The Portrayal of Police in American Nightmare (2024) and Unbelievable (2019): Victim-blaming, Tunnel Vision, and the “Hero Woman Officer”

• In Event: The Intersection of Media and Crime: Interrogating Crime Control, Violence, and Marginalized Identities

Abstract

True crime is a media genre that turns real-world criminal cases into entertainment for the masses. Further, true crime content shifts with other societal shifts. Some cultural critics have referred to true crime as “copaganda,” noting that police officers are often framed as the “heroes" within true crime narratives. Using qualitative content analysis, the authors examined two Netflix true crime television installments – American Nightmare (2024) and Unbelievable (2019) – for key themes surrounding policing. Importantly, both of these cases feature women victimized by strangers who are not initially believed by police. Several themes surrounding policing emerged, including victim-blaming, investigative tunnel vision, and that of the “hero woman officer” who eventually corrects the investigation’s original errors. These two true crime installments portray a complex and nuanced portrayal of police, leading to important questions about the impact of shows centered on women not being believed.

Authors

• Danielle Slakoff, California State University, Sacramento

• Karime Montano Ayon, California State University, Sacramento