Narratives of Justification for Police Violence

• In Event: Posters I

Abstract

This poster summarizes findings from content analyses investigating how violence by law enforcement officers is depicted in fictional narratives and how such violence in the real world is justified in social and news media. As U.S. police use of force has come under heightened scrutiny, analysis of popular culture depictions of crime and policing can help unpack important cultural narratives about law enforcement and criminal legal systems. Much analysis of media narratives of policing focuses on police procedurals and crime dramas, yet the tales of villains and heroes that shape popular notions of criminality and law enforcement permeate all genres of television. Urban fantasy and science fiction are particularly rich sources for analyzing ideologies of criminal justice. The research data consist of content analysis of shows Continuum, Defiance, and Lost Girl, examining: moral justifications or condemnations of force; who is considered a legitimate target for violence, and the humanity or non-humanity of characters. The project also examines eight recent high profile US police killings of unarmed African Americans, creating a compendium of justifications for this violence in social media and popular press commentary. The research adds to understandings of how crime, wrongdoing, and forceful state intervention are constructed in media.

Author

• Michelle VanNatta, Dominican University