NCJ Number
168664
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 25 Issue: 3 Dated: 1997 Pages: 195-203
Date Published
1997
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Television crime dramas are part of the media presentation of crime and criminals and represent one element in the construction of reality about crime by the viewing public; in the specific case of homicide, an adequate explanation of homicide causation, beyond the plot motive, is lacking in the dramatic portrayal of homicide.
Abstract
The manner in which crime causes are portrayed, or not portrayed, in television crime dramas is important because this portrayal is part of the ideology of crime that is presented to the public. The nature of the portrayal of crime and stated or implied causes of crime on television dramas are important because they contribute to the prevailing ideology about crime. Since crime in the media is often separated from the social context in which it occurs, crime and its causes are left to be defined entirely by the story line of the particular television drama. Data were obtained on 69 television crime dramas during January and February 1995. The dramas were viewed for very specific information, including the homicide incident, victim characteristics, and homicide plot motivation. Of the 69 television crime dramas, 64 homicide offenders were identified. Results showed the dramas failed to adequately explain the homicides they portrayed, beyond the point of providing a plot motive for the criminal. Little or no effort was made to relate the homicide offender's actions to social, structural, or institutional forces in the general society. Plot motives for homicides encompassed greed, mental illness, self-protection, murder for hire, and vengeance and tended to focus on the individual. The author concludes that viewers of television crime dramas are left with plot motives to explain homicide and that plot motives often legitimize crime-fighting proposals. 19 references and 2 tables