Right now, the most-watched TV show in the US
目前 美国收视率最高的电视节目是
is “the Big Bang Theory”.
《生活大爆炸》
The most expensive?
哪部耗资最多？
“Game of Thrones”.
《权力的游戏》
But what about the longest-running primetime show apart from news?
除新闻以外 哪个是播出时间最长的黄金时段节目？
It isn’t “The Real World”, or “Law and Order”.
答案不是《真实世界》 也不是《法律与秩序》
Nope, not even “The Simpsons”.
都不是 连《辛普森一家》也不是
It’s a show that’s hardly changed
而是一档自1989年开播以来
since it started in 1989.
几乎没有什么变化的节目
Yep. It’s”Cops”.
没错 这个节目就是《警察》
The reality show where they follow police around with cameras.
这是一档跟拍警察工作的真人秀
“ He’s running, he’s running!”
“他逃了 他逃了！”
And, really, that ’s kind of all there is to it.
没错 那确实就是这个节目的一切
But it’s stayed on TV for over three decades.
但这个节目却在电视上 持续播出了三十多年
Why?
这是为什么呢？
The show has plenty of action,
这部真人秀有大量的动作场面
but a team of producers from the podcast “Running From Cops” found that
但播客栏目《拒捕》的制作团队发现
the driving force behind the show’s popularity
使真人秀大受欢迎的推动力
isn’t visible on camera.
并不是镜头里所展现的画面
It’s what’s happening behind it.
而是其背后所发生的故事
“Picket team leaders, please join the line!”
“纠察队的领导们 请加入我们的行列！”
In 1988 television writers across the US went on strike.
1988年 美国的电视编剧们举行了一场大罢工
“Producers cannot deny the strike is having a negative impact.”
“制片人承认 此次罢工带来了一定的负面影响”
“It shows no sign of ending.”
“这看起来并没有要结束的迹象”
That meant TV channels started looking for shows
这意味着电视频道要开始寻找
that wouldn’t require union writers
那些不需要工会编剧撰写的节目
“Welcome to Fox!”
“欢迎来到福克斯！”
Fox had recently started a TV channel
当时 福克斯刚开设一个电视频道
and Stephen Chao was an executive in charge of finding new material.
而执行董事长Stephen Cao负责寻找新的节目素材
Fox network didn’t really have
那时候福克斯公司电视台
much of a personality at that stage.
在舞台上还没有形成特别鲜明的风格
And so, I was like, ‘Ok here’s your chance.’
所以我觉得 这是一个机会
If you can make something good,
如果能做出好的节目
we’ll promote it on the stations,
我们就会在电视台帮你宣传
and if it’s really good,
如果这个节目真的很好
it’ll get drafted by the network.
我们就把你的作品搬上电视
At Fox, he took a meeting with John Langley,
他与约翰•兰利在福克斯见了面
who was selling an idea for unscripted TV.
当时兰利正在推销一种无剧本电视创意
He showed me this tape of a live drug bust
他给我看现场搜捕毒贩的录像带
and it was fantastic!
这创意太棒了！
“Take her! Come here, take her!”
“捉住她！过来这边 捉住她！”
After seeing the material, Fox signed on to make”Cops”
看完那个素材以后 福克斯便签了拍《警察》的合同
and this footage comes from the first episode.
这段视频就来自该节目的第一集
“This is where they smoke their crack.”
“这是他们吸可卡因的地方”
That emotion was so powerful
这个节目给人的情感冲击很强烈
and then you saw the emotional “Poomph!” that it gave to you.
而且 你能感觉到这个节目让你的 情绪“砰”一下子爆发了
You’d go, “Ok, I’m not going anywhere else.”
你就会觉得 “好吧 就它了”
“Go! Go! Go! Go!”
“快！快！快！快！”
“Get your hands up!”
“举起你的双手来！”
“Get down!”
“趴下！”
From the start,
从一开始
the show’s raw style made this a cheap production.
这档节目在制作时并不多加处理 因此成本很低
“Clear! Clear! Clear! Clear!”
“安全！安全！安全！安全！”
It didn’t require actors or writers
这个节目不需要演员或者编剧
and the entire show was shot on handheld cameras.
同时 整个真人秀都是通过手持摄像机完成的
“We have a 99 on a white male”
“我们有99％的把握是个白人男子”
“Cops” wasn’t fancy.
《警察》这档节目一点都不精致
And when it premiered in 1989,
1989年首次播出时
it didn’t look like anything else on TV.
《警察》看起来和其它任何电视节目都不一样
“You’re in love with me?”
“你爱上我了？”
“New Phil Collins!”
“新菲尔柯林斯！”
“Jello pudding snacks!”
“果冻布丁零食！”
“Police you m***r! Get on the ground!”
“警察你****！趴下！”
Cops was a gritty look at crime
在美国反毒品战争期间 《警察》是勇敢地直面
during the American War on Drugs.
当时的犯罪活动的一次尝试
A few months after Cops premiered,
《警察》播出几个月后
President Bush went on live TV holding a bag of crack cocaine.
