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QUESTION
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Portrayals of criminals in the news and in popular culture may influence the way that the public perceives certain types of criminals. The popularity of movies such as The Godfather and Scarface, and television shows such as Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy seems to suggest that viewers identify positively with certain criminal “heroes.”
The lead characters in Sons of Anarchy, Breaking Bad, and The Sopranos were shown to be brutal killers, yet the stories were constructed around those characters. Why does this seem to be the case? What is the appeal of a criminal as a hero?
Do movies and television shows such as these glamorize crime? If so, are there specific crimes or behaviors that are more likely to be glamorized and some more likely to be demonized?
How can the predominant theories of criminology relate to this phenomenon?
If it can be established that these portrayals influence real-world criminal behavior, should there be legal restrictions on how criminals are portrayed in popular culture? Explain your reasoning.
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Law ang governance |
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3 |
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APA |
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Answer
The Portrayal of Criminals in Popular Culture
Criminal justice remains one of the most recurrent themes in popular culture, especially in movies, TV shows, and other forms of entertainment media. For instance, TV shows such as Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, and The Sopranos – featuring Walter White, Jax, and Tony Soprano, respectively as lead characters – all revolve around criminal justice issues. Despite these characters being outlaws, the stories are constructed them, leading to their portrayal as heroes because their pursuit of crime can be justified on the grounds of rebellion against a corrupt judicial system, commitment to a family or job, desperation, and loyalty to brotherhood (Corbett, 2021). For instance, Walter White and Tony Soprano are depicted as criminal heroes and many viewers identify positively with them because their decisions to become lawbreakers were driven by the need to cater to their families.
Movies such as Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy romanticize certain crimes. They construct their stories around a heroic criminal to symbolize that majority of the public perceives law as unjust, as well as, depict how the state’s formal and bureaucratic justice has failed to “reflect popular conceptions of justice” (Kooistra, 1990). As such, the outlaw characters are glamorized and perceived as legendary figures when they bypass faulty justice systems and pursue extra-legal justice. This portrayal of outlaws as heroes in movies and TV shows attempts to theorize the motives of criminal behavior. Notably, as Henry (2018) points out, most offenders engage in acts of crime because issues such as blocked opportunities, failed governance systems, and faulty justice systems combine to limit their choices.
References
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Corbett, D. (2021, April 13). The criminal as a hero. Retrieved May 4, 2021, from https://writerunboxed.com/2021/04/09/the-criminal-as-hero/
Henry, A. (2018). Criminal Heroes in Television: Exploring Moral Ambiguity in Law and Justice.
Kooistra, P. (1990). Criminals as heroes: Linking symbol to structure. Symbolic Interaction, 13(2), 217-239.
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