Yesterday (September 16th) was Peter Falk’s birthday. If you’re unfamiliar with who he is, you’re more likely to recognize him as Lieutenant Columbo of the Los Angeles Police Department, an unassuming and seemingly disorganized plainclothes detective who specializes in holding the wealthiest people in L.A. accountable for their atrocities. It was as unrealistic in the ‘70s as it is now, that the rich would actually face punishment but that’s all part of why Columbo slipped in and out of pop culture from the late ‘60s right up to the early 2000s. We needed the reassurance and satisfaction that truly horrible people got what they deserved and to me it’s always better to punch up than to punch down, and Columbo was firmly focused skyward.
Since it is Falk’s birthday I decided a marathon was in order, which got me thinking about the episode Dead Weight and how relevant it is today. Helen Stuart (the head you see in the image above) is spending the morning at the marina with her mother when she witnesses a murder. The only trouble is that she witnesses it from the water and the murder happens inside that palatial oceanfront property owned by legendary war hero Major General Martin J. Hollister. Rather than believe that she’s telling the truth, the entire world (save Columbo) proceeds to gaslight her until she stops believing what she saw.
We talk about gaslighting a lot these days, what with all the willful misdirection, outright lying, and utter rejection of reality happening in our daily news cycle. While we talk about it, it’s likely that some may not know how to identify it, or haven’t bothered to ascertain the working definition after seeing it tossed around the Internet. For my purposes, this is definition of gaslighting (courtesy of the Encyclopædia Britannica):
Gaslighting, an elaborate and insidious technique of deception and psychological manipulation, usually practiced by a single deceiver, or “gaslighter,” on a single victim over an extended period. Its effect is to gradually undermine the victim’s confidence in his own ability to distinguish truth from falsehood, right from wrong, or reality from appearance, thereby rendering him pathologically dependent on the gaslighter in his thinking or feelings.
In Helen’s world, she’s subjected to this kind of abuse long before the episode begins but is directly targeted by General Hollister to further the psychological manipulation. Dead Weight is a sharp and surprisingly insightful look at this behavior from 1971 that could serve as a relevant example when communicating just how insidious gaslighting is and how easily it proliferates.
But Dead Weight also tackles the thorny subject of American hero worship and why military accolade should not excuse terrible choices and behavior but so often do. Any recently deceased senators come to mind? Both gaslighting and forgiving people because they served in the military continue to disrupt political and even cultural conversations to this day. If it was so cut and dry in the ‘70s, why the hell did no one listen to Columbo?
Join me as I dig too deeply into an old crime drama you’ve probably never seen and explain why we should use elements of pop culture history to better understand our world, even when we think they might be too old to apply. Sometimes a simple, direct explanation of a problem stands the test of time.
Part 1: A Murder and a Difficult History
Case closed. Mr. Blue Robe Red Carpet over here is clearly guilty of interior design crimes.
Many crime dramas post Columbo tend to show you details of how the murder or other offense happens without immediately revealing whodunit. Columbo always bucked this mystery novel tradition and showed you the murderer upfront. The mystery is not whether or not the rich asshole is guilty (they are so guilty and usually of multiple things) but how the working class Lt Columbo navigates their web of bullshit. Here, Gen. Hollister is about to cap Colonel Roger Dutton.
Dutton and Hollister have spent the years since Hollister’s triumphant days as a war hero profiting off military contracts. Hollister runs a contracting business while Dutton accepts bids. Dutton’s higher-ups are finally looking into the vast amounts of money being spent on military contracts which will implicate Hollister as he was perpetually upcharging contracts despite lowball starting bids. In other words, the good general is stealing from the military and the colonel is telling him they have to flee and hide to avoid prosecution.
And this is where we get a glimpse of Hollister’s critical flaw: Pride. Despite ripping off the government, he’s too proud to run, and too sure of his skills and reputation to allow a sniveling colonel to run and risk him spilling the beans when he gets the chance. Hollister is respected and beloved, this crate between them is destined for a military museum exhibit dedicated to his greatness. Why would he give up all this power because his confidant in the Pentagon can’t handle the pressure?
Someday I might also talk about how expertly Columbo is filmed. You don’t get cuts and color references like this in Law and Order, that’s for damn sure. Also yikes patterns.
Where Dead Weight departs slightly from other Columbo stories that we only have Helen’s word to go on (initially) that a crime took place. The image above is a cut from Dutton’s terrified face as he backs against a door. Helen presents as somewhat flighty and impulsive, qualities her mother is perpetually pointing out even as they are trying to “enjoy” a day at sea.
