Sunday, June 27, 2010

Thanks, TV Writers

Lately I've been plowing my way through DVDs of past seasons of the show Criminal Minds. For those who don't know, Criminal Minds is primarily about an FBI team that profiles and catches serial killers. It's completely unrealistic (the profilers are also the interrogators and investigators- at least they don't also do the lab work!- and they nearly always swoop in at the last second to save the latest victim), but okay, it's a TV show. I also realize that being a serial killer requires that something in your brain is not quite right. Even so, I'm annoyed. There have been several shows where our killer has OCD. I could almost even deal with that. Out of 100 episodes about people who kill, why couldn't a few have OCD? Well, in a group of people known for their sense of responsibility, serial killer doesn't seem too likely. Plus, they actually had a character say about our OCD killer, "OMG, he totally can't stop himself," as though his OCD compulsion was killing. No, actually his OCD compulsion seemed to be cutting the crusts off his sandwich just so.

Anyway, I'm sure this isn't really worth being annoyed over. It's a guilty pleasure show full of holes, this is just another one.

3 comments:

  1. Hi there! I've been reading your blog for a while now but have just recently taken the plunge, started making comments, and writing about my own experiences with OCD. Thanks for sharing your insights into and experiences with the disorder!

    Do you ever read the OCD Center of Los Angeles Blog? Recently they've been doing a series of posts on OCD and the law and how OCD is sometimes used as a dubious defense in criminal cases. Anyways, thought you might find them interesting...

    http://www.ocdla.com/blog/ocd-law-1-810

    http://www.ocdla.com/blog/ocd-law-2-816

    Good luck with everything! I look forward to reading more!

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  2. Interesting links- thanks!

    Congrats on starting a blog- it's been helpful to me, and I've really enjoyed reading other OCD blogs as well.

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  3. Yes, it is ridiculous, and actually the opposite situation exists.
    My psychiatrist has told me that people with OCD will actually confess to crimes that they haven't committed. Such is the over-riding sense of responsibility and guilt. Its a goofy show, and gruesome too. But I love how kooky the profilers are - super smart and full of baggage.

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