Prime Time

I chose to write about "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" because it is my all time favorite prime time TV show. In the cast there are three women and five men. Stephanie March (Cabot) is 35 years old, B. D. Wong (Huang) is 49 years old, Dann Florek (Cragen) is 60 years old, Christopher Meloni (Stabler) is 49 years old, Mariska Hargitay (Benson) is 46 years old, Ice-T (Tutuola) is 52 years old, Tamara Tunie (Warner) is 51 years old, and Richard Belzer (Munch) is 65 years old. To answer the next question, all of the cast is over the age 40, except Stephanie March. However, none of the actors or actresses are overweight.

The leading role in this show is shared by Benson and Stabler. They both play detectives in the show. The women are dressed in suits and look very professional and career oriented. In each episode the women are sought out by the men for advice and answers to questions pertaining to the open cases being worked on. The only time Benson is made to look weak is during interrogations when the suspect is a man that sees women as being worthless and beneath him.

None of the women are homosexual but Warner is African-American. The intended audience is men and women that are between 30-40 who like to sit back and enjoy some entertaining television after a long day's work. This is the target audience because it gives the mentioned men and women an opportunity to help the characters on TV solve their cases at their own pace. It's a funny chance to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Yes, I think this show accurately portrays women because it shows that women are independant and capable of keeping up with the men. Women can have careers and solve cases just as easily as men and the show does a great job portraying this.