布什总统手持一袋可卡因上了电视直播
“It’s as innocent looking as candy,
“它看起来像糖果一样无害
but it’s turning our cities into battle zones
却正在把我们的生活变成战场
and it’s murdering our children.”
正在谋杀我们的孩子”
“Cops” was a full dose of reality,
《警察》用摄像头近距离地展示了真实的个人事件
with cameras showing the real thing up close and personal.
是摆在我们面前的一剂赤裸裸的现实
This felt like you were with the cops
这感觉就像你和警察待在一起
and they weren’t hiding any secrets from you.
而他们在你面前没有隐藏任何秘密
“Stop resisting and lay on your stomach. “
“不许反抗 趴着”
But that feeling doesn’t match the reality behind the scenes.
但那感觉与幕后的现实并不吻合
In fact, that was kind of part of the art of John,
事实上 这也是John高明的地方
which is he made you feel like you were inside,
就是 他会让你感觉自己置身其中
but in fact it was, on the other hand,
但事实上 另一方面 节目也是由警察部门
approved by the police department.
批准通过了的
Since the first season of the show,
第一季节目是在佛罗里达州拍摄的
which was shot in Florida,
自其播出以来
the police on Cops have used that
《警察》里的警察以此来
control to build their public image.
建立他们的公众形象
“ We’re here just to look for some drugs
“我们只是在这稽查毒品
and clean up the bad people off the street.
并抓捕街上的坏人
You don’t mind that do you?”
你不会介意吧 是吗？”
Nick Navarro, the sheriff of Broward County,
布劳德县的长官 尼克·纳瓦罗
was featured that first season.
在第一季节目中是主演
Sheriff Nick Novarro was ultimately anticipating
尼克·纳瓦罗警长最后还盼着
that he would want to be re-elected and he thought that,
自己可以再次当选 同时他认为
“If I use ‘Cops’,
“如果我可以利用《警察》这个节目
what a good platform that would be to get me more votes.”
这个很好的平台将会为我争取更多的选票”
“Cops” made Navarro the county’s “showbiz sheriff”
《警察》这档节目使纳瓦罗成为县中的 “娱乐界警长”
and although he lost the next election,
尽管他在下一次竞选中失利
his popularity gave producers a model
但他的受欢迎程度可以作为典范
for convincing other agencies to go on the show.
来说服其他警方人员参加这档节目
在新闻媒体和警方之间 有一种敌对关系
他们从来不会产生任何正向的交集
The next season, cops moved to Portland, Oregon,
下一季 《警察》栏目组前往俄勒冈州波特兰市进行拍摄
where they featured Sergeant John Bunnell.
本季的主要出演人是约翰·班内尔军士
“How heavily involved are you in narcotic trafficking?”
“你从事毒品贩运多久了？”
这个节目最好的一点是它传播了毒品的相关知识
我认为 这点我们做得很成功
而且 如果不是《警察》这档节目
我们也不可能如此成功地传播关于毒品的知识
In the years COPS began filming in Portland,
在《警察》开始在波特兰进行拍摄后的这几年中
videotape of Rodney King being beaten by police
视频中罗德尼·金被警察殴打的片段
sparked outrage in Los Angeles
在洛杉矶引起了公愤
and rioting swept through the city the next year.
紧接着第二年 抗议示威席卷了整个城市
Two years later
两年后
Cops hit the streets of L.A.,
《警察》栏目来到洛杉矶街头
where they had been trying to convince the L.A.P.D.
而多年以来 他们一直试图说服洛杉矶警察局
to let them film for years
能让该节目进行实地拍摄
and didn’t get access until a newly appointed police chief invited them.
直到一位新任的首席警长邀请他们
“I don’t know if you’ve seen this gun before.”
“我不知道你之前是否见过这把枪”
“This is the gun.”
“就是这把枪”
At the time, a member of the Mayor’s police
当时 市警察署的一位官员
commission defended his decision to let”Cops” film.
为首席警长同意拍摄《警察》节目的决定做辩护
Saying that, “The department, since the Rodney King incident in particular,
并称到 “自从罗德尼·金事件以来
has had a very negative reputation”,
警察部门名声极差”
so “it made sense for the department to receive some positive coverage.”
因此 “接受一些关于警察部门的正面报道 是很明智的决定”
Over the next three decades, this pattern continued.
在之后的三十多年中 这种模式一直持续着
“Cops” moved from city to city, helping shape a positive image
《警察》不断更换城市进行拍摄 这么做有助于
for law enforcement agencies throughout the country.
执法机构在全国人民心中树立正面形象
In 2013, police in Omaha, Nebraska
2013年 在内布拉斯加州 奥马哈市任职的警察
were fired for using excessive force.
由于滥用职权而被革职
The next year, the police chief
第二年 当地首席警长
invited”Cops” to come film.
邀请加入《警察》栏目来进行拍摄
While in town, a crew member was killed during a police shootout
在城镇中激战时 一组警方人员被杀
and the chief was asked
因此警长被质疑问到
why he brought”Cops” to Omaha in the first place.
起初他让《警察》节目来奥马哈市拍摄的原因
“We had some rough times.
