DOCSLIB.ORG

Cinema, Race, and Justice: a Qualitative Analysis of Selected Themes

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Cinema, Race, and Justice: a Qualitative Analysis of Selected Themes East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 8-2007 Cinema, Race, and Justice: A Qualitative Analysis of Selected Themes. Katherine Clay Thompson East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Film and Media Studies Commons, and the Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons Recommended Citation Thompson, Katherine Clay, "Cinema, Race, and Justice: A Qualitative Analysis of Selected Themes." (2007). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2109. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2109 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Cinema, Race, and Justice: A Qualitative Analysis of Selected Themes ____________________________ A thesis presented to the faculty of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Criminal Justice and Criminology ___________________________ by Katherine Clay Thompson August 2007 ___________________________ Michael Braswell, Ph.D., Chair Larry Miller, Ph.D. John Whitehead, Ph.D. Keywords: Films, Race, Restorative Justice, Peacemaking ABSTRACT Cinema, Race, and Justice: A Qualitative Analysis of Selected Themes by Katherine Clay Thompson The purpose of this study was to examine 7 different crime and justice films and provide a content analysis incorporating restorative justice and peacemaking perspectives. The 7 films examined in this study included 12 Angry Men, A Family Thing, American History X, American Me, Crash, Shawshank Redemption, and Traffic. The researcher examined the films and used content analysis to examine the behaviors and actions of the characters. The films were examined using 5 different analytical themes: “embracing change,” “second chances,” “hope,” “connectedness,” and “becoming more human.” The current study found the 7 films examined all displayed both restorative justice and peacemaking perspectives. 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First I would like to think my parents and family for all of their support while I began the adventure of graduate school. Without your constant support for this chapter in my life as well as the last few months with this project, it would not have been possible to make it through. Thank you not only for supporting during the last two years, but for always believing in me and the reinforcement that I am capable of doing anything that I set my mind to. My experience the past two years have been absolutely amazing. This year I am so grateful for the friendships that I have developed with so many people especially Maryann and Ashley. I am in debt to the two of you for me keeping smiling and laughing throughout it all. Without the two of you I would have lost my sanity long ago. Thank so much for all the memories and the many more that will come. I would also like to thank the faculty members who have helped me with this project as well as my other experiences in graduate school. Dr. Braswell, thank you for all of the time that you have invested in this project and all the “sermons” that were given along the way. I am so grateful for all of the “life” advice. Dr. Whitehead and Dr. Miller, thank you for all of the hard work you put into this project and all the advice that was always given. Dr. Ellwanger, I appreciate all the help and advice you have given me. 3 CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………. 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………………… 3 LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………... 7 LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………. 8 Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………….. 9 Problem Statement………………………………………………… 11 Current Study……………………………………………………… 12 Theoretical Perspective…………………………………………… 12 Five Restorative Justice and Peacemaking Themes………………. 15 Embracing Change………………………………………. 15 Taking Second Chances…………………………………. 16 Hope…………………………………………………….. 16 Connectedness………………………………………….. 16 Becoming More Human……………………………….. 17 Selected Films…………………………………………………. 17 Limitations…………………………………………………….. 18 2. LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………… 19 4 Police………………………………………………………………. 20 Films and Police……………………………………………. 22 Courts…………………………………………………………….. 23 Prosecutorial Misconduct………………………………… 23 Eyewitness Testimony………………………………..….. 28 Defense Representation..……………………………….... 28 Race and Jury Selection….………………………………. 30 Issues with Discrimination on Juries…..………………… 31 Jury Instructions………………………………………….. 32 Effects of Diversity………………………………………. 34 Jury Decision Making Process………………………….... 36 Films and the Courts……………………………………….. 37 Corrections…………………….………………………………….. 