This is the gateway to Helen’s trouble with gaslighting. From the start we see that her mother is overbearing and trying to downplay any uniqueness in her daughter as fantasy and pointless. Helen doubts herself a great deal. She’s used to how her mother operates though, and finds strength enough to resist her, at least enough to dock their boat and hurry to call the police.
Her mother doesn’t believe she’s seen anything serious while Helen is plucky but concerned about seeing a murder. Their relationship doesn’t resolve in the episode, and I imagine it won’t resolve beyond it considering how her mother negates any sort of emotion from her that doesn’t correspond with what she thinks is the “correct” course of action. In this story, Helen’s mother is the first abuser.
The second is Helen’s ex-husband. He’s only referenced, and his infidelity divulged, but he stands in as abuser #2 who played a part in making Helen so unsure of herself and triggering the event that caused her to move back in with her already pretty trash mom. So now Helen is doubting herself romantically because her husband cheated on her, her mother is saying she is the problem because she couldn’t just accept that he cheated, and now she’s just seen a murder. That’s a lot heaped on one woman trying to make things work.
Throughout the show Helen’s mother will continue to attack her sanity, decisions, and convictions as Lt. Columbo investigates. While Columbo never directly comments on it, some of the things he says implies that he’s not comfortable with Helen’s situation. That’s good, because holy shit no one should be.
So Hollister is a battle-hardened vet who sees no problem getting what he wants (even if it comes to murder since he’s killed a lot of people already) and Helen is in emotional limbo but desperately trying to be true to herself despite it.
Part 2: War Heroes Are Above Suspicion
Officer Sanchez doesn’t feel comfortable questioning a war hero about killing someone. He starts the police department’s pretty slapdash handling of the murder investigation.
Just like when some powerful person is accused of wrong doing today, investigators looking into Helen’s report of a shooting being by wringing their hands and asking if she knows who she’s accusing of murder. The idea here is that she’s the one making up a shooting, that if she knew who Hollister was (she doesn’t when the shooting occurs) she was just another greedy woman trying to capitalize on his fame.
Because she doesn’t know who he is, Officer Sanchez feels they need to investigate but doesn’t think he should do it since he’s a “slick-sleeve” (no idea what that means but I assume it has to do with him not being ranked) he doesn’t think it’s okay to interview Hollister.
Early in the Columbo series there’s a vagueness around Columbo’s reputation. He puts a lot of high profile people in jail, sure, but he looks sloppy. His car is old, his suits are old, he eats chili on a whim, and smokes cigars everywhere he goes. It’s sort of implied when he arrives to interview Hollister about the murder that he was disposable rather than a cunning lawman who can find a crime in a total absence of evidence.
He’s also a Lieutenant, even though he looks like he just rolled out of a car outside a diner.
Hollister’s obsession with his own superiority feeds off of Columbo’s appearance. He’s just a bumbling plainclothes fool refusing to accept the obvious conclusions not because he’s a gifted detective but because he’s just another stupid cop. Columbo thrives in these moments, which makes him so good at catching rich jerks: They slip up because they doubt he is perceptive. He cultivates an air of disorganization and distraction so they will deem him unworthy of extra care.
Columbo doesn’t get off on having authority (he openly shirks it and doesn’t even carry a gun), he appears to enjoy being underestimated. We never see a dark side of Columbo throughout the show’s 40-year run. We see him be serious, and even angry, but his pursuit of truth is untarnished by petty indulgence. That’s unbelievable but I like to think he sincerely enjoys punishing people who deem themselves above the law. So the happiest Columbo is the man standing here in “confusion” as he asks to investigate the big box of clues.
And that’s it really, Columbo gets nothing out of Hollister except one jumpy reaction when he tries to investigate the rest of the house on his own. Frustrated with not being told things, Hollister pumps him for information on who is accusing him and lets it drop that there wasn’t a murder. In traditional TV cop time, Columbo mentions he never said there was a murder, just as he never said a woman reported the crime.
Seemingly defeated, Columbo leaves the general to finish getting ready for a fancy dinner the museum hosting his exhibit is throwing and heads off to get details from Helen.
I’m trying not to just recap the episode, but these early bits are crucial in how we perceive Hollister, Helen, and Columbo’s actions.
That’s supposed to be a llama.
Helen is more what Hollister thinks Columbo is: not organized to the point of distraction. We know from her history with her mother that she’s not in the best state to resist a charming but totally imposing figure like Hollister, something the general is keen to find out for himself.
