Violence, Villainy, and Vigilantism: The Positioning of Restorative Violence in Genre Television

• In Event: Crime and Media

Abstract

This paper explores the formula stories associated with the depictions of restorative violence in three television shows: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Supernatural. All three television shows are conflict-driven narratives about the fight against evil beings such as vampires, demons, or ghosts; this fight is predominantly lead by outsiders essentially practicing vigilantism. However, the actions taken by the “good” vigilante protagonists are – in abstract – often completely indistinguishable from the actions taken from the “bad” villains. This paper explores the ways in which the line between “acceptable” and “unacceptable” violence is drawn in genre television, particularly in situations regarding restorative violence, or violence perpetuated to “restore” something that has been lost, where motivations are coded the same for antagonists and protagonist characters.

Authors

• Kristi Brownfield, Northern State University

• Courtney A. Waid-Lindberg, Northern State University