38 Deprivations of Imprisonment……………………............. 38 Psychological Effects……………………………………… 42 Overcrowding……………………………………………… 43 Gangs in Prisons…………………………………………… 45 Correctional Officers……………………………………… 49 Prison Films………………………………………………. 53 Summary…………………………………………………………… 54 3. MATERIALS AND METHODS..…………………………………….. 55 Participant…………………………………………………………. 55 Instruments………………………………………………………… 55 5 Crash……………………………………………………… 55 12 Angry Men…………………………………………….. 56 A Family Thing……………………………………………… 57 American History X………………………………………… 58 American Me………………………………………………… 58 Shawshank Redemption……………………………………… 59 Traffic…….…………………………………………………. 60 Method……………………………………………………………… 61 Summary…………………………………………………………… 63 4. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF SELECTED THEMES…….….. 64 Embracing Change………………………………………………… 64 Second Chances…………………………………………………… 72 Hope………………………………………………………………. 80 Connectedness……………………………………………………. 86 Becoming More Human…………………………………………. 93 Summary………………………………………………………… 100 5. CONCLUSION……………………………………………………… 102 Implications……………………………………………………… 103 Limitations……………………………………………………….. 104 Recommendations for Future Research………………………… 105 Summary…….………………………………………………….. 106 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………… 108 VITA……………………………………………………………………... 122 6 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Observed Film Theme Analysis……………………….................... 61 7 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Embracing Change………………………………………………… 68 2. Second Chances…………………………….…………………….. 76 3. Hope………………………….…………………………………... 82 4. Connectedness……………………………………………………. 89 5. Becoming More Human………………………………………….. 96 8 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This study provides a content analysis of a selected group of films incorporating restorative justice and peacemaking themes. By focusing on seven different films, six different restorative justice and peacemaking themes are examined. The importance of the media is often understated. Often many members of society form their beliefs and knowledge on a variety of topics due to an array of topics that are covered in the media. There are many current films about crime, justice, and criminal behavior. A substantial amount of the information and perceptions about crime and the criminal justice system comes from scenes and characters the public have observed in a variety of different movies. The society in which we live has become consumed with forensic science, law breakers, victims, and those law enforcement agencies that help control and solve crimes. Too often, the public is influenced by how the characters are portrayed (Dowler, 2003). Although there may be substantial criticism of films perceived to encourage bad behaviors in our youth as well as displaying too much violence, in general films that are exceptionally well done may also help teach the viewing audience something not only about society and the criminal justice process but ourselves as well (Shipley & Cavender, 2001). The importance of such films is often understated. Through more fully understanding the lessons such films offer us, we my be encouraged to make small changes that lead to larger, more peaceful ways of living in the world. Many films are produced each year that stereotype different races, ethnicities, and genders. In the majority of films, African American males are portrayed as characters 9 who are drug dealers, violent offenders, and pimps. Examples include, Boyz in the Hood and last year’s Academy Award nominee film, Hustle and Flow. An Oscar was awarded to Hustle and Flow for a song, entitled, “It’s hard out here for a pimp.” In the film, Panic Room, Jody Foster’s character is trapped in her house when it is being invaded by burglars. The film depicts classic American stereotypes when violent, dangerous black males enter a white woman’s house with force (Brown, 2003). The films Scarface and Traffic show how many Hispanic males are depicted as being involved in drug networks as well as gang activity. After 9-11, many film roles cast Middle Eastern men as terrorists. Films such as Munich, Flight 93, and World Trade Center are based on true events in which persons of Middle Eastern descent plot to harm and kill citizens from other countries. At the same time, many Italian men are cast in movies in which they are represented as being members of the Mafia. While some of the Italian mafia movies are loosely based on true stories, the Godfather trilogy as well as Goodfellas shows how Italian men are depicted as enforcers and hitmen and are often feared by the rest of the community. Women-- typically white women-- are portrayed in many films primarily as victims.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Grimdark Magazine Issue 27 PDF
