizing, and added guest analyses (sometimes guest stars from the shows!) Listening to their recaps on the train ride to work certainly makes me feel at ease, and even got my creative juices flowing to create this post for you all. Who says crime doesn't pay?
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