SVU Star Agrees With Criticism The Franchise Is Propaganda

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Diane Neal, who played Casey Novak on Law & Order: SVU, explains why she agrees with John Olivers opinion that the franchise serves as propaganda.

Law & Order: SVU alum Diane Neal explains why she agrees that the series is propaganda. The view that Law & Order and other cop shows serve as an idealized version of law enforcement has existed for about as long as police procedurals have existed. However, the criticism flared significantly after the May 2020 murder of George Floyd by a police officer and the subsequent protests of Black Lives Matter. The criticisms grew loud and widespread enough that several procedurals addressed the topic in the following months, albeit to varying degrees.

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Last Week Tonight with John Oliver revived the topic when he spent much of a recent episode breaking down the various issues with the Law & Order franchise. Oliver acknowledges that Law & Order and its executive producer Dick Wolf aren’t unique in presenting what’s been dubbed as “copaganga” but notes that the long-running series and its various spinoffs are particularly noteworthy because of their widespread popularity. Last Week Tonight especially took issue with how SVU depicts a distorted reality of law enforcement, taking place in a world where most of the people harmed by the legal system are rich white men rather than the poor and people of color. Oliver also dinged SVU for offering up characters like Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson, who fights valiantly for victims of rape and sexual assault. In reality, those victims are often ignored and discarded by the police.

Diane Neal, who portrayed New York Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak for several seasons on SVU, has now detailed why she agrees with Last Week Tonight’s take on Law & Order. In a Twitter thread, Neal noted the gaping chasm between how law enforcement should function versus how it’s depicted on television. Neal stresses that she thinks SVU is a “spectacular” show, albeit she underlined the fact that many crime victims are treated horribly. Neal’s thread is included below:

Novak seems to say, as Oliver does outright, that pointing out the flaws of Law & Order doesn’t mean that fans should stop watching it. However, they both seem to understand how TV cop shows are fundamentally rigged against a realistic depiction. Most cases, after all, are never solved and never go to trial. Instead, those presumed guilty are pressured into plea deals. Victims of rape and sexual assault often never get justice. Instead, if they do come forward, which is a rarity in itself, their claims are seldomly treated as priorities. To admit this would mess with the established formula of Law & Order, sure, but it would be more honest.

An easy response would be to say that Law & Order: SVU is a fantasy, and everyone understands it as such. But that’s not always the case. Politicians and pundits are quick to cite Olivia Benson whenever there are calls for changes to how law enforcement operates, as though she’s an avatar for a real phenomenon. It doesn’t make police procedurals less entertaining. But it rightly prioritizes fixing some authentic and urgent deep-seated problems.

Source: Diane Neal

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