By: Kaitlyn de Armas ‘25

I. Introduction

As technology becomes a more integral part of quotidian life, it is almost inevitable that it coalesces within society. More than a basic physical dependence, the media and fictionalized television dramas are changing the way people perceive the world around them, altering the processes of thinking, political preferences, and cognitive ability. 1 With the increasing popularity of fictional realism, the portrayal of events and worlds that resemble real life,2 it is becoming increasingly challenging for avid viewers to distinguish reality from its scripted, TV counterpart.3 Furthermore, this blur of a false reality is only progressing through the increasing popularity of crime dramas. Feeding into the primary human attraction and fascination with fictional realism, crime themed TV shows have developed into a massive market, outnumbering every other drama subgenre and holding records among the most watched series on TV. 4 With the false and eccentric portrayal of the criminal justice system extending its reach across wider audiences, its effects are becoming more notable, as the public’s modified standard for the criminal justice system is now set by an impractical level.