“我们曾有一段艰难的日子
And we had an issue that occurred
一年半以前
about a year and a half ago
我们遇到一些问题
that we’ve overcome
但是我们已经解决了
and we’ve become a very professional strong organization.
并且我们已经成长为一个非常专业而强大的组织
And I wanted to ‘Cops’ to come in
而我想让《警察》栏目参与进来
so that they can see the Omaha Police Department.”
以便他们能看清奥马哈警察局”
In 2014, killings by officers in Salinas, California led to protests.
2014年 警方在加利福尼亚州 萨利纳斯市的 误杀引发了人民的抗议
“To send a message to Salinas Police,
“根据萨利纳斯警方透露
after four officer-involved shootings this year.”
今年以来发生了四件警方涉及误杀事件”
The next year”Cops” was filming in Salinas.
第二年 《警察》的拍摄在萨里纳斯进行
“You need to be smarter about your choices, ok?”
“你应该在做选择时明智点 好吗?”
After Cops wrapped filming in Salinas,
《警察》的拍摄在萨里纳斯完成后
the police chief described the show as
该地首席警长描述说这个节目是
a helpful recruitment tool for people
一个让人们在全国电视节目中
to see their hometown cops
看到他们家乡警察的形象
be on a national television show.
因而对招募警察有帮助的工具
For decades, Cops has allowed police to control their appearance on TV,
数十年来 当警方竭力想达现实中自己的真实目的时
while they try to achieve their own goals in reality:
《警察》节目总能让他们把控自己在电视上的形象:
whether that’s trying to gain votes,
不管是为了得到选票
cleaning up a reputation or recruiting new officers.
还是为了洗白名声 或招募新警员
But while police officers continued to use this model,
但是 当警局官员仍然用这种套路时
many of the viewers that watched “Cops” in the 1990s
许多在90年代看过《警察》的观众
had stopped tuning in.
都不看这档节目了
After 25 years, Fox eventually cancelled”Cops”
25年后 福克斯最终停播了《警察》节目
and it moved to a new channel,
而后转向制作一个新的频道
but that doesn’t mean viewers are losing interest
但那并不意味着观众在逐渐失去
in police-sanctioned reality TV.
对警察制裁类真人秀的兴趣
“This is Live PD!”
“欢迎收看《直击追捕现场》！”
“Live PD” is a TV show on A&E
《直击追捕现场》是一档在A&E频道 播出的电视节目
where camera crews embed with police units
节目中 摄制组深入警察部队内部
to broadcast live events as they’re happening.
在事件发生时 对案件进行现场直播
“Show me your hands!”
“把你的手伸出来！”
When the show launched in 2016,
当这档节目在2016年上线时
“Watch cops, live!”
“观看警察 直播现场！”
the trailer responded directly to calls for increased police accountability.
它的预告片正好满足了人民对 警察责任感与日俱增的需求
“Being able to see exactly what the police are doing
“能准确地看到警方正在做什么
and how they are doing it.
怎么做
It is beneficial to everyone.”
对每个人都有好处”
The format of”Live PD” makes it possible
《直击追捕现场》的节目模式尽可能让
for police officers to come off as
警方官员表现得
less polished than on”Cops”.
比《警察》更加真实
“I’m gonna f*****g tase you!
“我要逮捕你！”
Get on your face!
趴下！
Get the f**k on your face!”
趴下！”
Doing it live might be a way to increase transparency,
现场直播或许会增加警方工作的透明度
but at its core”Live PD” is just another way
但是《直击追捕现场》节目的核心对警察来说
for police to shape an identity on television.
是另一种在荧幕上树立形象的方式
“…we have narcotics…” Like”Cops”,
“……我们有辑毒行动……” 和《警察》节目一样
law enforcement agencies invite “Live PD” to come film with them
法律执行部门邀请《直击追捕现场》栏目 和他们一起拍摄
and it’s that connection that will continue to be
两档节目的合作
the driving force behind these shows.
将会变成持续制作这类节目的驱动力
In 2018, the most-viewed show on DVR was”Live PD”.
2018年 硬盘录像机上收视率最高的 节目就是《直击追捕现场》
Hey, thanks for watching.
你好 感谢你的收看
In this video we worked with a podcast called “ Running From Cops ”
本次视频是与《拒捕》播客栏目
in order to make this happen.
来合作完成的
And if you have any questions about
如果你对《警察》节目中
what happens after the cameras stop rolling,
故事的后续内容
the stories behind people who signed releases to be on the show,
或者节目中故事背后相关的人
or anything else related to”Cops”,
或者对节目的其他部分有任何的疑问
then you have to check them out.
那你就得去看看这个博客了
They spent over a year researching the show,
他们花了一年的时间研究这个节目
travelling the country to interview people who have been on it,
并走遍全国去采访在节目里面出现的人
and also compiled data about how the show portrays crime in the US.
还整合了节目中描述美国犯罪的数据
It’s called “Running From Cops”
它叫做《拒捕》
and it’s available on iTunes
你可以在iTunes
or wherever else you get your podcasts.
或者其他任何能看到这个播客视频的程序
Thanks!
谢谢！