Meaning-making and crime drama: the case of criminology students

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Author(s)
Wimshurst, Kerry
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2019
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Criminology as a discipline maintains an ambivalent attitude towards mass media. Following from Clifford and White’s call for a more nuanced approach to media criminology, the first section of the article contextualises the present study by outlining the uneasy relationship between mainstream criminology and crime drama. The second section explores themes that arose during research that invited criminal justice students to create an outline for a television crime series that they would enjoy watching themselves. The experience of creating and talking about their crime fictions prompted the participants to reflect on aspects ...
View more >Criminology as a discipline maintains an ambivalent attitude towards mass media. Following from Clifford and White’s call for a more nuanced approach to media criminology, the first section of the article contextualises the present study by outlining the uneasy relationship between mainstream criminology and crime drama. The second section explores themes that arose during research that invited criminal justice students to create an outline for a television crime series that they would enjoy watching themselves. The experience of creating and talking about their crime fictions prompted the participants to reflect on aspects of their own lives in some detail, but relatively little on crime per se. Crime drama, including their own creations, provided the participants with an anchor to talk broadly about subjectivities and identities. The piece concludes with observations on the place of emotional engagement when consumers reflect on crime drama.
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View more >Criminology as a discipline maintains an ambivalent attitude towards mass media. Following from Clifford and White’s call for a more nuanced approach to media criminology, the first section of the article contextualises the present study by outlining the uneasy relationship between mainstream criminology and crime drama. The second section explores themes that arose during research that invited criminal justice students to create an outline for a television crime series that they would enjoy watching themselves. The experience of creating and talking about their crime fictions prompted the participants to reflect on aspects of their own lives in some detail, but relatively little on crime per se. Crime drama, including their own creations, provided the participants with an anchor to talk broadly about subjectivities and identities. The piece concludes with observations on the place of emotional engagement when consumers reflect on crime drama.
View less >
Journal Title
Media International Australia
Volume
171
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
Wimshurst, Kerry, Meaning-making and crime drama: the case of criminology students, Media International Australia, Vol 171, Issue 1, 2019. Copyright 2019 The Authors. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.
Subject
Criminology
Studies in Human Society
Studies in Creative Arts and Writing
Language, Communication and Culture