    1 Contents From the Editor Beth Tabler Outliers A.M. Shine Crossing the Monster Kaaron Warren Island of Sin Jack Murphy An Interview with Chuck Wendig Beth Tabler The Tesseract Evan Marcroft An Interview with Paul Tremblay Beth Tabler The Jewels of the Mermaids Marisca Pichette The Case for Conflict Sadie Hartmann Tubes Jeremy C. Shipp An Interview with Graham Masterton 2 Beth Tabler Gingerbread Lindsay King-Miller 3 From the Editor BETH TABLER Hey, there. My name is Beth Tabler, and I am guest editing the horror crossover issue of Grimdark Magazine. As a young connoisseur of all horror and science fiction movies inappropriate for my age, I remember seeing Poltergeist for the first time when I was seven years old. I had snuck down to the television while my folks were sleeping. I never quite got over demonic trees, clowns, and an old woman screaming, "Carol Anne." I remember reading my first Stephen King book, Salem's Lot, at 12. I knew at that moment that my reading life would never be the same. I remember the first grimdark book I read at 25; it was Mark Lawrence’s Prince of Thorns, by the way. I realized sometimes heroes aren't heroic, bad guys can be protagonists, and life is full of a lot more gray than I had thought. Horror and grimdark are a part of who I am and how I see the world. They are my jam. The themes of horror and grimdark have always gone hand in hand. But often, a thin gray line separates the two, a place where the story does not fall one way or another but sits on that terrifying spot between the two, where you can't quite tell what is what.
    [Show full text]
  • Genre and Australian Film
    Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-61327-9 - Film in Australia: An Introduction Albert Moran and Errol Vieth Excerpt More information 1 Genre and Australian Film The purpose of criticism by genres is not so much to classify as to clarify such traditions and affinities, thereby bringing out a large number of liter- ary relationships that would not be noticed as long as there was no context established for them. Frye 1957: 154 When we examine literature from the point of view of literary genre, we engage in a very particular enterprise: we discover a principle operative in a number of texts, rather than what is unique about each of them. Todorov 1975: 19 Why Genre? The aim of this book is to promote the study of Australian feature films in terms of genre. As Todorov suggests, genre is synonymous with the idea of kind, a subspecies of the totality of a particular cultural output. While his and Frye’s remarks are developed in relation to poetry, drama and prose rather than to cinema, nevertheless many elements to do with these genres are also, broadly, applicable to film genre. Indeed, one significant linguistic development in the past thirty years has been the everyday adaptation of the French term ‘genre’.In times past, film genres had been popularly recognized only in their specificity: this film is a comedy and that one is science fiction. Now, there is a common term that identifies film types such as comedy and horror as belonging to a larger class or kind. The French term genre has become an ordinary, taken-for-granted word in the English language used as an immediate way to designate a film kind or type.
    [Show full text]
  • State Officials Tour Saxon Harbor by RICHARD JENKINS Into Place
    Call (906) 932-4449 Getting to the next level Ironwood, MI Pistons land ex-Raptors coach Dwane Redsautosales.com Casey with 5-year deal SPORTS • 9 DAILY GLOBE Tuesday, June 12, 2018 Scattered thunderstorms yourdailyglobe.com | High: 73 | Low: 52 | Details, page 2 State officials tour Saxon Harbor By RICHARD JENKINS into place. It’s great to see section of the Oronto [email protected] the harbor is going to come Creek project, according to SAXON, Wis. – Sur- back,” Meyers said. “It’s a Peterson, but the new prise and delight seemed lot of money that is being floodplain has been built to be the dominant emo- spent and it could’ve went and the creek returned to tions Friday, as Iron Coun- the other way, it could have its former channel. ty’s state representatives been, ‘Nope, there just isn’t With the creek back in saw firsthand how much money to do this.’ its channel, and the sedi- progress had been made “But Iron County is a ment and debris removed, rebuilding Saxon Harbor small county in northern Peterson said the creek was since it was destroyed in Wisconsin and this is an reopened May 29. the July 2016 storm. economic agent for Iron The DOT is restoring “It’s really wonderful to County. It not only brings the section of creek as part come down here and final- people to the county who of its project rebuilding the ly see that the hard work of get to see the great beauty County A bridge over all of the people from the of the area, but it brings Oronto Creek.
