Short Answer Skills in the Humanities
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Southern New Hampshire University *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
100
Subject
Arts Humanities
Date
Jan 9, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
4
Uploaded by HighnessWolf3860
Short Answer: Skills in the Humanities
HUM-100 Perspectives in Humanities Madison Jones
Cultural work:
The Rookie (television series)
Describe the selected work.
The Rookie is an American television series by Alexi Hawley, produced by the ABC
television network. Initially, this television series was released in 2018 and was recently renewed
for its sixth season. The Rookie has quickly gained popularity and even inspired a spin-off series
entitled The Rookie: Feds. Its popularity mainly stems from ABC’s nuanced take on the
“tradition” cop shows. In the series, the main character is a 45-year-old LAPD officer named
John Nolan. Along with his entourage of fellow officers, the audience follows John Nolan
through the excitement and struggles of being a police officer in one of the largest cities in
America. Unlike other cop television series, The Rookie focuses on providing an authentic
representation of police in a big city while still providing entertainment. In the series, many
episodes touch on topics such as racial inequality, drug use/addiction, procedural justice, and
other cultural issues within the criminal justice system. Describe the time period the work belongs to.
Currently, the television series has six seasons and began airing in 2018, thus, making
The Rookie a twenty-first-century cultural work. When looking at the twenty-first century in
totality, it can be determined that the period is focused on change. With various new technology,
culturally, the 2010s are an era of accepting change and leaving outdated traditions behind. Being
socially aware is also another central value of the time. Now more than ever, society is opening
its eyes to the injustices many minorities have faced for decades. The Rookie is an ideal
embodiment of twenty-first-century values by featuring an ethnically diverse group of actors and
focusing on societal issues of the era. Determine the culture the work belongs to and describe its value to that culture.
By looking at the location the television series is based on, the overarching culture the
series belongs to is American culture. The series also significantly relates to specific subcultures
of law enforcement culture, city culture, and the culture of varying minorities. The Rookies is a
valuable cultural work due to its unique take on modern-day cop shows combined with the
undertaking of actual cultural issues. Contrary to most television series, The Rookie’s purpose is
not only to entertain but to bring light to real cultural problems. Specifically, the creator of The
Rookie intentionally developed a racially diverse cast to portray modern-day Los Angeles
accurately. The series also takes on several cultural issues, such as decade-long racial
discrimination by police officers. By shining a light on this real-life issue, the series encourages
others to recognize the issues and generate conversation. So many television shows and movies
are mind-numbing creations with no underlying purpose. Still, The Rookie was explicitly
developed to bring current American values such as authenticity, justice, and accountability to
light. Explain how the cultural work helped deal with specific societal issues of the time.
In the television series The Rookie, several societal issues are common themes
throughout different episodes. Another notable factor is the unique cast; unlike most cop shows
where most of the cast consists of white men, The Rookie strives to represent the city where it is
based accurately and provides a significantly diverse cast. Exhibiting a racially diverse cast
indicates the creator’s focus on authenticity and also deals with the common societal issue of
lack of representation for minorities. The creator also deals with the issue of race in various
episodes ranging from police racial profiling, discrimination in the legal system, and police
misconduct. All of these issues have been major themes in society over the last ten years,
constantly being talked about by the media. By representing these issues in The Rookies, the
series brings light to topics many find challenging to discuss in a creative and entertaining way.
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
References
ABC Entertainment. (n.d.). About the rookie TV show series
. ABC. Retrieved March 31, 2023, from https://abc.com/shows/the-rookie/about-the-show