The Shield

There are numerous forms of entertainment that we as an audience are exposed to. Movies, tv, music, etc. With them comes a vast amount of mature themes. Nudity, sex, violence, profanity, etc. I, as a member of the audience, can handle just about any amount of mature themes in entertainment. I was able to watch the whole movie Saving Private Ryan without once feeling squeamish. Despite the shocking moments of brutality, the film was not, IMHO, vile. It was one of the best films ever made and demonstrated how heroic those soldiers of the Allied forces really were. Likewise, when I was training for the Des Moines and Chicago Marathon, I listened to some music that did have some swearing. Till I Collapse and Lose Yourself (both by Eminem) were some of my favorite songs, and they really got me to bust my butt on my run. So if some form of entertainment has mature themes, maybe that's not the whole story. A tv show could be rated MA or a movie could be R, but as long as there is meaning to what makes it so, you can't necessarily say that it's wrong. However, I don't think that little children should be allowed to be exposed to this entertainment at all. Also, movies like Fight Club or a song by Eminem pretending to kill his ex-wife are just plain disgusting, and are little more than garbage.

This post today is about a show I watched called The Shield. It is my favorite television series of all time. After watching all seven seasons, it truly touched me and held my interest more than anything I could have imagined. The storylines were very well done and the acting was amazing. Vic Mackey, played by Michael Chiklis, is the heart and soul of the show as the lead character. No character, not even Tony Soprano, breathed as much life into a show as Vic Mackey did.

The Shield is a police drama that takes place in Los Angeles. The police department that they work at is called The Barn. In the show, the police are always busy given the rampant gang activity in LA. There is a significant amount of tension between the cops and the crooks. However, more than you might imagine, there is also a significant amount of tension between cops and fellow cops. There are times when more or less civil war takes place in The Barn. I previously made some comments about mature themes in entertainment. Well, this show is about as vicious as it gets. You will see PLENTY of people get killed. You will hear profanity like there is no tomorrow. Michael Chiklis, the main actor, in real life has a daughter who in the show plays his own daughter. And in real life she is not allowed by her own father to watch this show. But it's never in poor taste. If something happens, it happens for a reason. In the very first episode, you get a good glimpse of what the show is all about. There is a part when Vic Mackey wants a man to give up the location of a little girl. After some convincing "interrogation" the next scene shows the police rescuing this little girl from God knows what. Also, there is a scene of Vic doing an act that truly shows him to be a hero. But all of that is negated by something else that he does later on. And there is a reason why he does what he does. He does it because of the "cop" lifestyle that he has.

There is so much that happens in this show that if you skip an episode you will be confused as to what's going on. One alternate title of the show could have been Secrets and Lies. Constantly, the cast of characters are keeping secrets or lying to others. This is caused by the sins that they have commited and what they are willing to confess to. There is one point in the show when Captain Acevada declares "Vic Mackey isn't a cop. He's Al Capone with a badge." Whether I want to admit it or not, Acevada is completely correct. Vic Mackey was just as much a criminal as ANY criminal he ever put away. But don't be discouraged. When it's all said and done, I promise you that The Shield does not endorse this rogue cop attitude. Not one bit. Along with the barbaric nature of some of the police, there is truly one individual who you have to love. His name is Julien Lowe, and he uses his Christian faith as much as possible as his own compass.

There are many characters that made up The Shield, as there were many events. They were extremely memorable. The series finale was almost perfect, as was all the other shows that led up to it. For those of you who are not interested due to the mature themes of the show, fair enough. However, with that put aside, it couldn't have been any better.