The portrayal of crime in media: Your standpoint

When we hear the word crime, feelings like anger, disgust, shock, and pity come rushing in. Even if the criminal act is not directed at you, such feelings may still arise. However, this might not be the case when we talk about crime and thriller as a genre. Most people are fascinated by movies or series whose central theme revolves around crime. The trend of watching both true and fictional crime content has been increasing. One reason could be that the exposure of such explicit content has expanded along with the actual rise in crime rate too.

Generally speaking, the perception that most people have of crime is only limited to the victim; how the crime affected the victim, the misery, and other related consequences. As an outsider, an individual loosely describes the offender like, “how could someone even do that”, “they are merciless”, “they are not humane” and many other derogatory comments. The idea and feelings they have for an offender in real life do not correlate with the offenders being portrayed in a crime-based show. They are amused by the great and classic portrayal of criminals. Some people even watch these crime-based shows for entertainment purposes.

Why would you favor someone who’s shown scamming people in a film but not in real life?

What makes a crime displayed in a film better than one in real life?

It makes me come to the point that the understanding and perception of crime are in one way influenced by the cinematic representation of the same. The influence also depends on the form of the crime represented like murder, theft, property destruction, etc.

The influence of media on the understanding of a criminal act and related aspects can take two tangents in terms of how crime shows are represented. One aspect focuses on why the crime was committed: the causal factors that lead to the occurrence of a particular case which majorly includes true crime documentaries. Another is when a crime's method and process is described like a murder case and its effect on the concerned people.

To elaborate, exposure to true crime documentaries can help in broadening the perspective of people regarding criminal acts; what influences them to engage in certain such activities, it is just about the victim and offender alone, it is much more than that. It’s about letting the case or story out for the public to read, see and become aware of it leading to a complex understanding of the reasoning behind the commitment of certain crimes. They gain insight into the other side of the story of a criminal act. The documentary about a criminal may help people to understand the cultural, social, and psychological causes of committing a crime. The general population is not aware of the extent to which people suffering from mental illnesses can indulge in specific offensive and punishable acts. Watching these shows online, taking a peek into the offender’s point of view, might actually help them make sense of the horrible things people do. It does not however necessarily imply, in any way, shape, or form, that the actions of an offender should be overlooked just because of the sociocultural environment he/she has been exposed to. What they have done, whatever crime they may have committed, is and would remain wrong and inexcusable. However, if we have a chance at understanding why criminals do what they do, we can hold out hope for humanity. A conclusion that could be drawn is that a sense of acknowledgment for the behavior of the accused is instilled.

However, when the concern of a crime show is more on the ‘how’ aspect of crime, people tend to get inspired by similar crimes that have been reported in the media or published in fiction. As a result, they are more likely to commit the offense as well. This is what is termed a copycat crime. The basic components of a copycat crime are:

1. “generator crime”- a media portrayal of a crime or a real-world crime that becomes the basis of the crime committed

2. “criminogenic models”- media content or real-world offenders that portray a subsequently copied crime

3.  “copycat criminal”- An individual who commits a crime after being influenced by criminogenic media content, live models, or a combination of the two (Surette, 2017).

There have been real-life case studies where the reason for committing a crime was reported to be inspired by certain web shows online. One such recent case is of Aftab Poonawala, a Mumbaikar who moved to Delhi with his girlfriend. He strangled his live-in girlfriend, cut her body, and discarded the pieces. Once arrested by the Delhi Police, he revealed that he had been inspired by the American crime show ‘Dexter’ to murder and store her body.

Another case was inspired by the movie Shootout at Lokhandwala, (2007), The accused kidnapped a 15-year-old boy - a classmate of his - and asked for a ransom of about 50,000 rupees, and later killed that boy. He confessed that he was so inspired by the character played by Vivek Oberoi in the movie that he used to watch the video of him murdering the boy every day and used to copy the mannerisms of Vivek Oberoi in the said movie.

To conclude, it is true that the portrayal of crime on digital platforms may not be entirely accurate and people should be made aware of the distinction between the two. However, in the end, it is up to the individual alone to take their standpoint and move forward with it. Media representation of crime is not always negative. Sometimes, it does help us with broadening our viewpoints and gaining more knowledge and awareness, but we must not let it influence us in an undue manner.

About the author

Saloni Bansal is a second-year B.sc. Applied Psychology student. She is intrigued by the idea of how, while writing down your thoughts, you become aware of and acknowledge new things. It gives her great insight and serves as a conduit for her to explore her beliefs and thoughts. That is how you can better understand and accept yourself. Other than that, humor and adventure is what keep her going.