Crimesploitation : crime, punishment, and pleasure on reality television /
"Due to the graphic nature of this program, viewer discretion is advised." Most of us have encountered this warning while watching television at some point. It is typically attached to a brand of reality crime television that Paul Kaplan and Daniel LaChance call "crimesploitation,&quo...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Stanford, California :
Stanford University Press,
[2022].
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| Series: | Cultural lives of law.
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: | "Due to the graphic nature of this program, viewer discretion is advised." Most of us have encountered this warning while watching television at some point. It is typically attached to a brand of reality crime television that Paul Kaplan and Daniel LaChance call "crimesploitation," spectacles designed to entertain mass audiences by exhibiting "real" criminal behavior and its consequences. This book examines their enduring popularity in American culture. Analyzing the structure and content of several popular crimesploitation shows, including Cops, Dog: The Bounty Hunter and To Catch a Predator, as well as newer examples like Making a Murderer and Don't F**K with Cats, Kaplan and LaChance highlight the troubling nature of the genre. Though it presents itself as ethical and righteous, its entertainment value hinges upon suffering. Viewers can imagine themselves as deviant and ungovernable like the criminals in the show, thereby escaping a law-abiding lifestyle. Alternatively, they can identify with law enforcement officials, exercising violence, control and "justice" on criminal others. Crimesploitation offers a sobering look at the depictions of criminals, policing and punishment in modern America. |
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| Physical Description: | x, 162 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9781503613683 1503613682 9781503631731 1503631737 |