I’m just going to say it — I think we’ve ALL seen enough of COVID to last us multiple lifetimes. I can’t assume that I’m alone in wanting to escape reality for a while through my television screen. I’ve noticed, though, that some television shows are acting as a time capsule, capturing the depression and intensity of the pandemic and saving it for us to look back at and remember the good ol’ times (she said sarcastically.) It’s strange, though, because the reality we see portrayed on screen is warped.
Law and Order: SVU, famous for feeding off of the political and social movements occurring as it airs, is one program I wish had kept the pandemic out of its writing room. What is possibly my most significant grievance is the inconsistency of mask-wearing and the lack of social distancing being practiced by characters. As a crime show, it is impossible for it to assume the reality that we are faced with, but I do think masks could be a bit more consistent. On numerous occasions, the characters are seen walking up to each other and being around each other for long periods of time, unmasked. They even walked into the HOSPITAL unmasked as if they weren’t in New York City. Writers threw in cheesy “mask up” lines, but this just didn’t match up with their actions. It’s normal for characters to meet at a bar after a case or at a coffee shop to discuss case details during their investigations, but during a pandemic one might expect to see that practice suspended for the time being. Is it really necessary for them to meet up at a public place when they have an entire station with offices and rooms that could be used for that exact purpose?
It’s frustrating to watch because if they weren’t going to portray it properly, they could’ve skipped the coronavirus background and just set it in a universe where the virus hadn’t struck. Many of us see these people on a daily basis anyway. It’s irritating in real life and not any less so on screen. I understand that writers base episodes on real life, but I don’t see any issue with suspending reality amidst one of the most stressful times in recent history.
Another television show that has used the pandemic backdrop is Big Sky. Not even one season in, the Montana-based crime show has opened with a bang, but without any signs of masks or social distancing. On rare occasion, the pandemic is mentioned but is brushed over as if it isn’t a big deal. In small town Montana, I can see how a global pandemic isn’t much of a worry to the characters. They’ve got bigger fish to fry, but the lack of masks and footage of group gatherings is confusing at best. It makes no sense that the writers decided to incorporate the pandemic into the setting, but have not provided any other legitimate inkling of a pandemic. Shops are open and owners aren’t wearing masks or asking that customers social distance. Characters walk into indoor settings with people that they wouldn’t include in a quarantine bubble and it feels normal. If characters hadn’t mentioned COVID or used it as the butt of a joke, I wouldn’t have known it was happening at all.
Again, it’s surreal to watch knowing that characters are aware of the pandemic and are actively choosing to ignore it. I feel anxious all over again, remembering every time I’ve gone to work and had to ignore coworkers and outsiders not wearing masks. In the comfort of my home, where I am at the lowest risk of being infected, all I can think about is the raging pandemic and the possibility of getting sick. All I can see are the people I’ve encountered who choose not to take precautions. This is probably the one time I can think of in my lifetime that I would not like to see reality represented in entertainment and would not care to ever look back on it.