I label this process “Copization,” to parallel it to the evolutionary biology phenomenon of “carcinization”: there are a complex of evolutionary pressures that lead ten-legged arthropods to develop into remarkably crab-like forms. Copization, on the other hand, is the phenomenon whereby genre stories that feature violence as a central component have a tendency to evolve into a form that more closely resembles a police procedural.

Odd Columns, Commentary, Written by: CameronCameron SummersJuly 4, 2020Dragnet, Disco Elysium, Cyberpunk, H.P. Lovecraft, Calvin & Hobbes, Robocop, Dennou Coil, True Detective, The Ballad of Black Tom Comment