Fascination with crime !

Channel Nine seems to have another winner with it's " Fat Tony & Co " crime series which followed the equally successful " Underbelly ".   It is a fact of life that the criminal fraternity produces crime leaders who are slavishly followed by the media and avoid police convictions for a very long time.   They develop a cult following on a world wide basis.  Names such as Ned Kelly, Al Capone and John Dillinger come to mind.

Ordinary people seem to have a fascination with crime and it cuts two ways.   A lot of the TV and movie fare deals with crime from the police point of view and in recent times this is heavy with crime technology developments.   We applaud the conviction of criminals, and yet at the same time we have a perverse admiration for the very people who are breaking the law.

Shows like " Fat Tony "  make a feature of the glamour life when crime delivers a bonanza and money is splashed around on prestige cars, unlimited booze - and fast women.    Perhaps we all have a Walter Mitty syndrome that allows us to dream - of how our life would change - on the other side of the law.

There is a fine line between fiction and reality and the people who put these shows together put high priority on " entertainment ".   That requires plenty of tough guy action mixed with the glamour of the high life - and a generous sprinkling of half naked women to enliven the scene.    Enough to keep the audience on the edge of their seats, eyes glued to the screen.

Unfortunately, all this is not an entertainment mirage.   The cops do intercept huge consignments of drugs coming into the country and confiscate almost unimaginable sums of money that are the proceeds of crime.   People get shot on the streets of Sydney on a regular basis - and the bikie gangs are as well organized and drilled as a national  army.

Perhaps the value of these sort of crime series is to get viewers to reflect not only on the extravaganza of wealth that crime delivers - but on the final outcome for those involved.    There is not a lot of glamour in serving a long term in a prison - and even less in joining the long list of the deceased !