Criminal Minds is a well-known television show aired on CBS since 2005. The television show is wrapping up it’s 15th and final season later this month. The show follows a team of F.B.I. Behavioral Analysis profilers who are out to find some of the most dangerous serial killers and criminals by reading into their motives and minds. The show is unique in it’s own way because although the team of profilers stays the same, the crime that they are looking to solve changes every episode.
Criminal Minds combines the concept of murder and danger (antithesis) with heroism and bravery (thesis). While we watch the lesson of friendships between the team members, viewers can often see betrayal when a murderer kills his family – all in the same 40 minute episode. The two concepts are merged to create a greater meaning (synthesis). The combination of the anthesis and the synthesis of good and bad and the actions of heroism when the team of profilers finds the suspect, can leave the viewers not only satisfied but feeling comfortable. The two components work together because if there was no “unsub” (unidentified suspect) there would be no fear, but if the F.B.I.team did not work around the clock to solve the crime, there would be no heroism.
What comes from this synthesis is many feelings of emotion including fear and uncertainty. Many reviews state that the show is “too scary” or viewers advise others “not to watch at night”. But with the ending of every episode, the suspect is found. The F.B.I.team prevails and although sometimes not in time, the “bad guy” is always taken away to be of no more harm to society. In the end, the “good guy” ultimately wins. This gives viewers a sense of comfort, knowing that although the show may not be based on true events, the F.B.I. is a real government unit and unfortunately they do deal with criminal activity often. They can attribute the storyline of the Criminal Minds, to the security of knowing there is a team out there in real-life doing the same.
Theresa Tumminello 