Crime, Media, Culture - Essay Example

CRIME, MEDIA, CULTURE by CRIME, MEDIA, CULTURE Introduction The topic under discussion is crime in mediated societies. In contemporary societies, media plays a crucial role in the proliferation and perpetration of a crime. Crime is a major problem in mediated societies because it disrupts social, economic and political activities. A multi-mediated world or society is characterized by codes, signs and symbols, which constantly merge, intertwine and loop in endless streams of representation and simulation. In such a society, criminal justice and crime are phenomena that are mediated (Carrabine, 2008, p. 39). Close to all human experiences in the current world is mediated experiences. Therefore, it is vital to acknowledge the role of media in crime and criminalization. Media plays a role in the criminalization because of its impact on perceptions, which are created through representation. Studies of the relationship between media and crime are focused in understanding issues or factors that are real or false in the representation of crime by media. They are also interested in understanding the perceptions created by the society concerning crime. Media represents crime through culture. In this case, culture refers to the collective meaning and understanding of people in society. The representation of crime through media is relative to people who produce and consume media content (Greer, 2010, p. 21). Media is important because it helps in the creation of perceptions of authenticity and reality. In most of the cases, the society relates and cites representations that are derived from experiences with the media. They also influence true and false representations. The representation of crime through media is important because it influences perceptions. Media has a role and responsibility of reporting crime and criminal activities. However, the media sensationalizes crime with the aim of creating a moral panic. This can also be used to control the behaviors of the public. Information about crime is gathered from media outlets such as television, newspapers, radio and internet (Muncie, Talbot & Walters, 2010, p. 44). This information is supplemented with the experiences of the viewer in the definition of real representation. The media has been accused of representing crime and criminal activities as the norm. Through these representations, criminals are depicted as heroes while law enforcement officers are depicted as villains. Daily news media focuses on incidents rather than conditions. This means that media does not consider ideas. By focusing on incidents, media highlights conflicts rather than solutions (Mason, 2003, p. 69). For instance, the idea that imprisonment should be used to provide opportunities for rehabilitation initially enjoyed popularity from the public. However, correction and justice professionals with support from the media overturned the perception that imprisonment was meant to rehabilitate people to the perception that imprisonment was a punitive way of rehabilitating criminals (Reisinger, 2007, p. 16). A rise in crime solidified public opposition to imprisonment as a correctional strategy. The tendency of media to focus on crime has led to the neglect of human needs of people living in impoverished neighborhoods. These people are deprived security because the media created impressions that security and law enforcement agents use criminal means during the implementation of the law. The tendency of media to sensationalize crime news facilitated the creation of skewed perceptions of reality. Though crime rates declined over the last 3 years, appropriations for more prisons and jails have increased (Barak, Leighton & Flavin, 2010, p. 51). Using a representation, media has promoted culture as a crime. Additionally, there is the reality in crime entertainment and crime news. Critical Overview of the Research The research focuses on the role of media in the facilitation or occurrence of crime. According to the study, contemporary societies are affected by the occurrence of crime. Crime disrupts activities that facilitate the progression of contemporary society (Melossi, 2008, p. 85). The aim of the research was to comprehend the influence of media on crime. The researchers found that media influences crime through the creation of perceptions, which are created through representation (Cochrane & Talbot, 2008, p. 19). Media and crime are related through the responsibility and duty of media to report criminal activities. Additionally, information about crime is readily available in media outlets such as television and newspaper. These are supplemented by the experiences of the viewer in the definition of real representation. One of the aspects of crime that was evaluated was cultural criminology. This element was studied based on research by Jeff Ferrell of the Criminal Justice Department. In this case, the researcher outlined four questions that required evaluation. The first question is focused on issues of image, representation and meaning in crime and crime control. The second question is focused on stylized structures and experiential dynamics of illegal subcultures. This refers to the symbolic criminalization of forms of popular culture. It is also focused on mediated construction of crime control issues. The third question is concerned with emerging areas of evaluation or inquiry within cultural criminology. The fourth question is focused on the culture of policing and media. The question incorporates the association between crime control, crime and cultural space (Ferrell, Hayward & Young, 2007, p. 22). An evaluation of these questions led to the finding that media through its function of representation has promoted a culture of crime. Additionally, mediated constructions of crime and representations of crime are considered as real, and their consequences are real. The study also focused on the representation of crime through police series. A study on young people and police series seeks to answer a number of questions. The first question is the perceived representation of crime and criminals by the media. The second question is the racial representation of crime in police series and the third question