Entertaining Crime: Television Reality Programs

by Mark Fishman (Editor)

Overview

In eleven original studies by social scientists, this is the first volume to focus on television reality crime programming as a genre. Contributors address such questions as: why do these programs exist; what larger cultural meaning do they have; what effect do they have on audiences; and what do they indicate about crime and justice in the late twentieth century? Adaptable at both undergraduate and graduate levels, Entertaining Crime will contribute to discussions of crime and the media, as well as crime in relation to other issues, such as gender, race/ethnicity, and fear of crime.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781351328180
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	02/06/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	218
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Mark Fishman

Table of Contents

I: Introduction; 1: Television Reality Crime Programs: Context and History; II: The Audience for Reality Crime Programs; 2: The Color of Crime: Perceptions of Caucasians' and African-Americans' Involvement in Crime; 3: Crimewatch UK: Women's Interpretations of Televised Violence; 4: Ratings and Reality: The Persistence of the Reality Crime Genre; III: Ideology and Social Control; 5: In The Shadow Of Shadows: Television Reality Crime Programming; 6: Cops: Television Policing as Policing Reality; 7: Armed With the Power of Television: Reality Crime Programming and the Reconstruction of Law and Order in the United States; IV: Crime, Criminals, and Victims; 8: The World of Crime According to Cops; 9: Mixed Messages: Images of Domestic Violence on Reality Television; 10: Crime Fighting by Television in the Netherlands; 11: Témoin N°. 1: Crime Shows on French Television

Editorial Reviews

In 11 original studies, social scientists analyze the variables and larger cultural context of such reality crime television programs as America's Most Wanted, Cops, and Unsolved Mysteries. Lest one thinks this a peculiar US genre, they also study the popularity of such "hyperreality" programs, their audiences, their ideological underpinnings, and their influence on the perception of crime in several European countries. This volume could serve as a provocative primary or supplementary text in courses addressing crime and the media. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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