Media Representations of Crime and Mental Illness

Media Representations of Crime

Introduction

  • Modern media portrayal of crime includes fictional and news representations.

  • Crime focus is predominantly on:

    • Murder

    • Interpersonal violence

  • Depictions are often judgemental, utilizing stereotypes and assumptions (Philo, McLaughlin & Henderson, 1996).

The Disproportionate Representation of Murder

  • Contrary to public perception, murder (though anxiety-inducing) has the lowest occurrence risk compared to other crimes (McIntyre, 1967; Office for National Statistics, 2015).

  • Media reports reflect perceived danger rather than actual risk.

  • Drives societal needs for accountability and appropriate punishment for violent transgressors.

Evolution of Crime Dramas

  • Police and crime dramas have surged in popularity on UK and US television since the 1950s, focusing heavily on violent offenses:

    • Example shows:

    • NCIS: Averaged 33 million viewers weekly in 2013 (Patten, 2013).

    • Criminal Minds: Averaged 33 million viewers weekly in 2013.

    • CSI: 4 million viewers in the UK in 2015 and consistently around 25 million in the US (2010-2015).

  • Genre of Scandinavian or Nordic Noir has gained traction, showcasing violent murders influenced by social issues, reflected in series like The Killing, The Bridge, and Trapped (Creeber, 2015).

Media Stereotypes and Mental Illness

  • Crime dramas often over-represent individuals with mental illness as violent (Parrott & Parrott, 2015).

  • Criminal Minds utilizes profiling, linking mental illness to extreme violent offenses.

McNaughtan Rules Overview

  • The McNaughtan Rules emerged from the 1843 trial of Daniel McNaughtan, who attempted to kill British PM Robert Peel.

  • McNaughtan was acquitted due to insanity and prompted legal standards for insanity pleas.

  • Key components:

    • Presumption of sanity until proven otherwise.

    • Defence of insanity must demonstrate a defect of reason from a mental disease

    • Not knowing the act was wrong (8 ER 718, [1843] UKHL J16 para 28).

  • Rules adopted in English-speaking judicial systems, influencing legal evaluations of culpability in violent crimes.

Tensions in Media Representations

  • Media representations create dynamic tensions between perceptions of ‘mad’ and ‘bad.’

  • Fear exists that the ‘mad’ could exploit insanity claims to avoid punishment, often depicted as undermining justice or accountability.

  • Tensions also arise regarding victim culpability:

    • Media questions victim responsibility (e.g., provoking crime).

  • Cross (2010) analyzed moral judgments derived from visual signs of being ‘mad’ or ‘bad’, including in media portrayals of victims.

Representation of Madness in Fiction

  • Different portrayals of madness have evolved over time in film and drama:

    • Otto Wahl (1992, 1995), Stephen Harper (2009), Michael Birch (2012) analyze the depiction of madness, often linking mental disorders to violence.

    • Wahl (1995) documented over 150 films where mental illness represented unpredictability and violence.

    • Birch (2012) discusses the ‘not quite right’ personality as potentially concealed danger in modern films.

Example Films and Concepts

  • Psycho (1960): Portrays madness as a disease with contagious risk to others.

  • Horror crime genre merges ‘mad’ and ‘bad’. Examples include Nightmare on Elm Street where ‘evil’ is a characteristic of madness, linkages emerge.

Societal Perceptions and Media Influence

  • Film portrayals often emphasize stereotypes rather than accurate representations:

    • One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest depicted complexity but still engaged in ‘othering’ mental illness.

  • Statistics indicate a disproportionately high representation of violent characters with mental illnesses in soap operas; real-world statistics inverted, mental illness sufferers more often victims. (Birch, 2012)

Media Representation of Perpetrators

  • Tabloids construct narratives of criminality that reinforce public fears:

    • Case of Peter Sutcliffe: Public perception branded him evil despite mental illness claims.

  • Hannah Bonser case: Tabloid portrayal as ‘Twisted’, reinforcing notions of gender expectations and violent femininity.

Recent Case Studies and Legal Implications

Martin Bryant Case

  • Massacre in Tasmania (1996): Tabloids portrayed Bryant as a ‘psycho’, showcasing a method of othering through visual manipulation.

  • Gradual evolution from perceiving him as ‘mad’ to ‘bad’ within media reports informs public discourse for accountability.

Anders Breivik Case

  • Breivik's actions (2011) resulted in extensive media coverage of his mental health evaluations and public perception.

  • Judicial outcomes hinged on psychiatric assessments debated within media and public domains, demonstrating complexity in defining culpability regarding mental illness.

Conclusion

  • Since the 1990s, portrayals of 'mad and bad' have driven fears and societal responses to crime and mental illness.

  • Representations heavily influence public opinion on policy, emphasizing the constructed nature of those deemed ‘mad’ versus ‘bad’ (Busfield, 1994).

  • Sociological perspectives highlight how societal constructs, including risk perception of mental illness, affect crime portrayal and societal responses.

Suggestions for Further Reading

  • Birch, M. (2012). Mediating mental health: contexts, debates and analysis.

  • Cross, S. (2010). Mediating madness: mental distress and cultural representation.

  • Jewkes, Y. (2011). Media and crime (2nd ed.).