(CRM2b) Crime, Deviance, and Media II

The relationship between crime and the media is a complex one, often focusing on the more traditional investigation of the (mis)representation of crime and deviance and its impact on society. But while we should always consider the impact of such representations of individuals and groups by media, the exploration of that relationship should also include an investigation of how people might use media to engage in and represent their own such activities, as well as how they might navigate newly acquired deviance or criminal identities as a result being represented in media. This session invited papers that consider the relationship between crime, deviance, and the media from a number of different avenues, including but not limited to: how groups are represented by the press/entertainment/infotainment media; how individuals or groups represent themselves using media; public reactions to crime and deviance; and more. Papers from a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches were encouraged. Tags: Criminologie, Culture, Études Sur Les Médias

Organizer: Duncan Philpot, St. Thomas University; Chair: Duncan Philpot, St. Thomas University

Presentations

Matthew Horrigan, Simon Fraser University

Exhuming Ravenhood

Movieworkers well know BC Housing's prohibition against "ground disturbing activity" at səmiq̓ʷəʔelə, the former Riverview psychiatric hospital. Here, I dig up Ravenhood, the proxy that police procedural Da Vinci's Inquest fabulated for Riverview, and ask: What value does haunting make? This project intersects sociologies of place and media production with aesthetics and art criticism, moving from a ghost criminology that articulates how movie business mines trauma stories, into a reflexive critique. Existing metasociological justifications for ghost criminology do little to account for hedonic attractions that researchers, like other spectators, have to hauntings, attractions that certain "true crime" venues like CBC’s Uncover have moved ahead in discussing. Examining how products of BC's film and television industry have mobilized local reputations, I argue that movies here have extracted a form of trauma capital, creating value by alienating images of decay. I further contend that, connecting scholarly investigations with media cultures, ghost criminology is a fraught but essential turn amid research on sites of violence. Both critical to acknowledge, and insistently confounding, haunting, which I define as the sense that a place will generate a retellable story, drives scholarship even while conditioning it.

Quan Nguyen, University of Calgary

Comparative Perspectives on Youth Crime: Analyzing Media Discourses in Canada and Vietnam

Youth crime, a critical global issue, presents complex socioeconomic influences and significant societal impacts. This study embarks on a comparative analysis of youth crime, examining narratives from two major news platforms: the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC News) and Vietnams leading news outlet, Tuoi Tre News, covering the period from 2012 to 2018. We used discourse analysis to scrutinize 27 articles, 14 from CBC News and 13 from Tuoi Tre News, revealing nine central thematic discourses. These ranged from trends in criminal activity to prevention methods and socioeconomic influences on youth youth crime. Our findings indicate distinct perspectives between the two countries. CBC News predominantly focuses on rehabilitation and recognizes the impact of historical trauma and community-based initiatives. In contrast, Tuoi Tre News offers a more contentious viewpoint, emphasizing policy effectiveness debates and a propensity towards stricter legal deterrence. The divergent approaches reflect each countrys unique sociocultural contexts and developmental challenges, underscoring different historical experiences and societal structures. The study contributes to understanding the complexity of juveniles in an international context, underscoring the need for tailored strategies that address specific national and cultural requirements.

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Non-presenting author: Hieu Ngo, University of Calgary

Hannah Walsh, Queen's University; Jennifer Silcox, King's University College at Western University

Exploring Harmful News Media Depictions of Autistic Filicide Victims in Canada

Inspired by disability scholars’ work identifying the harmful media representations of the killing of autistic victims, we examine news media portrayals of the murders of three autistic children by their parents in Canada. To do this, we conducted a qualitative content analysis of news articles (n=56), which revealed that filicide involving autistic child victims was often framed as an isolated event. Many victims were labelled as ‘difficult’ or ‘aggressive’ and were blamed for the violence inflicted on them. Unlike the victims, the parent perpetrators were often humanized, and their actions were justified with the suggestion that the children precipitated the violence. This study adds to the scant literature surrounding media portrayals of disability hate crimes by demonstrating how crimes against autistic children are often not situated within broader structures of ableism and inequality.