1.4
Film: Different media represent crime in different ways such as film and newspapers. Film for one
would often be categorized as fictional in its representation of crime. Films usually exaggerate
crimes for the sake of plot and to gravitate towards audiences' entertainment. An example of this
would be the case of Jamie Bulger. The two child perpetrators were accused of being indoctrinated
by horror movies in cinemas they were frequenting. The movies were to be blamed for their actions
as they were manipulated to commit their deeds although the movie was merely fictional and was
also age restricted, so they were too young to watch it. This also shows how fictitious media could be
used to indoctrinate and make those without the capacity to think properly commit bad actions
shown to them in movies. In the case study given, if a movie were to be made based on white collar
crime, it would most likely be exaggerated to the point that it could not be thought of as reality. This
would only be for the sake of the audience's entertainment.
Newspaper: When newspapers report on crime, the crimes they are representing will often be
based on facts as they would be reporting on an instance or occurrence that may pique the interest
of your average reader who wants to stay informed about local, national, or global news. Though,
newspapers and tabloids would often use words that would be thought to exaggerate the news
being spread. Newspapers and tabloids would use superlatives and extreme phrasing on a topic to
evoke emotions from readers. Consequently, this could cause moral panic. Moral panic occurs when
issues (whether it be minor or not) are magnified – the perception of threat that the issue was is
then enlarged as media spread fear. This may be because newspapers are a dying form of media so
methods of engaging audiences would be extreme. Though this would often reflect the company
publishing the news, e.g., “the Guardian” would often be more informative and would not try to
evoke strong emotions from readers while “the Sun” would (though it would still be as informative).
If the crime committed by an ethnic citizen were to be published on newspapers, the news may
focus on the ethnicity to evoke strong emotions of anger and bigotry from readers who are “native
to the UK,” most often this would stereotypically be middle aged white men in the middle class and
above.
Television: The representation of crime on television is often based on facts or fiction depending on
the channel (whether it be a news channel or not). News channels are like newspapers due to the
methods of representation on crime. This is because they are both form of media where the
company can control the narrative of the crime and issues relating to it, a current example would be
Russia’s invade to Ukraine. Russia and Putin are being villainized (and rightfully so) while Ukraine and
Zelenski are being subject to praise for resisting the oppressive forces of the large country. This can
be from news channels such as BBC, Sky News or Channel 4 News. This would link to how news
channels can impact the changing public concerns & attitudes. This is because if someone were not
aware of the reality of a crime, their perceptions of it would alter as they only know the crime from
news channels and not from reality. If the crime committed by an ethnic person were to be
broadcasted on news channels, the news may focus on the ethnicity and use harsh words to evoke
strong emotions of anger and bigotry from readers who are “native to the UK,” most often this
would stereotypically be middle aged white men in the middle class and above.
On the other hand, non-news channels which broadcast shows can portray crime akin to films,
overblown stories which do not reflect reality at all. This would be to take a grasp of the average
watcher.
Electronic Gaming: Video games often portray many types of crimes, in different types of games
whether it be open world games (Grand Theft Auto) or shooter games (Call of Duty). To start, Call of
Film: Different media represent crime in different ways such as film and newspapers. Film for one
would often be categorized as fictional in its representation of crime. Films usually exaggerate
crimes for the sake of plot and to gravitate towards audiences' entertainment. An example of this
would be the case of Jamie Bulger. The two child perpetrators were accused of being indoctrinated
by horror movies in cinemas they were frequenting. The movies were to be blamed for their actions
as they were manipulated to commit their deeds although the movie was merely fictional and was
also age restricted, so they were too young to watch it. This also shows how fictitious media could be
used to indoctrinate and make those without the capacity to think properly commit bad actions
shown to them in movies. In the case study given, if a movie were to be made based on white collar
crime, it would most likely be exaggerated to the point that it could not be thought of as reality. This
would only be for the sake of the audience's entertainment.
Newspaper: When newspapers report on crime, the crimes they are representing will often be
based on facts as they would be reporting on an instance or occurrence that may pique the interest
of your average reader who wants to stay informed about local, national, or global news. Though,
newspapers and tabloids would often use words that would be thought to exaggerate the news
being spread. Newspapers and tabloids would use superlatives and extreme phrasing on a topic to
evoke emotions from readers. Consequently, this could cause moral panic. Moral panic occurs when
issues (whether it be minor or not) are magnified – the perception of threat that the issue was is
then enlarged as media spread fear. This may be because newspapers are a dying form of media so
methods of engaging audiences would be extreme. Though this would often reflect the company
publishing the news, e.g., “the Guardian” would often be more informative and would not try to
evoke strong emotions from readers while “the Sun” would (though it would still be as informative).
If the crime committed by an ethnic citizen were to be published on newspapers, the news may
focus on the ethnicity to evoke strong emotions of anger and bigotry from readers who are “native
to the UK,” most often this would stereotypically be middle aged white men in the middle class and
above.
Television: The representation of crime on television is often based on facts or fiction depending on
the channel (whether it be a news channel or not). News channels are like newspapers due to the
methods of representation on crime. This is because they are both form of media where the
company can control the narrative of the crime and issues relating to it, a current example would be
Russia’s invade to Ukraine. Russia and Putin are being villainized (and rightfully so) while Ukraine and
Zelenski are being subject to praise for resisting the oppressive forces of the large country. This can
be from news channels such as BBC, Sky News or Channel 4 News. This would link to how news
channels can impact the changing public concerns & attitudes. This is because if someone were not
aware of the reality of a crime, their perceptions of it would alter as they only know the crime from
news channels and not from reality. If the crime committed by an ethnic person were to be
broadcasted on news channels, the news may focus on the ethnicity and use harsh words to evoke
strong emotions of anger and bigotry from readers who are “native to the UK,” most often this
would stereotypically be middle aged white men in the middle class and above.
On the other hand, non-news channels which broadcast shows can portray crime akin to films,
overblown stories which do not reflect reality at all. This would be to take a grasp of the average
watcher.
Electronic Gaming: Video games often portray many types of crimes, in different types of games
whether it be open world games (Grand Theft Auto) or shooter games (Call of Duty). To start, Call of