    [Show full text]
  • Videos About Prisons &
    Videos about Prisons & the Criminal Justice System *** Aimee's Crossing Female juvenile offenders have the fastest growing rates of incarceration; yet, media access to their stories is extremely limited because they are minors. However, Governor Rod Blagojevich, of Illinois, has granted Academy Award® nominated and national Emmy award-winning filmmaker Tod Lending (Nomadic Pictures) unprecedented access to a female juvenile detention center (prison) in Illinois in order to tell this story. In this provocative and very personal feature documentary, AIMEE’S CROSSING, Lending will focus on Aimee Myers, and her family, through her first year of incarceration and a year after her release. Lending will film her therapy sessions and examine how the juvenile justice system contends with her history of domestic and sexual abuse, substance abuse, and mental health issues (she is diagnosed as bi-polar). After Aimee’s release, the film will examine what support she requires from her family, the justice system, and her community in order to change her negative behaviors and become a productive citizen. *** Autumn's Eyes A compelling documentary about a 3-year-old girl who tries to navigate through the harsh reality of severe poverty, her teenage mother’s incarceration and looming foster care. Charming, obedient, and unable to fully comprehend the severity of her environment, Autumn is shielded from her own reality. Caught between the innocence of childhood and the growing necessity to be an adult, she represents hope to a family of women caught in the cyclical web of abuse, incarceration and poverty. AUTUMN’S EYES captures this impressionable time in this child’s life, and ask the greater question: is there truly hope for a child growing up in these circumstances? Through the perspective of a little girl, AUTUMN’S EYES explores this perilous state of hope.
    [Show full text]
  • Hartford Public Library DVD Title List
    Hartford Public Library DVD Title List # 24 Season 1 (7 Discs) 2 Family Movies: Family Time: Adventures 24 Season 2 (7 Discs) of Gallant Bess & The Pied Piper of 24 Season 3 (7 Discs) Hamelin 24 Season 4 (7 Discs) 3:10 to Yuma 24 Season 5 (7 Discs) 30 Minutes or Less 24 Season 6 (7 Discs) 300 24 Season 7 (6 Discs) 3-Way 24 Season 8 (6 Discs) 4 Cult Horror Movies (2 Discs) 24: Redemption 2 Discs 4 Film Favorites: The Matrix Collection- 27 Dresses (4 Discs) 40 Year Old Virgin, The 4 Movies With Soul 50 Icons of Comedy 4 Peliculas! Accion Exploxiva VI (2 Discs) 150 Cartoon Classics (4 Discs) 400 Years of the Telescope 5 Action Movies A 5 Great Movies Rated G A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2 Discs) 5th Wave, The A.R.C.H.I.E. 6 Family Movies(2 Discs) Abduction 8 Family Movies (2 Discs) About Schmidt 8 Mile Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter 10 Bible Stories for the Whole Family Absolute Power 10 Minute Solution: Pilates Accountant, The 10 Movie Adventure Pack (2 Discs) Act of Valor 10,000 BC Action Films (2 Discs) 102 Minutes That Changed America Action Pack Volume 6 10th Kingdom, The (3 Discs) Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter 11:14 Brother, The 12 Angry Men Adventures in Babysitting 12 Years a Slave Adventures in Zambezia 13 Hours Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, The 13 Towns of Huron County, The: A 150 Year Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad Heritage Adventures of Mickey Matson and the 16 Blocks Copperhead Treasure, The 17th Annual Lane Automotive Car Show Adventures of Milo and Otis, The 2005 Adventures of Pepper & Paula, The 20 Movie
    [Show full text]
  • Hartford Public Library DVD Title List
