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LCARS
Library Computer Access and Retrieval System
The Importance of Being a Woman
Shawn Thornburg
On Sunday, the 27th of February, at 11 pm, I watched a one-hour show on KCNC 4 (CBS) called CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. I�m not sure if you�re familiar with the premise of the show, so I�ll explain quickly: CSI is a crack division of the Las Vegas Police Department�s Criminalistics Bureau that solves cases by exhaustively examining crime scenes�down to the last mundane detail. The episode was called �The Accused is Entitled�, and in this episode a popular actor, Tom Haviland, was put on trial for the murder of a young woman, Kim Hsu, who was found in Haviland�s hotel room at a Las Vegas casino. Haviland hired a man named Philip Gerard, who was once the mentor of the show�s main character Gil Grissom, to find mistakes in the CSI team�s investigation, which caused waves and a personal battle throughout the episode. Haviland claimed that he didn�t kill Kim Hsu, but that he slept with her and another woman named Tonya Lin, then went down to the casino; when he came back to the room he found Kim dying on his bed and Tonya long gone. The CSI team performed admirably as usual and, despite the efforts of Haviland�s defense team to discredit the investigation, uncovered the facts behind his fiction: Tonya was actually a man, and when Haviland discovered this he began to beat him uncontrollably; Hsu tried to stop the beating, but Haviland sliced her throat with a corkscrew, left her dead on the bed, and carried Lin�s body out of the casino in a spare golf bag.
I�m not sure how to give an objective opinion, since such a paradoxical concept has only been achieved by my friend Larz, who was apparently sitting and standing at the same time (I didn�t actually see the event, even though I was in the same room, but her description of it was sufficient for the others in the room, so I was satisfied), but I will give it my best shot. In true Roman fashion, the show�s writers pieced together elements from countless other stories and made a brand new mix that proved engaging and entertaining, however awkward or silly it was. The script was well-written and continued the character development of the series.
CSI�s cinematography has always been among my favorite, mostly because it includes a wide range of shots (from ECUs of evidence and concentrated facial expressions to wide establishing shots of entire crime scenes), which better orient the viewer to the show�s locations, leaving less room for confusion. I�m prone to hit the channel button if I feel confused or visually constricted by a show, and surprisingly I get that a lot (I�m kind of picky). In this particular episode the full range was used, and, as always, the varied shots kept it visually interesting. Along with the actual shot setup comes the clever use of visual effects, specifically when dealing with the team�s reconstruction of the crime scenes. In a memorable scene from another episode, a team member was kneeling at the site of a bus accident, and as she reconstructed the accident in her head we could see the faint image of the bus driving through the area and straight toward the team member. In the current episode, the visual effects were subtle if not nonexistent; or perhaps I�m just so used to seeing them that I didn�t notice.
The music of the show has always been perfect for any scene, and has always evoked a mood without the viewer realizing it�s there. That, to me, is the sign of good mood music. In this episode the music helped evoke a feeling of betrayal: Gil Grissom felt betrayed by his former mentor Philip Gerard when he took up the defense of Tom Haviland. The title music for the series has always described the series itself: fast-paced and classy, but down and dirty if it needs to be. I can think of no better way to describe the music of this show than �perfect�.
I can�t seem to pinpoint the target audience for CSI: I am a lover of things passed, and I best connect with the Baby Boomer generation, so for me to evaluate the target audience based on the fact that I like it would be silly; however, I still get the feeling it�s trying to target an age range from 18 to 35 or 40. A show with so much intellectual and emotional content would appeal to older viewers, but the dramatic elements still draw in a younger audience, and give them a chance to exercise their deduction skills. Such a well-produced show has no trouble consistently pulling in that kind of audience, and its effectiveness at holding its attention is a testament to the skill of the makers of the show.
The lighting for the show in general is simply beautiful. Even the outdoor scenes are lit dramatically, and manage to convey the serious tone of the show with long, gloomy shadows in the evening and stark light and crisp, short shadows during the day. Indoor scenes, like the bedroom crime scene, give an even darker tone with low, diffused light contrasted with sharp, hard, bright light. As with the music, the lighting is nothing less than perfect. This is not a cop-out to keep me from having to describe what I would do differently: I genuinely think the lighting and music are just about the highest quality you can ask for. The treatment of the video also plays with the emotion of the show: the mellow green, blue, and brown tints that change between episodes, and sometimes between scenes, when combined with the lighting and music elements, evokes a tone of casual, natural class that carries to such elements as wardrobe, hairstyling, and acting. Again, this is indicative of the great skill that the show�s producers, crew, and cast possess.
Overall, I feel CSI is a well-produced show, and this episode is no exception. When writers come up with storylines like this, they may be stretching, but they still pull something out of their magic hat and manage to make it not only believable, but entertaining as well. This kind of story may be outrageous, but it still makes you wonder what you�d do in the same situation. I know if I hired a woman for sex (I never would, by the way) and I found out she was a man, I�d probably get a lot of rage inside me and want to take it out on her�or him. I don�t know if I�d kill him, but there�s no telling until I get into a situation like that; I�m glad to say I certainly wouldn�t bring it upon myself, so hopefully I will never know. Above all, this story teaches a valuable lesson: when you hire a woman for sex, if you find out she�s really a guy, don�t beat him to death or you�ll end up in jail no matter what you do; or, if you�re going to sell your body for money, make sure you�re selling yourself to the right buyers or you might just end up in a golf bag; or (and this is the one I happen to agree with most), don�t get into the business of hiring people for sex or selling your body for money. It just goes to show the importance of being a woman.
  
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