Crimesploitation : crime, punishment, and pleasure on reality television / Paul Kaplan and Daniel LaChance.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kaplan, Paul, 1968- author.

LaChance, Daniel, 1979- author.

Series:

Cultural lives of law.

The cultural lives of law

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

True crime television programs--United States--History and criticism.

Reality television programs--United States--History and criticism.

Crime on television.

Punishment on television.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (180 p.)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, [2022]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

"Due to the graphic nature of this program, viewer discretion is advised." Most of us have encountered this warning while watching television at some point. It is typically attached to a brand of reality crime TV that Paul Kaplan and Daniel LaChance call "crimesploitation": spectacles designed to entertain mass audiences by exhibiting "real" criminal behavior and its consequences. This book examines their enduring popularity in American culture. Analyzing the structure and content of several popular crimesploitation shows, including Cops, Dog: The Bounty Hunter, and To Catch a Predator, as well as newer examples like Making a Murderer and Don't F**K with Cats, Kaplan and LaChance highlight the troubling nature of the genre: though it presents itself as ethical and righteous, its entertainment value hinges upon suffering. Viewers can imagine themselves as deviant and ungovernable like the criminals in the show, thereby escaping a law-abiding lifestyle. Alternatively, they can identify with law enforcement officials, exercising violence, control, and "justice" on criminal others. Crimesploitation offers a sobering look at the depictions of criminals, policing, and punishment in modern America.

Contents:

Introduction : the disciplined and the delinquent

Humilitainment, Inc. : policing the criminal on primetime

Watching the night creatures : crimesploitation and boredom

Cuffs of love : punishment and redemption in crimesploitation

Middlebrow crimesploitation

Epilogue : w(h)ither crimesploitation?

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781503631748

1503631745

OCLC:

1322125351