Law and Order episode criticized

Thanks for calling attention to this very problematic episode [Law and Order; this time fiction about members and supporters of NAMBLA who torture and rape a boy]. I have seen it too, and I would say that it did far more than just distort some of the facts.

The story it told is so far removed from reality, and so inflammatory, that it must be characterized as a kind of propaganda. In Nazi Germany, there were films that literally compared Jews with rodents, and made many inflammatory but baseless accusations against them. The Law & Order series is more subtle, even in this case, but like so many shows now on TV, it is basically an endorsement for and rationalization of our near-police-state. The scapegoating of sexual minorities serves as an easy device toward that end.

This kind of television programming leaves people incapable of making rational decisions on public policy, by programming strong emotional reactions into their psyches. As a former student of social psychology, I can tell you the techniques used are not purely literary or artistic, they are also extensively tested and quantified.

source: David Miller reacts on a letter; NAMBLA Bullentin; Vol. 25 No. 2; June 2005