“Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Comedy with a Copaganda Twist”

• Amna Shahzad
• Jun 8, 2024
• 3 min read

“Brooklyn-nine nine” is one of those shows which is typically deemed as a comfort and go to show for almost all the people. For some, it reflects as a therapeutic immersive experience where it is a show that is a mood enhancer and booster, and people have fun watching it. However, the central ideals of the show regress past these models and lubricates in form of creation of certain stereotypes.

To put this into perspective, we can divulge into the character of “Captain Holt”. This character is a perfect and the most suitable example when deciphering certain stereotypes of the “New York’s” Society and its acceptance towards a certain race and ethnic, gender-based origin. Contextualizing this further, we see that how the account of his 32 years struggle to reach to the position of the captain in police in contrast to his white counterparts who were able to achieve this feat in lesser period points towards the stereotypical treatment of the institutions towards certain races and ethnicities as he was portrayed as black and gay. Moreover, the mention of his struggle where a discriminatory treatment was carried out by his colleagues towards him by not inviting and including him into the parties and other celebratory and recreational events points toward a concrete example of “subversive stereotype”. It is a clear representation by questioning the widely held societal stereotypes, in a way that often evokes thought and encourages a reevaluation of societal norms in a very broader framework. Holt’s character hereby questions and challenges the stereotypes about the sexual orientation, as well as his race by bringing forth a multifaceted, and a professional individual who does not conform to the simple, one-dimensional societal stereotypes.

“Copaganda”, is a term that is a fusion of “cop” and “propaganda”, this attempts to unpack media portrayal that idealize, glorify and emphasis on police officers as heroic, morally infallible and just, while ignoring certain issues of misconduct, police brutality and systemic racism. Mapping this concept onto the discussion of “Brooklyn Nine Nine”, we see several elements that are conforming to this concept. To begin with the sympathetic and positive portrayal of New York Police, in form of characters of Jake Peralta, Amy Santiago and Captain Raymond Halt are represented as inherently competent and justice driven while downplaying their minor flaws and reinforcing the idea of cops being harmless and fundamentally good people. Moreover, the overall lighthearted and humorous tone of the discourse on how they solve crimes also minimizes their real-world gravity, contributing to a more positive perception of law enforcement. Furthermore, the addressing of controversial issues in a more simplified manner is presented where the solutions are seen to be actable and achievable through the discourse of individual actions rather than the systematic nature of these problems. Lastly, the character redemption and morality through the characters of Detective Adrian Pimento or Lieutenant Terry Jeffords, who initially appeared flawed but are later skewed to have good hearts and strong moral compasses, reinforces the argument that the police officers are fundamentally good and redeemable.

To conclude, it’s also worth noting that Brooklyn Nine Nine has been seen as a systematic effort put in by its creator to address the nature of New York Police, especially since the George Floyd protests and increased scrutiny of police violence. Since that, we also see a shift in the creator’s critical perceptive on law enforcement as the final season engages more seriously by being centric to the idea of the police reforms and accountability .