Not Your Average Criminal: Dexter, Weeds and the Sopranos, Challenging Tradition Al Media Portrayals
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NOT YOUR AVERAGE CRIMINAL: DEXTER, WEEDS AND THE SOPRANOS, CHALLENGING TRADITION AL MEDIA PORTRAYALS by Sarah Ashley Goldstein Bachelor of Applied Justice Studies, Mount Royal College, 2006 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In the School of Criminology © Sarah Goldstein 2009 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2009 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Sarah Goldstein Degree: Master of Arts in Criminology Title of Thesis: Not Your Average Criminal: Dexter, Weeds and The Sopranos, Challenging Traditional Media Portrayals. Examining Committee: Chair: Bryan Kinney PhD Asst. Professor School of Criminology, Asst. Director Institute for Canadian Urban Research Studies ______________________________________ Neil Boyd L.L.M Senior Supervisor Professor School of Criminology, Associate Director, Graduate Programs School of Criminology ______________________________________ Garth Davies PhD Supervisor Asst. Professor School of Criminology ______________________________________ Grant McCarron External Examiner Associate Professor School of Communications, Graduate Chair School of Communications Date Defended/Approved: March 26th, 2009 ii Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection (currently available to the public at the “Institutional Repository” link of the SFU Library website <www.lib.sfu.ca> at: <http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/112>) and, without changing the content, to translate the thesis/project or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission. Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. While licensing SFU to permit the above uses, the author retains copyright in the thesis, project or extended essays, including the right to change the work for subsequent purposes, including editing and publishing the work in whole or in part, and licensing other parties, as the author may desire. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Last revision: Spring 09 ABSTRACT The media and the criminal justice system are both prominent institutions in contemporary society. Research has explored both systems as independent and autonomous entities as well as the overlap between these two institutions. Both communications and criminological theories are examined to gain insight into the enjoyment of crime drama programming. A historical development of crime dramas is provided as a framework for understanding the traditional media portrayal of the criminal justice system and criminals. Thematic content analysis is employed with three television programs Dexter, Weeds and The Sopranos, to demonstrate a media shift that challenges the traditional portrayal of criminals and the criminal justice system. The reasons behind this shift as well as implications for popular culture are then explored. Keywords: Crime and Media, Media Portrayals, Deviance, Television Crime Dramas, Media and the Criminal Justice Sys t e m iii DEDICATION To Christine: my best friend and my biggest supporter throughout my university career. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to the many people who gave me their support throughout the time I worked on my master’s thesis. I want to thank the graduate office of Simon Fraser University for their assistance in funding. I would also like to thank the staff in the Criminology department for all of their assistance with technical matters. To my supervisor Neil Boyd: thank you for your timely replies to my never-ending e-mails full of questions, for being available to discuss my work and for allowing me to pursue research that was slightly less than traditional. To my supervisor Garth Davies, who has been with me since my entrance into the graduate program in criminology, I appreciated your reassurance and assistance the entire time that I have been a graduate student. Our meetings in your office were extremely helpful in keeping me on track. Thank you to both supervisors for reading many rough drafts of my work and for providing valuable feedback in order to produce the best thesis possible and for their consistent and respectful belief in my abilities. The other member of my supervisory committee, Dr . G r e g M c Carron, was invaluable in his constructive feedback. Thank you for suggesting other future research directions. Thank you to my friends for being so forgiving of my anti-social tendencies when I was close to a deadline. I could not have gotten through this process without the unrelenting support and confidence from my close friends. I would like to express my gratitude to my family in Vancouver and Calgary. I am so appreciative of everyone’s support and faith in me. To my mom: thank you for helping me navigate the world of academia. To my dad: thank you for always being available for an over-the-phone pep talk. To my siblings, cousins and other extended family: thank you for your understanding and support throughout this long journey. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Approval .............................................................................................................. ii Abstract .............................................................................................................. iii Dedication .......................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................ v Table of Contents .............................................................................................. vi List of Tables ..................................................................................................... ix 1: Introduction .................................................................................................... 1 2: Literature Review ........................................................................................... 6 2.1 The Social Construction of Crime and Media ..................................... 7 2.2 Parallels between Crime Genre and Media ...................................... 12 2.3 Entertainment and Enjoyment .......................................................... 14 2.3.1 Disposition Theory ........................................................................ 16 2.3.2 Functions and Gratifications of Watching Television Programs ...................................................................................... 20 2.4 Relevant Criminological Theories Related to Deviance .................... 22 2.4.1 Anomie and Strain Theory ............................................................ 23 2.4.2 Functions of Deviance .................................................................. 26 2.5 Development and Creation of Stereotypical Portrayal of Police and Criminals ................................................................................... 28 2.5.1 Race and Gender in the Media ..................................................... 28 2.5.2 The Criminal Justice System in the Media .................................... 33 3: Historical Development of Crime Drama Shows ....................................... 36 3.1 Crime Dramas in the 1950s .............................................................. 41 3.1.1 Dragnet (1951 – 1959) .................................................................. 42 3.2 Crime Dramas in the 1960s .............................................................. 45 3.2.1 Adam 12 (1968 – 1975) ................................................................ 46 3.2.2 Hawaii 5-0 (1968 – 1980) .............................................................. 46 3.2.3 The Mod Squad (1968 – 1972) ..................................................... 47 3.3 Crime Dramas in the 1970’s ............................................................. 49 3.3.1 Starsky and Hutch (1975 – 1979) ................................................. 50 3.3.2 Kojak (1973 – 1978) ...................................................................... 52 3.4 Crime Dramas of the 1980s ............................................................. 53 3.4.1 Hill Street Blues (1981 – 1987) ....................................................