This blog uses the word “trope” a lot. Let’s pause for a bit to talk about what a trope is and does. In the knowledge fields of rhetoric and poetics, a trope refers to any device that performs a substitutive role. That means a trope is a kind of replacement: a word or phrase that … Continue reading Glossary: What is a trope, and what do tropes have to do with crime?
Just a tidbit I came across: data analysis of crime TV dramas indicates that fictional victims are overwhelmingly white women
U.S. Television’s “Mean World” for White Women: The Portrayal of Gender and Race on Fictional Crime Dramas, July 2015, Sex Roles 73(1):70-82. Authors: Scott Parrott and Caroline Titcomb Parrott From the research abstract: A quantitative content analysis examined gender and racial stereotypes concerning victim and offender status in fictional crime-based dramas from the 2010–2013 seasons … Continue reading Just a tidbit I came across: data analysis of crime TV dramas indicates that fictional victims are overwhelmingly white women
The ‘gateway body’ and crime narratives: trafficking in white feminism
When reading Tanya Horeck’s Justice on Demand earlier this year, a reference to something called “the gateway body” caught my interest. Horeck’s book, which I reviewed here, is a media-studies look at true crime in the current post-tv, serialized and digitally-networked era. One chapter in that book focuses on the way popular true crime series, … Continue reading The ‘gateway body’ and crime narratives: trafficking in white feminism
Edmond Locard’s “Exchange Principle”
Edmond Locard (1877-1966) was a French criminologist and is considered the “father of forensic science.” His most famous legacy is probably “Locard’s Exchange Principle,” which is the basic notion that “Every contact leaves a trace.” More specifically, whenever two objects come into contact, there is always a transfer of material. This principle is a foundation … Continue reading Edmond Locard’s “Exchange Principle”
How important is DNA collection after all? A look at Sameena Mulla’s ‘Violence of Care’
Earlier this month I posted a reading list that I’ve been working on, which included Sameena Mulla’s The Violence of Care. I want to focus on one particular chapter from that book that really resonated with some other things I’ve been reading and re-watching, namely the Netflix mini-series Unbelievable and the nonfiction reporting the series … Continue reading How important is DNA collection after all? A look at Sameena Mulla’s ‘Violence of Care’
What I’m Reading: March Update
I did pretty well with getting through my handful of books I was trying to read earlier this month. I think posting my reading list actually helped me get through reading more efficiently. So here is another mini reading list for books I'm working on: The Evidence of Things Unseen, by James Baldwin I've recently … Continue reading What I’m Reading: March Update
Why is the spy trade so white and male? (and RIP John Le Carre)
Why is the spy genre -- in nonfiction history and journalism as well as in fiction -- so male and so white? I found myself wondering this recently while reading Broker, Trader, Lawyer, Spy: The Secret World of Corporate Espionage (2010, Harper Collins), by Eamon Javers. It’s a good book: generally well researched and well … Continue reading Why is the spy trade so white and male? (and RIP John Le Carre)
Bibliography of Resources
Running List of resources I’ve highlighted: These are books and articles I’ve engaged with in posts, listed in alphabetical order by author. If you have recommendations for critical (secondary) sources on crime discourses, please tweet at me or comment on this page. I’ll take those recommendations into consideration for future posts. And I'll be continuing … Continue reading Bibliography of Resources
Book Review: ‘Justice on Demand: True Crime in the Digital Streaming Era,’ by Tanya Horeck
I want to point to a fascinating and thoroughly researched study of true crime media. Tanya Horeck’s Justice on Demand: True Crime in the Digital Streaming Era (2019) takes a media studies approach to examining the current trends in popular digital media platforms that use the true crime genre as a framing or delivery device … Continue reading Book Review: ‘Justice on Demand: True Crime in the Digital Streaming Era,’ by Tanya Horeck
Checking out Crimereads as a one-stop-shop for popular crime books and media news
Have you been following the writing and curating from Crimereads.com? [Note: this is part of the post category I’m dubbing “Making an Appeal” (get it?!), which is to highlight the projects (sites, podcasts, other goings on) I come across that are relevant to this blog’s topic (true/crime/etc.) and seem worth checking out.] What I think … Continue reading Checking out Crimereads as a one-stop-shop for popular crime books and media news