    Hartford Public Library DVD Title List # 20 Wild Westerns: Marshals & Gunman 2 Days in the Valley (2 Discs) 2 Family Movies: Family Time: Adventures 24 Season 1 (7 Discs) of Gallant Bess & The Pied Piper of 24 Season 2 (7 Discs) Hamelin 24 Season 3 (7 Discs) 3:10 to Yuma 24 Season 4 (7 Discs) 30 Minutes or Less 24 Season 5 (7 Discs) 300 24 Season 6 (7 Discs) 3-Way 24 Season 7 (6 Discs) 4 Cult Horror Movies (2 Discs) 24 Season 8 (6 Discs) 4 Film Favorites: The Matrix Collection- 24: Redemption 2 Discs (4 Discs) 27 Dresses 4 Movies With Soul 40 Year Old Virgin, The 400 Years of the Telescope 50 Icons of Comedy 5 Action Movies 150 Cartoon Classics (4 Discs) 5 Great Movies Rated G 1917 5th Wave, The 1961 U.S. Figure Skating Championships 6 Family Movies (2 Discs) 8 Family Movies (2 Discs) A 8 Mile A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2 Discs) 10 Bible Stories for the Whole Family A.R.C.H.I.E. 10 Minute Solution: Pilates Abandon 10 Movie Adventure Pack (2 Discs) Abduction 10,000 BC About Schmidt 102 Minutes That Changed America Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter 10th Kingdom, The (3 Discs) Absolute Power 11:14 Accountant, The 12 Angry Men Act of Valor 12 Years a Slave Action Films (2 Discs) 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, The: The Action Pack Volume 6 complete series (2 Discs) Addams Family, The 13 Hours Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter 13 Towns of Huron County, The: A 150 Year Brother, The Heritage Adventures in Babysitting 16 Blocks Adventures in Zambezia 17th Annual Lane Automotive Car Show Adventures of Dally & Spanky 2005 Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, The 20 Movie Star Films Adventures of Huck Finn, The Hartford Public Library DVD Title List Adventures of Ichabod and Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • 1-Abdul Haseeb Ansari
    Journal of Criminal Justice and Law Review : Vol. 1 • No. 1 • June 2009 IDENTIFYING LARGE REPLICABLE FILM POPULATIONS IN SOCIAL SCIENCE FILM RESEARCH: A UNIFIED FILM POPULATION IDENTIFICATION METHODOLOGY FRANKLIN T. WILSON Indiana State University ABSTRACT: Historically, a dominant proportion of academic studies of social science issues in theatrically released films have focused on issues surrounding crime and the criminal justice system. Additionally, a dominant proportion has utilized non-probability sampling methods in identifying the films to be analyzed. Arguably one of the primary reasons film studies of social science issues have used non-probability samples may be that no one has established definitive operational definitions of populations of films, let alone develop datasets from which researchers can draw. In this article a new methodology for establishing film populations for both qualitative and quantitative research–the Unified Film Population Identification Methodology–is both described and demonstrated. This methodology was created and is presented here in hopes of expand the types of film studies utilized in the examination of social science issues to those communication theories that require the examination of large blocks of media. Further, it is anticipated that this methodology will help unify film studies of social science issues in the future and, as a result, increase the reliability, validity, and replicability of the said studies. Keywords: UFPIM, Film, Core Cop, Methodology, probability. Mass media research conducted in the academic realm has generally been theoretical in nature, utilizing public data, with research agendas emanating from the academic researchers themselves. Academic studies cover a gambit of areas including, but not limited to, antisocial and prosocial effects of specific media content, uses and gratifications, agenda setting by the media, and the cultivation of perceptions of social reality (Wimmer & Dominick, 2003).
