Dog the Bounty Hunter Essay

“Dog the Bounty Hunter” is the reality show which has become extremely popular. The reality show hardly conveys any truly valuable aesthetic message since it is not the major goal of the show, but it rather attempts to depict the law enforcement agents struggling the crime and punishing criminals. At the same time, the “Dog the Bounty Hunter” reality show mirrors expectations of the modern society and reveals the shallowness of the modern culture. On the other hand, it is worth mentioning the fact that the reality show also contributes to the formation of the modern culture and the large audience of the show increases the impact of the show on the consciousness of people, who watch it.

In fact, the main goal of the show is to depict the bounty hunters. These characters are quite symbolic since they personify an adopted image of a police officer who stands for the protection of the law and who ensures the security of the public. At the same time, on analyzing the main characters representation, it becomes obvious that the bounty hunters have little in common with real police officers. Instead, they rather depict police officers as the public expects them to be. What is meant here is the fact that the characters of the reality show are depicted as physically strong men, but they always attempt to show off their muscles and physical force, creating an image of machos, which get used to act first and then think. In such a way, even the visual representation of the bounty hunters is absolutely irrelevant to the image of real police officers.

At the same time, it is only the superficial irrelevance of the bounty hunters to real police officers. In this respect, it is important to lay emphasis on the fact that the reality show depicts how criminals are hunted down by the bounty hunters. However, the reality show pays little attention to legal aspects of the detainment of offenders. The ultimate goal of the reality show is to demonstrate that offenders are capture and the law enforcement agents do their job successfully, while the show does not even attempt to overweight the consciousness of the audience with complex legal terms and procedures.

In fact, all this is done for a noble purpose ”“ to convince the audience that the law still rules in the streets. This is the main message of the “Dog the Bounty Hunter” which is apparently influence by the growing crime rates which make people disturbed with their future and their daily life, where they can confront offenders and become victims of their crimes. In this respect, it is worth mentioning the fact that the current situation in the American society is characterized by the marginalization of large groups of the population living in the inner city, while crime gradually becomes a norm rather than an exceptional event in the life of the society. In such a situation, people naturally feel vulnerable to the aggression from the part of offenders and they need to feel themselves protected. This is exactly what the “Dog the Bounty Hunter” reality show conveys to the audience. The reality show is intended to convince the audience that law enforcement agencies work effectively and they will secure the public from the real threat of offense, which people face in their everyday life.

Hence, the main characters personify the law themselves. They capture offenders and send them to prison. However, the show fails to reveal the entire procedure offenders normally undergo in the modern criminal justice system. The court and trial is basically excluded from the reality show. Instead, the show focuses on the work of the bounty hunters and depicts in details how they hunt offenders down.

The process of hunting is the main attraction of the reality show, it is the engine that fuels the interests of the audience since the hunt contributes to the development of a dynamic plot, which inevitably ends up with the arrest of a criminal.

The genre of the reality show can be defined as the action show, with elements of stigmatizing of criminals and simplification of the image of law enforcement agencies. In fact, the action is the primary concern of the show through which it conveys a simple and clear message that offenders will be punished and bounty hunters, symbolizing law enforcement agencies, are always right. Hence, the show promotes violence which is the only thing that does matter in the modern society.

In such a situation, it is obvious that the reality show simplifies consistently the work of modern criminal justice system and law enforcement agencies. The creators of the show pay little attention to the realism of the show and, therefore, create false vision of the law enforcement agencies and criminal justice. At the same time, the show keeps the audience convinced in its security. On the other hand, the actual message of the reality show is not as positive as the intended message of the reality show. In fact, the creators of the show attempt to calm the public down showing that law enforcement agents work effectively. However, what the show actually conveys to the audience is the idea that offenders will be punished by law enforcement agents, regardless of legal procedures. In such a way, the show eliminates the frontier between offenders and law enforcement agents, who act in the similar way as offenders do. Moreover, the show promotes violence and it rather deteriorates problems of modern society than tackles them.