Experiences of crime in fictional media

Season 1 poster for Hannibal

Police dramas have gained increased popularity with the general media consumer. These shows portray the criminal justice system and its processes through the point of view of the police. Crime is seen as entertainment, following protagonists solving the murder and catching the “bad guy” entices us. While there is a long list of police misinterpretations I want to address with entertainment media, I wish to discuss the criminals that are portrayed in these police dramas. The crime drama TV series, Hannibal, is a Psychological thriller/horror which follows a somewhat police procedural structure. Inspired by the characters from Thomas Harris’ novel, Red Dragon, the show centres on the FBIs investigation of violent crime and cannibalistic serial killer and psychiatrist Dr Hannibal Lecter.

The criminals depicted in the show do not seem to adhere to classical theory as a cause of crime, most seem to be psychopathic and act irrationally. In fact the show mostly delves into positivist theories of criminology. The murders committed by serial killers are calculated, precise and work towards reaching a particular goal with every person they kill. This seems to imply that ‘Hannibal’ follows a psychological explanation of crime, where the result of committing a crime depends on a person’s behaviour or personality which they inherited from their social environment (White and Perrone 2010).However, there are some criminals in the show that seem to possess a potential to commit crime and therefore challenges the audience to determine if the willingness to commit crime is a result of either nature or nurture. As this TV show is only making one thesis into the cause of crime, viewers may have a narrow understanding of what drives a person to commit a crime, crimes that relate to strain theory (property crime) and other theories of crime are not depicted therefore fictional media only focuses on a small scope of criminal behaviour (Marsh & Melville 2009).  

Additionally, Marsh and Melville (2009) discusses the idea that crime dramas and police procedurals tend to show that violent crimes are more predominant. This can lead some to believe that the number of murders and serial killers running loose suggest a reality where these sorts of crime happen in almost a weekly basis. Our fears of criminals are heightened and we fully put our trust in state institutions because they are our moral enforcers and the only group capable of resolving such issues.

On another note, a high number of cases seem to be resolved by the end of show. Only a few characters like ‘Hannibal’ really get away with the crime they committed. This leads the public to believe that violent crimes are solved in an efficient manner, but in reality most criminal investigations of serial killers would take even years to resolve. For example, Ted Bundy was a serial killer and rapist in the US who murdered women. His span of killings would take place from 1974 to 1978 (Montaldo n.d.). This shows that television disproportionately depicts the efficiency of resolving crimes in fiction and reality (Marsh & Melville 2009). People therefore put pressures on state institutions to solve crime quickly.

Is that beef?

With criminals killing in such grotesque methods and for the show to be leaving graphic images for the audiences to witness, we begin to perceive all criminals of violent crime as monsters with evil intent. In fact, Hannibal does not seem to have a clear reason as to why he is killing and eating people, his actions imply that he sees humans as lesser beings and therefore the show illustrates him as the metaphysical form of evil (Oleson 2006). Even though we should fear serial killers and criminals, the media’s antagonising nature of criminals allows society to justify turning its back on them. As we are moulded by the media to exclude deviants from our social structures, the media and the society become criminogenic. So is the price of our entertainment the possibility of more criminal behaviour?   

References

Marsh, I. and Melville, G. (2009). Crime, justice and the media. 1st ed. London: Routledge.

Montaldo, C. (n.d.). Ted Bundy: Profile of a Serial Killer. [online] About.com Crime. Available at: http://crime.about.com/od/serial/p/tedbundy.htm [Accessed 1 Jun. 2014].

Oleson, J. (2006). The devil made me do it: the criminological theories of Hannibal Lecter, part three. J Crim Just Pop Cult, 13, pp.117-33.

White, R. and Perrone, S. (2010). Crime, criminality and criminal justice. 1st ed. South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford University Press.

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