Two White guys and a White judge debate racism. That's about as American as it gets. In this episode, a Korean American witness who is dead on target with his identification nonetheless has his ability to do sound maligned by a pompous White defense attorney and his pompous White psychology expert merely because he is not White. Moreover, they use studies on foreigners -- and not Americans -- to back up their claim. Nonetheless, the White judge lets the attack on the witness go on.
That's about as American as it gets.
This episode is talky, but it was done back when Law and Order was willing to take on controversial ideas. The problem, though, is that shown through the White lens, none of the minority characters has any agency. In fact, except for the Pueto Rican defendant, there are no minority characters.
That was back in 1993. Things haven't changed much despite a lot of performative outrage about diversity, equity, and inclusion. But at least this episode brought it up to confront some uncomfortable truths. That's a lot more than what we see on Law and Order shows today.
That's about as American as it gets.
This episode is talky, but it was done back when Law and Order was willing to take on controversial ideas. The problem, though, is that shown through the White lens, none of the minority characters has any agency. In fact, except for the Pueto Rican defendant, there are no minority characters.
That was back in 1993. Things haven't changed much despite a lot of performative outrage about diversity, equity, and inclusion. But at least this episode brought it up to confront some uncomfortable truths. That's a lot more than what we see on Law and Order shows today.