Hollywood vs. Reality
A Real Stiff
Hollywood has a long-standing history of misrepresenting “real life.” In general, people are more attractive and more successful and seem to have a lot fewer problems than the rest of us. Hollywood’s representation of “real death” is no different. With few exceptions—the movie Seven, for example—Hollywood tends to give the impression... »
Hollywood Homicide 101
While driving to a long distance scene one night, I found myself recalling a reader comment from a few weeks ago that seems to have stuck with me. The comment referred to what little television had taught the commenter about what I do for a living. As I drove, I realized that,... »
Splitting Fibers
When I first became interested in forensics, I loved to watch the Discovery Channel and Learning Channel shows about real-life crimes and the evidence and techniques that were used to solve them. I can only assume that these shows are created by PBS-type production companies rather than by the Hollywood studios that generate... »
So It’s Not Just Me…
Special thanks to Terri Poposky who submitted the following link to a BBC News article by Paul Rincon: CSI Shows Give ‘Unrealistic View’ »
A Body at Rest…
I admire the amount of detail that special effects departments are able to incorporate into the modern day crime drama. These shows are able to make the most of computer animation in their storyline unlike any other type of show on television. They can painstakingly create a visual reconstruction of a projectile... »