Copaganda

(Caution: This article addresses the portrayal of the police in fandom and source texts. Links to articles and videos etc may go into real life examples and histories of police misconduct and their consequences.)
Copaganda is a term referring to the different ways in which cops are portrayed in the media and society at large as being a positive force for good, with little in the way of addressing the systemic and institutional negatives that come with them, in order to influence public opinion to side with the police. Sometimes this idea will also incorporate the wider criminal justice system as a whole.
Though the concept of pointing out and criticising the way in which cops are portrayed in the media has been around for a while, the term itself is relatively new, and the rejuvenated Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 appears to have somewhat reignited discussion around the topic, both in fandom and wider society.
==Fandoms==
Though it is argued that copaganda often makes its way into most media texts in some form or another, certain fandoms have been criticised more than others:
===Brooklyn Nine Nine===
Brooklyn Nine Nine seems to be one of the most prominant fandoms in discussions regarding copaganda.'More people need to understand what we mean when we say that “Brooklyn 99 is pro-cop propaganda”' - Tumblr (June 2020) One argument is that B99's copaganda is more subtle and overlooked due to its diverse cast and occasional attempts at addressing social issues. Hence, the show's portrayal of cops is more palatable to its liberal audience, and more easily forgiven or dismissed than more egregious cops shows, aimed at more conservative audiences.
====Videos====
*'Brooklyn 99 - COPAGANDA??!' (June 2020) - Shonalika
*'Brooklyn 99 is Copaganda and Here's Why' (July 2020) - Henry Kathman
====Articles====
*'Brooklyn Nine-Nine As Copaganda : A Critical Analysis' (August 2020) - Alex Edwards on Medium
*The Complications of Liking 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' as a Black Man (March 2019) - Funké Joseph on Vice
*'Is Brooklyn Nine-Nine propaganda? Well, it certainly isn’t activism.' (December 2019) - Bree Rody on Medium
*'It’s Time For Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Cops To Quit Their Jobs' (June 2020) - Nathan Grayson on Kotaku
*'What Is Copaganda and Can I Keep Watching ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’?' (June 2020) - Audrey Martin on Study Breaks
*'Can Brooklyn Nine-Nine Ever Accurately Portray the NYPD?' (February 2015) - Harry Waksberg on Vulture
*'If You Think the NYPD is Like Dunder Mifflin, You'll Love 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' (November 2013) - David Grossman on The New Republic
===PAW Patrol===
Memes and discussions surrounding the kids TV show PAW Patrol in regards to copaganda tend to focus on the character of Chase, a police dog, and the ways in which a pro-police mindset is established at an early age.
===Other Examples===
*Bright (film) - 'Netflix’s ‘Bright’ is copaganda, plain and simple' (Januray 2018 - Article) by Ronnie Boyd on Black Youth Project
*Watchmen (HBO) - HBO's Watchmen and Copaganda (January 2020 - Video) by Thought Slime
*The Legend of Korra - 'The Subtle Copaganda of ‘The Legend of Korra’' (October 2020 - Article) by Alex Mell-Taylor on Medium
*Die Hard - 'There’s nothing Christmas about Copaganda' (December 2019 - Article) by John Motter on KNOCK
*Dirty Harry, Judge Dredd, RoboCop - COPAGANDA: Dirty Harry & The Good Guy With A Gun and COPAGANDA: Judge Dredd & RoboCop (August/September 2019 - Videos) by Jack Saint
*The Rookie
*City Watch (Discworld Sub-Series)
===Impact on Fanworks & Fanon===
Some fans ignore or change the jobs of canon cop characters in fanworks if they wish to diminish the impact of copaganda, or don't feel comfortable writing cop characters, especially in shows where the characters are in otherwise non-cop related shows, such as Yasmin Khan in Doctor Who.
Aurorfic is a specifc trope in the Harry Potter fandom involving characters being aurors, as part of the magical law enforcement.
== Criticism ==
Some fans feel the term is misused, namely by people calling media from other countries or based on non-American cultures "copaganda" without considering that the country the media was made in doesn't have the same police corruption as America. https://damnfandomproblems.tumblr.com/post/723573693936189440/fandom-problem-4148-there-is-a-huge-problem-with#notes This is common among American anime fans.
==Links & Further Reading==
===Videos===
*Copaganda - How Cop Shows Lie to You | The Daily Social Distancing Show (June 2020 - Video) - The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
*Disco Elysium - All Hobocops Are ... | Renegade Cut (April 2020) - Renegade Cut
===Articles===
*'Cops Are Always the Main Characters' (June 2020 - Article) - Kathryn VanArendonk on Vulture
*'Pop Culture Helped Turn Police Officers Into Rock Stars — And Black Folks Into Criminals' (October 2020) by Mark Anthony Neal on LEVEL
*'Copaganda: Why film and TV portrayals of the police are under fire' (July 2020 - Article) by Micha Frazer-Carroll on The Independent
*'Beware the pro-cop propaganda that lurks in police dramas' (June 2020) by John Lui on The Strait Times
===Other===
*Sort by Alphabetical - Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "copaganda" (ascending) - IMDB
Category:Police Procedural
==References==
Category:Discussion