is the separation of true and false ideas in the police series. Evaluation of these questions led to the finding that police television series try to depict crime and the society in reality (Ferrell, Hayward & Young, 2007, p. 29). In most of the cases, the city takes center stage. Racial representation in the television series makes minorities in the population to be victims. This causes the inclusion of stereotypes in law enforcement. Though the representations may be accurate in some of the instances, there are cases of misrepresentation. An evaluation of the relationship between crime and media should consider the identification of the forms of crime and the type of media. In response to the issue of the type of media, there are three mediated spheres of mass media that interact with crime. These are news, entertainment and internet platforms (De Bruin, 2010, p. 312). These spheres can be subdivided into sub-spheres depending on the construction of crime and discourse. In response to the form of crime, the different types of media have the potential to interact with a range of crimes and crime control activities. There are two common forms of crime representation in the media. The first includes street crimes and felonies, which usually include some forms of violence. The second form is white collar crime or offences, which involve the violation of private or public trust. This form of representation focuses on criminals and their victims. Annotated Bibliography De Bruin, J. (2010). Young People and Police Series: A Multicultural Television Audience Study. Crime, Media, Culture, 6 (3), 309-328. According to this article, police television series are popular television drama genre in a number of countries. Joost De Bruin set out to analyze interviews conducted on different youths drawn from different ethnic backgrounds. The study was set in Netherlands. The study subjects were asked about two popular police television series Spangen and Baantjer. The aim of the researcher was to provide insights into a field that has not been studied adequately. The study provides insights into how people interpret and watch police television series. The study found out that the subjects interpreted Dutch police television series using two strategies. In the first case, the subjects watched the television series with a friend and interpreted the series using hermeneutic narrative codes. The second strategy was the use of cultural narrative codes to outline their experiences regarding law enforcement agents, crime, cultural differences and racism (De Bruin, 2010, p. 310). Dutch police series provide audiences with opportunities to express salient themes within the highly multicultural society. Ferrell, J. (1999). Cultural Criminology. Annual Review of Sociology, 25, 395-418. This research is an exploration of emerging orientations in criminology, sociology and criminal justice. The article also explores the convergence of criminal and cultural trends in contemporary social life. The study is based on perspectives from postmodern theories, critical theories, cultural studies and integrationist sociology. The orientation adopted by the study highlights issues of meaning, image and representation in the association of crime control and crime. Most importantly, cultural criminology focuses on stylized frameworks and empirical dynamics of illegal subcultures. The researcher targeted the criminalization of the different forms of popular culture, and the construction of crime control and crime. In addition, the researcher focused on emerging areas of investigation within cultural criminology. These areas include the emergence of situated audiences for crime and situated media. Cultural criminology is a methodological, theoretical and interventionist approach to studying crimes that seek to comprehend crime within its cultural context (Ferrell, 1999, p. 398). The researchers considered the agencies of controlling crime and crime as cultural products. The aim of cultural criminology is to outline the effects of the powers that construct crime. These include laws created and the association of moral entrepreneurship, transgression, moral innovation and crime. The study found out that crime control and crime are shaped by the significance assigned by the culture. Conclusion Multi-mediated societies are characterized by codes, signs and symbols, which change constantly. In these societies, the representation of crime and criminal justice is usually a mediated phenomenon. A critical investigation of crime and media should consider the complex intersections between criminalization, crime and control, in addition to media and representation. The critical examination should also focus on two critical aspects of the relationship between crime and media, the forms of crime and types of media. The study found that media influences crime through representation. Media tries to depict crime and the society in reality. Additionally, the tendency of media to sensationalize crime has contributed to the creation of skewed ideas of reality. Bibliography Barak, G., Leighton, P., & Flavin, J. (2010). Class, Race, Gender, and Crime: The Social Realities of Justice in America. Lanham, MD, Rowman & Littlefield. Carrabine, E. (2008). Crime, Culture and the Media. Cambridge, Polity. Cochrane, A., & Talbot, D. (2008). Security. Maidenhead, Berskhire, England, Open University Press in Association with the Open University. De Bruin, J. (2010). Young People and Police Series: A Multicultural Television Audience Study. Crime, Media, Culture, 6(3), 309-328. Ferrell, J. (1999). Cultural Criminology. Annual Review of Sociology, 25, 395-418. Ferrell, J., Hayward, K. J., & Young, J. (2007). Cultural Criminology: An Investigation. Los Angeles: Sage. Greer, C. (2010). Crime and Media: A Reader. London, Routledge. Mason, P. (2003). Criminal Visions. Collumpton: Willan. Melossi, D. (2008). Controlling Crime, Controlling Society: Thinking About Crime in Europe and America. Cambridge, Polity. Muncie, J., Talbot, D., & Walters, R. (2010). Crime: Local and Global. Cullompton, UK, Willan Publishing. Reisinger, D. S. (2007). Crime and Media in Contemporary France. West Lafayette, Ind, Purdue University Press. Read More