The show Criminal Minds Is a unique take on the structure of other “cop shows.” At first glance, the show appears to follow the same drawn out plot of every episode of every new crime series. The killer is introduced, the police conduct their investigation, and the killer is put away in some large dramatic fashion. In actuality, it relates greatly to the Present Shock book for this periodical following. In the novel, Rushkoff uses the terms, “scheduled world,” and, “programmed world,” to describe how the presentation of information has evolved. As Rushkoff describes, a scheduled world would give you, “…half an hour to peruse an exhibit at the museum,” while in a programmed world, “…you are strapped into the ride at Disneyland and conveyed through the experience at a predetermined pace”(Rushkoff 88). In the past, stories were told orally or through literature, where one was not confined visually to what was shown on the screen. In the scheduled society, these stories/information would have selectively more freedoms in their telling, contrasting drastically with the now present programmed world. The programmed society on the other hand, would alternatively set you visually on a strict path, which unlike the scheduled society, would allow you to only perceive what the programmer is showing. The concept of the programmed world is largely seen through modern television, specifically episodic series like Criminal Minds. Being a television show, Criminal Minds tells a story with each episode, however the story is seen through variables controlled by the programmer (i.e. the makers of the show), essentially, strapping you into a ride and letting you watch what unfolds like in Rushkoff’s example. The idea of programmed information being in such a way encompasses a good portion of all television out, so how does Criminal Minds stand 

out of the seemingly endless digital crowd of ones and zeros coming together to tell a story? Well, the way the show follows this structural path is quite different from those of it’s sub genre.

Other “cop shows,” look mostly into the chronology of finding the killer through the police and their point of view. However, Criminal Minds pushes these boundaries by telling the story partially from the investigators’ perspectives, but also the criminals (Hence the name-Criminal Minds!). The show seemingly places the point of view from intense and high pressure investigations with officers pulling together clues and evidence to the dark but intriguing view of the criminal. One scene may find the audience seeing the crew of investigators examining the scene of a crime to create a profile while the very next scene could show the antagonist of the episode going after sheepish victims. This idea of the story being told from two places at once is constantly seen throughout each episode of the series, and is shown, albeit in a different way in the novel. In Present Shock, Rushkoff describes what he calls “Digiphrenia,” or, “…the way our media and technologies encourage us to be in more than one place at the same time”(Rushkoff 12). Throughout the novel, Rushkoff describes how our online presence and our physical presence allow us to appear in multiple places. A person my text or tag or what have you in a certain location, but may physically appear to be in a whole different area. And because digital age technology has been so heavily engrained in society (even taking up our identities), the digital profile may in certain ways have more weight than its real life counterpart. Although this topic is touched on in a slightly different way in the book, Criminal Minds somewhat fits the definition of Digiphrenia. The show uses it’s digital being to give information from seemingly one source but at two different places at once. Not only is information being given from the point of view of the investigators, which could act as the real life person in this scenario, but also from the criminal, or in this case the digital identity. Although both entities make up the same being, in this circumstance the show itself, both project information to the audience from completely different areas. This point of view shift in simple terms is what drives the show to stand out be a long lasting hit show. Not only does it appeal to fans of the crime sub-genre, but it also portrays an important part of the sub-subgenre in a whole new light. 

Works Cited

Rushkoff, Douglas. Present Shock. N.p.: Penguin, 2013. 12-88. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.

CBS, . CBS Shows: Criminal Minds. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Web. 27 Oct. 2015. <http://www.cbs.com/shows/criminal_minds/>.