    [Show full text]
  • American Auteur Cinema: the Last – Or First – Great Picture Show 37 Thomas Elsaesser
    For many lovers of film, American cinema of the late 1960s and early 1970s – dubbed the New Hollywood – has remained a Golden Age. AND KING HORWATH PICTURE SHOW ELSAESSER, AMERICAN GREAT THE LAST As the old studio system gave way to a new gen- FILMFILM FFILMILM eration of American auteurs, directors such as Monte Hellman, Peter Bogdanovich, Bob Rafel- CULTURE CULTURE son, Martin Scorsese, but also Robert Altman, IN TRANSITION IN TRANSITION James Toback, Terrence Malick and Barbara Loden helped create an independent cinema that gave America a different voice in the world and a dif- ferent vision to itself. The protests against the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement and feminism saw the emergence of an entirely dif- ferent political culture, reflected in movies that may not always have been successful with the mass public, but were soon recognized as audacious, creative and off-beat by the critics. Many of the films TheThe have subsequently become classics. The Last Great Picture Show brings together essays by scholars and writers who chart the changing evaluations of this American cinema of the 1970s, some- LaLastst Great Great times referred to as the decade of the lost generation, but now more and more also recognised as the first of several ‘New Hollywoods’, without which the cin- American ema of Francis Coppola, Steven Spiel- American berg, Robert Zemeckis, Tim Burton or Quentin Tarantino could not have come into being. PPictureicture NEWNEW HOLLYWOODHOLLYWOOD ISBN 90-5356-631-7 CINEMACINEMA ININ ShowShow EDITEDEDITED BY BY THETHE
    [Show full text]
  • The Special Operations Forces Nutrition Guide
    The Special Operations Forces Nutrition Guide Patricia A. Deuster, PhD, MPH, CNS Teresa Kemmer, PhD, RD Lori Tubbs, MS, RD Stacey Zeno, MS Christiane Minnick, M.Ac i Acknowledgements Many people have contributed to this revised guide, and it is dif- ficult to list all those who have made small contributions. However, we must acknowledge those who have made major contributions. First, we thank LtCol Charity Thomasos, RD, USAF for her comments and sugges- tions on multiple chapters and her efforts on chapters 11 and 12. We thank our primary points for contact at the SOF Commands who arranged and coordinated our site visits, to include LCDR David C. Krulak, MC from MARSOC, MAJ(P) Anthony Littrell, MC, USA from USASOC, LTC Robert Lutz, MC, USA from JSOC, MAJ Keith E. Schlechte, MC, USAF from AFSOC, and CDR Lanny Boswell, MSC, USN from NAVSOC. We offer a very special thanks to LCDR Jim Mucciarone, MC, UMO/DMO, Senior Medical Officer for Naval Special Warfare, who provided invaluable feedback on the chapters. We recognize MAJ Dirk Geers, Special Operations and Personnel Recovery Office in Belgium, who used the previous Navy SEAL Guide and posed many questions before the new guide was begun and provided excel- lent comments based on his use of the information for deployments. We also thank CAPT Roger Herbert, Commander of NSW Training who spent time discussing the importance of nutrition to BUD/S training. Ms. Jennifer Davis is recognized and thanked for her dedication to the Excel spreadsheets that were developed specifically for this effort—she did a wonderful job.
    [Show full text]
  • TD HAWKE.Fdx
    TRAINING DAY Episode 101: 'Apocalypse Now' 1-20-16 By Will Beall 1. TEASER 1 I/E KINETIC LA - MONTAGE 1 Real LAPD RADIO TRAFFIC, like an eerie seismograph measuring the strength of each tremor as the city rages, bleeds, laughs, cries. 211 in progress. 415 man with a gun. 459 suspects there now... over actual images of LA - a kinetic phantasmagoria of still frame and documentary footage: Swimming Pools. Movie Stars. Crips. Bloods. Yellow tape... JAKE (V.O.) Alonzo told me they built these streets right over old game trails. Pleistocene hunters stalked saber tooth tigers down Wilshire. Hey, feel free to look this shit up if you don’t believe me. Indians hunted deer along La Cienega Boulevard. Rangers tracked horse thieves into Beverly Hills... Walk of Fame. Rodney King. Florence and Normandie in flames. OJ pretends to try on the fucking gloves, shrugs. The North Hollywood Shootout. Biggie and Tupac. Bikinis on the rooftop of the W. Lambos under the portico of the Four Seasons. Phil Spector’s courtroom hairdo. Earthquakes. Pursuits. Wildfires. A tapestry of chaos. Anything the traffic will allow... JAKE Okay, so now we got different predators, different prey. But one one thing never changes, not in eleven thousand years. (beat) Nobody sees it coming. SMASH TO: 2 I/E. APARTMENT STAIRWELL - DAY 2 *Fast. Furious. IMMERSIVE. Think First-Person Shooter-- Adrenalized breaths. Boots bounding stairs. Graffiti blurring by LAPD OFFICER KYLE CRAIG (*A gleaming Galahad in his physical prime, as yet untarnished, think Luke Skywalker in ‘77). Kyle’s sprinting after an ursine parolee: CLAYTON RHODES.
