This essay originally appeared as the Afterword of “I’m a Cop”: Real-Life Horror Comics Vol. 2. Let’s make one thing clear: the police seek to control our imaginations, and comic books have historically aided them in this goal. The vast majority of U.S. residents encounter fictional depictions of the police more than they encounter them in their daily lives. While there are huge disparities in policing dictated by race, socio-economic standing, the neighborhood in which you live, and other factors, the sheer amount of images of policing that exist in U.S. popular culture suggest that the POLICE-IMAGINARY is at least as powerful a force in the public perception of the police as the police are themselves.
U.S. Comic Books and the Police-Imaginary Complex
U.S. Comic Books and the Police-Imaginary…
U.S. Comic Books and the Police-Imaginary Complex
This essay originally appeared as the Afterword of “I’m a Cop”: Real-Life Horror Comics Vol. 2. Let’s make one thing clear: the police seek to control our imaginations, and comic books have historically aided them in this goal. The vast majority of U.S. residents encounter fictional depictions of the police more than they encounter them in their daily lives. While there are huge disparities in policing dictated by race, socio-economic standing, the neighborhood in which you live, and other factors, the sheer amount of images of policing that exist in U.S. popular culture suggest that the POLICE-IMAGINARY is at least as powerful a force in the public perception of the police as the police are themselves.