Is Crime Becoming More a Portrait of a Consumer Product Rather than a Reflection of Reality - Research Proposal Example

?Research Proposal: Is crime becoming more a portrait of a consumer product rather than a reflection of reality? Introduction At any point in time, there always seems to be at least one crime show playing on the television. Crime shows like CSI, and its spin-offs, NCIS, The Mentalist, Law and Order are just a few of these shows which have fascinated audiences from the America as well as in other countries. Corporate entertainment has taken advantage of this fascination, branching into video games and graphic novels depicting these crime shows. These shows have become very popular among fans and therefore very lucrative for the media and entertainment corporations. They have capitalized on the perks and the popularity of these shows through various merchandise and in the process, they have managed to sustain the interest of the audience for these shows. It may be said that today’s media portrait of crime has packaged crime into a commodity or a consumer good – not a reflection of the reality of crime in our society. This paper shall study the thesis that crime has become more a portrait of a consumer product rather than a reflection of reality. This study shall discuss whether these crime shows and games portray reality and whether they mislead. This thesis was chosen because it raises an interesting question into the current modern perspectives of crime. It was chosen because its details will help establish a scholarly and comprehensive understanding of crimes and the role of the media in portraying them, and what perception has the audiences taken from the media towards this topic. Research Questions This study seeks to answer the question: Is crime becoming more a portrait of a consumer product rather than a reflection of reality? Specifically it seeks to answer the following queries: Do the media present crime as an attractive commodity or activity? Does the “CSI effect” (would be explained later on) present an attractive life for students considering college courses and careers? Do the crime shows portray accurate depictions of crime-solving? These questions are worth asking because they boil down to the impact of these crime shows on the public and how these shows change how crimes, crime-solving, and the lives of crime are being conceptualized by society. And as to wither or not these questions can be answered, the qualitative data the study would collect could give an idea on how audience perceive these “crime products” and hopefully give insight on why and how does it affect their judgment and perception towards crime. Literature Review Various studies have been carried out on the media and its impact on crime. These studies consider the impact of crime shows and games and how they have been built by the media and entertainment companies to capitalize on the interest of the audience. In a study by Gregg and Wilson (2010, p. 1), the authors set out to evaluate the impact of the crime show ‘Underbelly’ on the audience. The show is classified as true crime TV. It inhabits a lucrative medium of TV and cinema entertainment, which is true crime. True crime is considered to be a cross media genre; it offers a heightened and fictionalized version of actual criminal events, in this case, the real events surrounding the gangland activities in the Melbourne area from 1995-2004 (Gregg and Wilson, 2010, p. 1). Moralists argue that this show turns criminals and their actions into a form of entertainment. In this case, “true crime as a popular literary form has often been seen as disreputable, and open to the charge of being exploitative, as crimes up to and including mass murder are turned into money-making forms of consumption” (Gregg and Wilson, 2010, p. 7). However, it is also considered a means of addressing anxieties, whether or not they are involved with crime and disorder, or have a broader impact on the audience. The series ‘Underbelly’ is a prime example of how crime has become commoditized. As its draws on real events, it is ultimately an adaptation of the book ‘Leadbelly’ by authors John Silvester and Andrew Rule. The series was a loose adaptation of the books and during its initial season, it faced much reaction from the audience because of the real-life events which it based its stories on (Gregg and Wilson, 2010, p. 7). In Victoria, Australia, it was banned because one of the judges believed that the content of the series might influence some ongoing trials in relation to the crime families involved in the gang wars. This did not stop Roberta Williams, the wife of one of the competing gang members, from taking advantage of her own celebrity through the show by setting up various money-making opportunities (Gregg and Wilson, 2010, p. 8). Merchandise like T-shirts and CD soundtracks of the series were released in order to capitalize on the popularity of the show. In so many ways there was now a blending between reality and fiction, with the real-life personae from the series becoming part of mainstream interviews and infotainment shows (Gregg and Wilson, 2010, p. 8). The ‘Today Tonight’ show featured updates from Roberta Williams, and ‘The Australian Magazine’ also interviewed the suspected killer Mick Gatto. Williams would later even launch a “tell-all” autobiography which the media lapped up (Gregg and Wilson, 2010, p. 8). The audience too found them fascinating and the media knew this; for which reason they continued to feed them with strong promotional schemes for the show and with support for the book launches of “tell-all” accounts from Roberta Wilson and Mick Gatto. In effect, the show portrayed the life of crime far removed from the reality of crime, it portrayed crimes and gang activities as materials for entertainment. The fascination for crime became so extensive with the CSI show and its spin-offs drawing in huge audiences in America and all over the world. In the study by Cavender and Deutsch (2007, p. 79), the authors set out to analyze the debut season of CSI and to consider observations about the program today. Their study sought to evaluate the cultural implications expressed in the crime dramas, mostly in terms of the moral authority of the police and of science. The authors set out to evaluate how CSI utilizes conventions of the crime genre to emphasize the power of the police as a moral force. The authors also set out to illustrate how CSI demonstrates forensic realism, in the process, exerting the importance of science (Cavender and Deustch, 2007, p. 79). The authors were able to establish that TV often conveys images with a cultural impact, based on the different aspects of social life, crime included. CSI has now been portrayed as an interesting peek into the intersection of crime, media, and culture, with the police representing