One thing worth noting about Columbo’s initial interview with Helen is his reaction to her getting upset about him asking if she’d been drinking or wore glasses. He doesn’t mean to sound like he’s dismissing her, instead he’s clarifying baseline police work that the “slick-sleeves” didn’t bother doing. But he’s momentarily shaken by how upset this makes her. He doesn’t doubt her, not after the fishy way Hollister tried to march him through his house.
But she’s still upset, railing against the notion that she’s too flighty to know she saw a man in a robe shoot a man in a military uniform. Very keen details we all know are accurate from the other side of the window.
Columbo picks up on how Helen’s doubt may lead her down a bad path if he’s not careful. Unfortunately….
Part 3: Hollister is a Scary Dude and Thinks Military Service Makes Him a Good Person
HOLLISTER SHOWS UP AT HER GODDAMN HOUSE. RED FLAGS HOLY SHIT WHAT? CALL THE POLICE, HELEN.
Hollister finds out who she is and where she lives and immediately announces that he’s the person she’s accusing of murder. Rather than stick around, he encourages Helen to watch the news that night. You see, they’re running a special about all the honorable things he did while part of the military.
How could an honorable war hero ever gun someone down while wearing such a bad bathrobe?
These are the steps in gaslighting Helen into believing her mind is playing tricks on her. Step one is use a flashy media package to convince her he’s above reproach, that he would never stoop to murdering someone to get his way. You know he’s done that and more now, that his honor was self-serving.
Step two is the next day when he shows up at Helen’s job. Again, HELEN CALL THE POLICE. But she doesn’t. Hollister is a scary general in her eyes now, but so beloved they’re putting together a museum exhibit about him. How could this person be all bad? But still she’s doubting this spoon fed reality and maintains she saw Hollister shoot Dutton. Even though she agrees to GO ON A DATE.
Helen, honey….
He’s saying “Here’s to your convictions and my acquittal” here. WHAT A SCHMUCK
But you see, that’s where Dead Weight shows how gaslighting someone can completely alter their ability to assess situations. Deep down Helen feels weird about this, but now this rich and powerful man is showing her attention. And her terrible goddamn mother is continuing to harp on her fucking up her marriage by judging her husband too harshly so she shouldn’t judge this ACTUAL MURDERER because of his history and power.
It doesn’t help that General Hollister is also charming in that swarthy, military way. He codes everything in solider-talk, makes everything a reference to law and order to the point he seems like a bastion of decency. This is heavy handed when you’re watching it but what Hollister is doing is what happens to millions of people every day. This is still gaslighting, to present this level of charm to disarm people into believing you’re better than your actions.
Step three comes when he talks about the grand passion he feels for Helen upon seeing her. In a matter of days he’s gone from being accused of murder to flattering her ability to work with children and animals. He’s single, she’s single….why not marry a general, Helen? Her crumbling confidence is the in he needs, the in he didn’t have with Columbo. He couldn’t dissuade the detective but he can tamper with the witness.
Part 4: Columbo’s Got You Dead to Rights You Creepy Fuck
That’s Roger Dutton there, on the back of Hollister’s boat with the traditional “rich person’s baubles” weighing him down.
Early on in the investigation Columbo is fairly sure that if Hollister did kill someone he’d drop them in the ocean. The only thing he miscalculated was when. Hollister waits until after he’s identified Helen to discard the body.
Kids steal Dutton’s car and are caught joyriding in it. The fact that Dutton is a now missing military man puts Columbo back on the trail. Now Helen’s story of seeing a military man gunned down is starting to fit with the first tell-tale signs of evidence.
But now Helen is falling deep into Hollister’s gaslighting trap and when presented with this new evidence about Dutton’s disappearance returns to Columbo’s questions about her drinking and needing glasses. She’s also defensive when confronted with the real possibility Hollister is only interested in her to disrupt the investigation.
Columbo is dismayed but knows these attacks on Helen’s mental state and the missing Colonel are almost certainly linked. Who just decides to date the woman accusing them of murder? A panicking murderer that thinks he’s too trustworthy and famous to suffer any consequence.
But that fame is also part of the problem.
Helen saw the special on Hollister’s military career but so did Columbo. The general’s legacy is tied to a pearl handle colt .45 that he used to single-handedly stop a major conflict. It wasn’t in the box of guns and memorabilia Hollister was sending to the museum and it wasn’t on display in the general’s home.
But if he was going to shoot anyone it would probably be with his most useful and precious gun. Then Dutton’s body surfaces because stupid rich people baubles make lousy weights. Hollister is screwed.
