The punitive return?: Popular media and the resurgence of punitive sentiment in US

• In Event: Kids, Cops and Culture

Abstract

In this presentation we explore ways in which the punitive mood of the late 20th century, that had momentarily subsided, has returned with a vengeance. The trend is noteworthy given that less than half a decade ago in 2020, an unprecedented number of people took to US streets to demand structural changes in the criminal justice system during what are often called the George Floyd protests. With a focus on popular media (i.e. news, social media, and popular culture) we examine the resurgence in political and public tough-on-crime sentiments. We explore a multitude of material and discursive factors driving reinvigorated support for punitiveness, including epistemic uncertainty; political upheaval and creeping fascism; backlash against BLM; and institutional crises, among others, that indicate a discursive shift reinforcing the prison-industrial complex hegemony.

Authors

• Nicholas J. Chagnon, University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu

• Nickie D. Phillips, St. Francis College