Tow #22: Article: "America's Creepy, Surveillance-Endorsing Love of NCIS" by Gregg Easterbrook

It has been about 12 and a half years since 9/11 and the tragic event still influences some of our most popular television programs. Gregg Easterbrook, contributing editor of The Atlantic, examines the effect of 9/11 on crime shows like NCIS in his latest article "America's Creepy, Surveillance-Endorsing Love of NCIS." In this article, Easterbrook uses comparisons of NCIS to the real world through the use of statistics and specific examples from the show to prove that NCIS is NSA propaganda that is America's most watched drama due to a post 9/11 audience watching it. The National Security Agency, or NSA, is an intelligence agency of the United States government that protects the security of American citizens. This security includes protection from terrorist threats, which is a prominent subject in most of the episodes of NCIS. Easterbrook uses statistics to prove that unlike NCIS, these crimes do not occur as often in real life and the bad guys do not get caught every time. For example, Easterbrook stated that in 2012 only 1 in 800 officers actually fired at a suspect. In NCIS and other shows like it, firearms are used on a regular basis. This shows Americans an unrealistic depiction of government heroes that must defend our country daily. A post 9/11 audience enjoys this type of show because the government agents or so-called "good guys" are constantly shooting at and defeating the bad guys, which in NCIS are usually terrorists. Easterbrook shows that this is also NSA propaganda because it makes the NSA look almost perfect because they always defeat the bad guys. Easterbrook also uses specific examples from NCIS to prove that 9/11 influences the show. Easterbrook stated that in one episode of NCIS: Los Angeles, terrorists with generic foreign accents had taken three atomic bombs left over from the Cold War and threatened to "kill everyone west of the Mississippi River in 48 hours." It was ultimately up to the government to save America, so it was depicting the NSA as America's ultimate superhero. Easterbrook argues that the reason why this show is so popular is because post 9/11 audiences enjoy seeing our government beat the terrorists even if it is fictitious. With the use of statistics and examples, Easterbrook proved that the connection between popular drama shows and 9/11 audiences is very possible.