{"product_id":"only-the-names-have-been-claudia-calhoun-9781477325391","title":"Only the Names Have Been Changed: Dragnet, the Police Procedural, and Postwar Culture","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the 2022 Peter C. Rollins Book Prize, Northeast Popular Culture Association (NEPCA)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn the postwar era, the police procedural series \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eDragnet\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e informed Americans on the workings of the criminal justice system and instructed them in their responsibilities as citizens.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAmong shifting politics, tastes, and technology in television history, one genre has been remarkably persistent: the cop show. Claudia Calhoun returns to \u003ci\u003eDragnet, \u003c\/i\u003e the pioneering police procedural and an early transmedia franchise, appearing on radio in 1949, on TV and in film in the 1950s, and in later revivals. More than a popular entertainment, \u003ci\u003eDragnet\u003c\/i\u003e was a signifier of America's postwar confidence in government institutions--and a publicity vehicle for the Los Angeles Police Department.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eOnly the Names Have Been Changed\u003c\/i\u003e shows how \u003ci\u003eDragnet\u003c\/i\u003e's \"realistic\" storytelling resonated across postwar culture. Calhoun traces \u003ci\u003eDragnet\u003c\/i\u003e's \"semi-documentary\" predecessors, and shows how Jack Webb, \u003ci\u003eDragnet\u003c\/i\u003e's creator, worked directly with the LAPD as he produced a series that would likewise inspire public trust by presenting day-to-day procedural justice, rather than shootouts and wild capers. Yet this realism also set aside the seething racial tensions of Los Angeles as it was. \u003ci\u003eDragnet\u003c\/i\u003e emerges as a foundational text, one that taught audiences to see police as everyday heroes not only on TV but also in daily life, a lesson that has come under scrutiny as Americans increasingly seek to redefine the relationship between policing and public safety.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Claudia Calhoun\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1477325395\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781477325391\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Texas Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 186\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.90d","brand":"Claudia Calhoun","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49001558671615,"sku":"9781477325391","price":34.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/only-the-names-have-been-claudia-calhoun-9781477325391","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}