Lethal Celebrities In The Media

THESIS STATEMENT: The world’s media today seem to have more violence than ever. Video games have vivid depictions of accident catastrophes, fighting and murder. Television news programs generally lead with a violent story in order to gain an audience. This is free society people can stay what they want. ‘’ Media violence has many negative effect on youth today to commit crimes in society.’’

Media is everywhere nowadays. Whether it’s billboards, radio, commercials, trailers, or product placement, the media has spent the better part of a century perfecting the ability to sway public opinion. How could this not have an impact on the Criminal Justice System? There is an old saying, perception is reality. This clearly applies to the narrative shaping abilities that the media poses. Although not explicitly resulting in an effect on Criminal Justice Policy, Communication Theorist George Gerbner proposed Cultivation Theory, also known as mean world syndrome, which refers to the phenomenon that a viewer experiences when they consume too much violent media content, where in that, they begin to perceive the world as more dangerous than it actually is.

Due to today’s advanced media technology, we as a society are more aware and instantly informed about mass murders and serial killers. There is a difference between a mass murderer and a serial killer, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, statistics Bureau. (“Mental Floss”, 2008). A “mass

Serial murder, which is defined as “the unlawful killing of two or more victims, by the same offenders, in separate events”(Lubaszka & Shon, 2013, p. 1), is a term that American society has become quite familiar with. At a ripe age, parents begin teaching their children not to talk to strangers in hopes of shielding them from the potential evil our world has to offer, but what if I told you the serial killer may not always be the scary man driving a van and offering candy? Our society, like it does most things, has placed a stigma upon serial killers. Although not all implied labels are untrue, this stigma makes us vulnerable to the hidden deviance lurking behind us, dressed in sheep’s clothing. Over the course of this analysis, I will

The author introduces the topic by addressing people’s tendency to be addicted to violence in movies, as well as Hollywood movie makers, yet mass shootings are basically nonexistent on screen, which seems strange “considering how much money Hollywood contributes toward depicting violence.” A reason for that would be that film makers wouldn’t make money out of subjects people feel uncomfortable with. Hollywood glorifies

Mass media is infatuated with crime. As a society, we have a great deal of fascination when it comes to crime and deviance. It is hard to turn on the television, watch a movie or open a newspaper or book and not be faced with the central and dominant theme that is crime. In recent years the lines between crime entertainment and crime information have been significantly blurred. The mass media often influences how people see crime, with the bombardment of criminal images and violence, it serves to increase public fear. The public believe crime is on the rise and only getting worse, when in actual fact this in contrast to the official crime statistics. Arguably, our knowledge on crime is influenced and shaped by the media, and there is most definitely evidence to prove this, but to what extent is this true?

The media and people have always liked to portray killers in a different light by making them seem not as if they’re so corrupt, but simply just misunderstood. The moral behavior of serial killers is different than what a great deal of society agrees to, but to themselves, the morality doesn’t affect them (Zavaliy 365). To be exact, they’re shown as simply troubled and are just as much as people as anybody else. The media doesn’t seem to want to show that there was more to them than what seemed to be. Why is it that romanticizing serial killers is something that is common? Why not show these people’s true selves? By considering what goes into romanticizing a serial killer, finding out the reason as to why the public does this so interprets how altered the minds are.

For hundreds of years communities around the world have struggled with the criminal justice system and how it operates. Although many of the rules have changed, there are still groups of people who disagree with the existing guidelines. At a large, many of these people do not fully understand what they are opposing. These people have been manipulated and forced to believe in the ideas that they mindlessly back. Be it right or wrong, many of these ideas were created not for the gain of the masses, but for the gain of the persuasive few. In the past, these views would be established through different forms of printed materials and through word-of-mouth. Now these views are forced upon any person consuming any form of mass media. Some of the outlets include newspapers, tv, and sites used for communication. Even Though time has passed, the issues behind the criminal justice system are still being manipulated. One of the biggest issues being faced, concerns the desensitization of the community towards violent crimes such as serial killings. With this issue in mind, one question rises: how will media affect the the process of catching violent criminals in the future? Instead of media focusing on ways to get more potential views it should focus on ways to better the community in the future, such as better promoting the processes of the criminal justice system.