This triggers Hollister furthering his tactics in misleading Helen, now staging a demonstration to convince her she couldn’t possibly have seen into his house from the marina because of a glare in the window. We all know that didn’t occur the day of the shooting but it is finally enough to convince Helen she was wrong to accuse Hollister of anything. He loves her, he’s a good and noble man. He encourages her to believe in herself and enjoy herself all for the purpose of controlling her reality.
Helen is now successfully under Hollister’s control and if it weren’t for Lt. Columbo it’s fairly certain that this gaslighting would continue until such time as Helen mysteriously disappeared or died in an accident. Why would he keep her around once the suspicion is off? Her mother certainly isn’t going to help her since she’s actively encouraging Helen to prop herself up with the general’s prestige.
There’s a practical effect way of making this shine work but the director of this episode said “EH LET’S DO IT IN POST.”
Part 5: Helping People Overcome Gaslighting
It’s difficult for people under the control of a gaslighter to see the truth for themselves. For Helen, Columbo continues to work on the case and track down Hollister’s gun he’d cleverly said was stolen in Korea. The one in his museum exhibit was a replica (but we know it isn’t). Proving the connection between the gun and Dutton’s body is finally the realization Helen needs to break free from the spell and it’s fortunate she’s survived.
But everyday people suffer from these tactics to control their actions and memories, not just in the case of murderers we can clearly identify. Controlling relationships take a number of forms and the goal is to help people identify the signs for themselves.
Helen’s heavy-handed tale is a great example of how gaslighting works because we can clearly pinpoint Hollister’s tactics:
He intimidates her by showing up at her house and telling her he knows.
He controls the information she receives about his character. She never knows about the military contracts.
He zeros in on her weakness: she doubts herself and finds herself unlovable so he convinces her he’s different, that he knows she’s better than that and by doing so makes her dependent on him.
He recreates events to prove she couldn’t have seen the crime, thereby constructing a new reality for her and causing her to rely on him to guide her through the world she’s clearly not able to see clearly for herself.
These are clear signs of someone being gaslit and it took an outside force like Columbo to help Helen break free. Reality is much more subtle. It could be as simple as a parent being upset with personal opinion and slight rebellions to someone constantly telling you that you are too sensitive to the point you believe it. Anything another person does to distort reality falls into the realm of the gaslight effect and the severity is entirely dependent on the depths of that controlling behavior.
Author Ariel Leve provides a great insight into how gaslighting works and a few strategies people can use to avoid it or break free from it entirely in this Guardian article from last year. With the state of our collective reality currently in shambles thanks to the U.S. presidency and an uncomfortable refusal to accept climate change, developing strategies for breaking free of psychological control and torture are vital.
If intentional distortion of reality was this apparent in 1971 there is no reason we can’t continue to be aware of how others attempt to manipulate the world around us. Propaganda, outright denial of facts, and general anger over believing differently are all elements of this behavior.
Dead Weight is a relevant example of why we should remain vigilant in the face of power and seduction. Being told that holding powerful people accountable is wrong because they are war heroes or famous is a form of cultural gaslighting we’re all experiencing on the daily. You can’t bring up John McCain’s very real and appalling track record without someone saying “yes but he was a war hero” in an attempt to negate any harm he could have done.
For my purposes, Dead Weight works on that level as well, that respect is not owed to powerful people simply because of sacrifice. Hollister shows that being a war hero doesn’t make him honorable but it does give him the leverage to manipulate others and situations for his benefit. Because we culturally have this respect for soldiers hammered into us from birth, we don’t stop to examine problematic behavior.
This is not to suggest that soldiers shouldn’t be respected, but that you cannot let “they served our country” absolve them of wrongdoing. The soldiers guilty of abusing and torturing prisoners in Abu Ghraib were serving the country at the time. Police officers who kill unarmed citizens are serving their cities at the time of the murder. The act of serving does not prevent someone from making destructive and outright bad choices.
And at least in the case of Martin Hollister Columbo was there to make sure he paid a price for his misdeeds.
Use Dead Weight to become another Columbo. Hold the powerful accountable, dismantle their gaslighting ways, and stop worshiping them because they happened to do one self-sacrificing thing. One event is not the whole of a person but can alter our perception of them forever.
What we should do is view the whole of the person and let their collective deeds form our impression of them. You can be an honorable general but that does not prevent you from being a thief and a murderer. You can claim to love someone but end up a manipulative monster when you start trying to control how they view the world.
Here’s Dead Weight if you’d like to watch it. Finding Columbo is frustratingly difficult these days.