Tracing the Production of Alleged Female Killers Through Discourse, Image, and Speculation by Emily Hiltz
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The Notorious Woman: Tracing the Production of Alleged Female Killers through Discourse, Image, and Speculation by Emily Hiltz A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Communication Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2018, Emily Hiltz Abstract This dissertation examines the visual and discursive production of female notoriety through the multi-mediated circulation of five images of Amanda Knox and Jodi Arias, who were both convicted of murder; Knox was eventually acquitted. This project employs visual discourse analysis to trace the movement and cultural use of widely shared and debated photographic images by consulting a broad visual corpus of mainstream American media content produced from 2007 to 2016. I argue notoriety is produced out of a necessary general relation of speculation that is (re)produced in processes of mass mediation. I illustrate the visual formation of notoriety by following the cultural use and spread of the selected digital images. Here I claim contemporary notoriety is fueled by repeated calls to speculate and judge images that seemingly resist full understanding while they are also used as evidence of perceived legal and sexual transgressions. This continual play to investigate, interpret, and define ambiguous imagery are key cultural practices that generate notoriety, for these relations compel further judgment and scrutiny. The dissertation draws critical attention to the cultural and visual practices tied to the creation of notoriety in contexts of digital mass media circulation, and questions the types of knowledge and spectatorship that are encouraged as images circulate over time and medium. Through the visual discourse analysis, I conclude these five images are continually used to define and assess Knox and Arias relative to shifting norms of acceptable white femininity. Treating the images as performative sites, I outline their compositional and thematic patterns within the visual corpus (e.g. within news broadcasts, newsmagazine episodes, made-for-TV true crime dramas and documentaries, and literary exposés) that constitute discourses of sexual deviancy, inappropriateness, obsession, vanity, and image management. Through these discursive lenses, Knox and Arias are positioned as sexually transgressive, desirable, and excessive – yet remain debatable and highly scrutinized women because they seemingly ii transgress middle-class white heteronormativity. Taking an intersectional approach, I explore how this constellation of visual discourses works to uphold sexist, classist, and racist logics while also encouraging viewers to see, judge, and consult the familiarly ambiguous images for meaning. iii Acknowledgements I am incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to be a part of the Carleton Communication community, and there are a number of people I wish to thank for their support, guidance, and encouragement. Thank you to my supervisor, Dr. Miranda Brady, for your assistance, patience, and reassurance every step of the way through this project. No question was ever too big or too small, and words cannot express how thankful I am for your mentorship throughout this process. I am grateful to my committee members, Dr. Sheryl Hamilton and Dr. Ummni Khan for their continued guidance. You offered new and exciting perspectives on this research as my ideas morphed over time, and your suggestions helped me considerably in developing a more nuanced and critical project as a result. I also wish to thank multiple colleagues, teachers, and friends who were an integral part of my learning and success. To Dr. Sandra Robinson and Dr. Ira Wagman – your recommendations and questions helped build and strengthen the foundations of the dissertation from its earliest stages. Thank you for this. To Dr. Chris Russill and Dr. Michèle Martin – I learned so much in your PhD seminar class, enjoying the wide range of Communications research we covered and the lively debates that ensued! Thank you to Coleen Kornelsen, Carole Craswell, Cindy Kardash-Lalonde, and Melanie Leblanc for always being there for graduate students and instructors. I am fortunate to have experienced the thrill of teaching while completing my PhD, and sincerely thank Dr. Josh Greenberg and Dr. Gina Grosenick for their support and encouragement in the classroom. I also thank Dr. Sheryl Hamilton for her guidance and support as I navigated being a new instructor and the President of the Communication Graduate Caucus. Your mentorship in these areas of leadership and community-building have left a lasting impression on me. iv I also wish to think Dr. Romayne Smith Fullerton and Dr. Robert Babe of Western University for serving as inspiring mentors early on in my career. Your questions and approaches resonated deeply with me and inform my current critiques and methodologies greatly. I am also grateful for the funding support I received for this project: A Doctoral Fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Ontario Graduate Scholarships, and internal awards from the David & Rachel Epstein Foundation and the Hamlin Charitable Fund. Support from The School of Journalism and Communication and Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs also made numerous conference presentations possible, and was an integral part of the development of my dissertation. Thank you to fellow grad student friends Caitlin Turner, Derek Antoine, Mélodie Cardin, Nadia Hai, Jennifer Boland, Simon Vodrey, and Bethany Berard for your com(m)radery as we navigated our degrees together. I could not have asked for a more supportive, funny, and thoughtful group of friends and colleagues. Thank you to Ioulia Minina, my long time best friend, who always sees the sunny side. To Kirsten Davis, your unwavering friendship has helped me so much over the years. To Steve Robinson, thank you for your light and love through these final stages. To my parents, Linda and David Hiltz, your love and care have seen me through the highs and lows of this journey. I cannot express fully how much I love and thank you. This one’s for you! v Table of Contents 1 Chapter One - Seeing notoriety through image circulation: An introduction to Knox and Arias ........................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Defining the subject of notoriety ...................................................................................... 7 1.2 Setting the murderous (sex) scene .................................................................................. 10 1.3 Following images and their circulation .......................................................................... 17 1.3.1 Defining ‘The image’ .............................................................................................. 17 1.3.2 Amanda Knox and Jodi Arias’ images ................................................................... 18 2 Chapter Two - From textual patterns to cultural sites: A review and critique of literature on media representations of violent women ............................................................ 23 2.1 Violent women as cultural constructs ............................................................................ 25 2.2 Gender constructions of violence ................................................................................... 29 2.3 Prevailing cultural patterns............................................................................................. 35 2.3.1 Narratives ................................................................................................................ 36 2.3.2 Frames ..................................................................................................................... 37 2.3.3 Templates ................................................................................................................ 39 2.3.4 Themes .................................................................................................................... 40 2.3.5 Scripts ..................................................................................................................... 41 2.4 Exemplary patterns: Monstrous, ‘bad’ sexuality and deceivers ..................................... 42 2.4.1 Themes of heterosexual deviance ........................................................................... 44 2.4.2 The victim: ‘Mad’ and manipulated ....................................................................... 46 2.5 Taking stock of the literature: Limitations and expansions on themes and types .......... 49 2.5.1 The whiteness of notorious criminal women .......................................................... 53 2.6 Transmediation: Notoriety and visual scrutiny in perpetuity ......................................... 55 2.7 Responding to research gaps and connecting literatures ................................................ 58 3 Chapter Three – Constructing a visual archive: Applying discourse analysis methodologies .............................................................................................................................. 61 3.1 Focus on photography and image circulation ................................................................ 64 3.2 Methodological approaches in visual culture studies ..................................................... 69 3.3 Sites of visual cultural analysis: Image texts, contexts,