One-hundred twenty-five years ago England saw its first serial killer, Jack the Ripper. His mysterious identity and evasion from the police intrigues people who enjoy learning about the criminal acts of infamous serial killers. There was poverty in this time in London and was having trouble with the overcrowding of people. Jack the Ripper has a very distinctive style of killing and all his victims were all killed a certain way. He was never caught because of the lack of technology the police had at this time and the media did not help. It affected the people a lot back then and it still has an effect on the people who live there to this day.

Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, and Jeffrey Dahmer all have something in common: they are all known for their infamous reign of terror. Each one of these men, along with a long list of others, falls under the category of “serial killer.” A serial killer can be defined as a person who has killed three or more people over a month’s time, and, most importantly, has a cooling off period in between each of the murders. The topic of these murderers has always been a phenomenon all over the country. From the subject of a kid’s scary story to a major part of the film industry, the American audience has a shared hunger for violence.

To all media outlets, you are all well aware that you are the first go-to to find out information. Whether it is weather, crime, or sports, you have the scoop on everything one needs to know. Over the years, you have changed the way you report crime. Particularly, the way you report serial killers. Serial killers get a nickname or a catchy tag line that leads to more killings and more fascination from the public (Fox 13A). People cling to you for everything, so when you give a serial killer a lot of attention, then the public is going to do the same (Fox 13A). The way you go about informing the world on serial killers influences other things such as, movies, TV shows, and songs being made in their honor. As the source for all information, you

The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines serial murder as the slaying of two or more victims at separate times, with a “cooling off” period between each incident but, as the distinguished scientific magazine Psychology Today notes, to actually pin down the true underlying factors that contribute towards a person committing these acts is no easy feat; the FBI’s definition alone encompasses at least 2,800 known American serial killers, all immensely complex and mysterious individuals (Aamodt). The public’s interest in the gory details of the killer’s crimes is uncontested, as demonstrated by the highly profitable entertainment industry surrounding these twisted and unpredictable characters, but much less glamorous question of what led these

The connection between the portrayal of guns, violence, and victims in the media is that across the media criminality is constructed as caused by evil or greedy individuals who know right from wrong but choose to commit criminal activity (Surette, 2015, pg. 60). Also, criminals are portrayed in the media as inherently different from the law abiding citizens. According to the course text, for over a hundred years media have progressively presented criminals to be more animalistic, irrational, and predatory (Surette, 2015, pg. 60). Also, the media portrays the criminal’s actions to be violent, senseless, and sensational. As it relates to crime fighting policies, the public is shown a lot of crime-fighting in entertainment, news, and infotainment,

Sensational crimes involving celebrities or acts that are extraordinarily violent are plastered all over various media outlets. It’s well known that these types of crimes stories deliver the ratings these organizations strive for. This also accounts for why many of these sensational stories remain being covered well after the disposition of the case (Bohm & Haley, 2011). Further more, it forms the opinions of most Americans on crimes committed in the country; however, it is not realistic to the routinely committed crimes occurring on a daily basis (Bohm & Haley, 2011). The attention news media organizations dedicate to popular cases can put pressure on prosecutors to seek harsher penalties such as the death penalty. Likewise, these sensational

Violence and tragedy are staples of journalism because readers are attracted to gruesome stories and photographs. “If it bleeds, it leads” is an undesirable rule of thumb. Ethical problems arise for photographers and editors because readers are also repulsed by such events. It is as if readers want to know that tragic circumstances take place, but do not want to face the uncomfortable details. After publication of a controversial picture that shows, for example, dead or grieving victims of violence, readers often attack the photographer as being tasteless and adding to suffering of those involved. Photographs such as Fig. 3 for example, which was published by the New York Times in 1993, received a vast amount of hate against the