    [Show full text]
  • Ethics in Criminal Justice with an Emphasis in Policing and Corrections
    Article Archives Ethics in Criminal Justice with an Emphasis in Policing and Corrections Nicholas Tancredi Barry University October 2013 Ethics in Criminal Justice with an Emphasis in Policing and Corrections 1 Since the inception of police departments and prisons, there have been ongoing corruption scandals that entail law enforcement officers hiding behind the “Blue Wall of Silence,” in which police officers cover for their corrupt fellow officers. However, anti- corruption and deterrence measures can be put in place that usually stem from upper-level management. Deterrence measures that should be put in place by police and prison officials in order to deter corruption must be effective policies, as well as having the administration in place before management can implement these policies to officers (Domonoske, 2013). This paper focuses on reduction techniques for police corruption in America, as well as having better law enforcement policies and management procedures. In the history of police corruption, the Los Angeles Police Department (L.A.P.D.) had many officers involved in the Rampart/CRASH scandal. One of the main perpetrators was Officer Rafael Perez. In 1995 Perez joined the “Rampart anti-gang unit CRASH” (Young), where he discovered a large amount of corruption and misconduct in his department. By 1998, Perez was stealing, as well as dealing pounds of cocaine (Young). After he was arrested, Perez cut a deal with prosecutors and began to them what really went wrong. As Perez calls it, the “intoxicant of police power” was one of the main reasons he gave for stealing and selling drugs. In addition to Rafael Perez, the controversial story of New York Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) Police Officer Frank Serpico who was a key whistle-blower in the corruption case brought against the New York Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) in the early 1970’s.
    [Show full text]
  • Media and Prison Sexual Assault: How We Got to the “Don’T Drop the Soap” Culture ______
    International Journal of Criminology and Sociological Theory, Vol. 4, No. 2, December 2011, 674-682 Media and Prison Sexual Assault: How We Got to the “Don’t Drop the Soap” Culture ___________________________________________________________________________________ Kristine Levana Katherine Polzerb Steven Downingc Abstract Sexual assault among inmates has become a topic which is generating considerable interest. For many years, public perceptions have been nonchalant and dismissive of this phenomenon. Because the general public has little practical knowledge of the correctional system, these attitudes are likely, at least in part, a result of the media depiction of sexual assault among the incarcerated population. This paper will seek to understand the ways which popular movies characterize sexual misconduct that occurs among inmates. Ultimately, this discussion will help not only understand why individuals hold their beliefs of prison sexual assault, but also allow the public to understand the seriousness this topic. Introduction Members of the general public often rely on media portrayals when they formulate their opinions on crime. A major venue for this is often either local or national news media, which report on current issues involving crime and the national criminal justice system. News sources are often faulted for presenting facts in a biased manner, but do allow the general public access to noteworthy items involving crime. In general, the public is somewhat unfamiliar with issues related to the criminal justice system (Chapman, Mirrlees-Black, and Brown, 2002). Facets of the criminal justice system which are noticeably absent from news coverage include issues related to correctional policies and current issues in the correctional system. This is not necessarily surprising, given the almost complete removal of prisons and other forms of correctional institutions from modern culture.
    [Show full text]