TOPIC AREA 4 - CRIME + THE MEDIA

You could look at the representation of crime across any medium.

• In cinema, could explore the work of a particular director, genre, actor, decade or type of criminality. You could explore the representation of criminality and youth, age, gender, and social economic status. Guy Ritchie and his films may be a popular choice here. Early silent movies focused on crime dramas as the best way to reach the audience – this could be a focus.
• Criminality and humour – Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther Series
  Bond baddies
• In TV, you could look at fictional or non-fictional representations.
• In fiction, you could focus on prison drama and the representation of women and criminality (Bad Girls).
• Popularity of The Bill or other popular crime/ police series. You could explore the success of TV crime drama with an audience reception study into consumption habits and pleasures.
• You could explore criminal characters in East Enders. You could trace popular criminal fictional characters over time to look at typical characteristics that encourage us to love a villain - The Mitchell Brothers for eg.
• You could compare and contrast within the soap or crime series genres. You could explore audience responses to fictional representations with a focus on the notion of realism.
• Representation of serial killers in dramas like Prime Suspect (series 6 about to start – high quality drama with Helen Mirren) and Cracker (Robbie Coltrane as Fitz the police psychologist)
• In factual TV, you could explore the area of criminal behaviour packaged for primetime entertainment: ‘The Cook Report’; reporters who infiltrate underworlds and then make a documentary about it (cowboy rip-off builders make for great TV! ; Crimewatch – Public Service TV that has us on the edge of our seats.
• You could explore ‘deviance amplification’ – a sociological theory that suggests that the more media attention a criminal activity gets, the worse the problem gets ie black on black gun crime.
• You could explore the issue of public attitudes to crime, and the possibility of being a victim of crime – do programmes like Crimewatch make us feel more or less secure?
• You could look at criminal representations on the news – how news stories need a baddie, whether the news shapes our attitudes to so-called baddies, even if found innocent in a court of law. This could be the same in the press.
• You could explore the notion that the media can provoke criminal behaviour, with specific case studies such as the linking of the killing of Jamie Bulger in 1993 with the film Childsplay 3.
• In Music Videos, you could look at the representation of criminals and their behaviour in particular genres and MV’s.

Pros
Great topic, fascinating, masses of stimulus material
New to the syllabus so if you tackle it well, the rewards could be very high

Cons
Essential to have your secondary source material before you launch into this. This must have a secure theoretical perspective, and a clear sense of comparison with other research studies on this topic. This can be tricky with this topic, so it depends on the way you approach it.

Useful references

Murphy and Chibnall British Crime Cinema Routledge
Murphy British Cinema Book BFI 2001
(2 chapters on British crime cinema, post war and the 90’ gangster boom)
Arthur Asa Berger: produced a study that ‘proved’ audiences were more afraid of being victims of crime than was actually necessary, because of watching too many reality TV shows and documentaries about crime.
Dr Kevin Browne: Has undertaken studies into criminal behaviour and whether the media can be blamed for influencing or triggering violence. ‘Proved’ that violent films were a major factor.

See your folder for further ideas.