a moral authority against crime and criminals (Cavender and Deutsch, 2007, p. 79). CSI is however a double-edged sword as it portrays science as an invincible proof of crime. This may not always be the case. Experts weigh on the use of forensics portrayed on the show and declare that while some of the techniques are indeed accurate, the rest are not. This is a problem in the actual setting for jurors who fancy themselves experts in forensics after watching episodes of CSI (Cavender and Deutsch, 2007, p. 76). The dilemma for actual individuals involved in the criminal justice system is on how to convince these jurors that their forensic expectations are unrealistic, that the dispensation of justice is not the same as what they see in CSI. In the study by Podlas (2007, p. 451), the so-called CSI-effect is reviewed by the author. He sets forth that the show has significantly impacted on criminal trial evidence and on the administration of justice. CSI is considered a major part of the pop culture scenario and in so many ways it presents a reality which is very much different from the street and from the juridical scenes. CSI, very much like other shows on TV provide an escape for viewers from the reality of their lives. The TV show portrays crimes being solved within a few hours, and how bad guys are arrested and brought to justice. Every episode portrays such scenes, offering short and momentary pleasure for TV viewers. These shows however portray inaccurate pictures of crime, criminality, and the dispensation of justice. The reality is that not all crimes can be solved through DNA and not all crime scenes can yield DNA evidence; crimes do not get solved in an hour or in a matter of days, they usually take months, even years to resolve; fingerprint and DNA matches do not take minutes to match, they often take days or weeks; and scientific evidence cannot be the sole basis of any criminal conviction. CSI has also impacted on students and graduates considering careers, with an increase in criminal forensic enrollees (Podlas, 2007, p. 449). In effect, the media has portrayed criminal forensics as glamorous, noble, heroic, and appealing careers, so much so that they were able to entice high school graduates and other interested career seekers to take on careers in criminal forensics. Through these shows, the impact of the media is seen with the manipulation and commoditization of crime as a means to entice people’s fascination with crime-solving; and for all its powerful portrayals on screen, it fails to express honest and accurate images of crime and the administration of justice. Research Approach People are influenced by what they see, and what they see portrayed in the media will likely impact on their conceptualization of what is real (Dutelle, 2010, p. 32). The media seems to portray crimes as commodities, something to build popular TV shows, games, and merchandise on. The audience and the general population will likely be influenced by the media’s portrayal of crime and the administration of justice. Cultural criminology specifies perspectives, as well as wider orientations in criminology, sociology and criminal justice. In “references the increasing analytic attention than many criminologists now give to popular culture constructions, and especially mass media constructions, of crime and crime control” (Ferrell, 1999, p. 396). In effect, the media and culture has gradually seeped into criminological inquiry; so much so that criminal conferences and journals have given room to culture and media in conventional acts of criminal justice administration. This approach is appropriate for this study because it makes it possible to carry out an analysis using culture and the media in the context of criminal justice system. This study will be a quantitative survey research paper which will be carried out through telephone interviews. It will cover a sample population from different areas in the city and the suburban. The sample shall be drawn randomly through a general population based on households in the city and suburbs. A random sample is advantageous because it ensures that the general population has a chance of being included as sample respondents. This research method will include as much of the general population as possible and will ensure an accurate review of the research topic. In order to ensure the application of ethical processes in this study, this study shall first seek the consent of its respondents by sending them a letter requesting their assistance in the research. This letter shall explain the study to be carried out and the extent of their possible participation. It shall ask for their consent in participating in the study and assure them of the confidentiality of their participation. Respondents refusing participation shall not be convinced or pressured further to participate. Numbers shall be indicated in each questionnaire with each number assigned to the respondents. The matching numbers and names shall be known to the researcher alone. Names shall not appear in the questionnaires, only numbers. After the research shall have been completed, the questionnaires, along with the names and corresponding numbers of respondents shall be kept for a period of five years in a safe and confidential place known only the researcher. After five years, such questionnaires shall be discarded properly. Timeline  *after approval by the research ethics committee, the following process shall follow: Activities July Conduct literature review/pilot testing * August Write introduction/literature review/research methodology/gather data about the population ** September Sending letter to possible respondents/distribution of questionnaires/retrieval of questionnaires/submission of data to statistician *** October Interpretation of data **** November Writing discussion, conclusion, references, appendices ***** December Defense and additional revisions ****** Reference Cavender, G. & Deutsch, S. 2007, CSI and moral authority: The police and science, Crime Media Culture, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 67-81 Dutelle, A. 2010, An introduction to crime scene investigation, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett. Ferrell, J. 1999, Cultural criminology, Annu. Rev. Sociol., volume 25, pp. 395-418 Gregg, M. & Wilson, J. 2010, Underbelly, true crime and the cultural economy of infamy, Media and Cultural Studies, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 411-427 Katz, J. 1988, Chapter 2: Sneaky Thrills, Seductions of crime: moral and sensual attractions in doing Evil, United States: Basic Books McLaughlin, E., Muncie, J., & Hughes, G. 2003, Criminological perspectives: essential readings, California: Sage Publications Podlas, K. 2007, “The CSI Effect”: Exposing the Media Myth, Fordham Intell Prop Media & Ent. L.J., volume 16, pp. 429-465 Read More