blood on the trajectory
One of the things that I enjoy about the “CSI” family of prime-time dramas is its reliance on technology and expert knowledge to explain how the cops solve crimes. I imagine most critical viewers realize that police computers use such stylish interfaces or the software is that sophisticated. I’m hardly an expert in anything, let alone police procedures, but it is funny when I catch them using putative jargon that’s just plain wrong. On “CSI: New York” tonight there was a close-up of the rear end of an arrow spattered with blood. Gary Sinise’s character declared, “There’s blood on the trajectory feathers.”
“Trajectory feathers?” I thought to myself, “aren’t they called fletching?” Of course, “trajectory feathers” sounds more like technical terminology, providing the appearance of expert knowledge on the part of the cops. I haven’t seen any reception studies of cops, but I wonder if they cringe at the inaccuracies of cop shows or they enjoy watching their profession portrayed on TV. I suppose that because police dramas have long been a staple of TV programming, there’s no excitement over seeing yourself on TV.
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