Victims and Criminals

8/3/2019 Victims and Criminals

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Victims and Criminals

Media Language


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Victims

Crimes usually involve victims. There is usually

one or two main crimes per episode and new

victims are created with each new case, whilst

the cops stay the same.

We are occasionally shown the victims

background, in CSI : Crime Scene Investigation,

flashbacks are used.


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Criminals

Criminals represent the opposition to the law.

They can be weak, misguided, stupid or clever.

In CSI: Miami, the criminals are often

portrayed as selfish, arrogant people who we

are meant to dislike. In other dramas, the

criminals are complex people who may have

suffered themselves in their past.


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Theory

The theorist Vladimir Propp analysed character

types and came up with a list that include:

Hero who goes on a quest

Villain who is against the hero

Dispatcher who sets the hero off on their quest

Donor helps the hero

Princess the prize for the hero


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Setting

Places are a key convention of any drama. Weassociate settings with crime dramas; NewYork City features in the title ofNYPD Blue and

CSI:NYand there are similar titles forSouthland(an area of LA) and Boomtown(another area in LA).

It is not only cities,H

eartbeatis set in theYorkshire moors and the fictional Midsomer isbased in Somerset for Midsomer Murders.


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Narrative

Crime dramas tell us a different story in every

episode. We are taken on a journey and

elements combine to involve the viewer:

opening teaser quest

enigma clues

set pieces conflict suspense cliffhangers

dramatic irony resolution


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Opening Teaser

We may see someone attacked, but we dont

see the perpetrator. Maybe there is a random

passer-by who finds a corpse and screams in a

close-up at the camera.

Every crime drama does it differently, but the

primary function is to draw you in and make

you want to watch. This is usually done in

combination with the enigma, the mystery.


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Enigma

Roland Barthes described how stories use

different codes to control the way information

is given to the audience. One of these is the

enigmacodewhich sets up a riddle for the

viewer to solve.

The hero usually the forces of law and order

work hard to solve the mystery and we go

along with them on the journey or quest.


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Clues

The story scatters cluesfor the detectives and

we follow. Some dramas dont reveal the

identity of the criminal until near the end, e.g.

Inspector Morse or Waking the Dead. This is

called a closed narrative.

In others we are shown the criminal at the

beginning, e.g. Columbo and Law and Order:

Criminal Intent. This is an opennarrative.


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Set pieces

We are often shown scenes that we recognisefrom other dramas, these are set pieces. Forexample we may see a couple of detectives at

a crime scene, looking at a body, Or anautopsy or asking witnesses questions.

We may only follow a key detective, we seetheir viewpoint. A drama like Boomtown playswith the same scene through differentpeoples viewpoints to discover the truth.


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Conflict

Whatever happens along the way there isalways conflict. A theorist called Claude Levi-Strausslooked at how stories involve conflict

between opposite forces, e.g. good v evil; copv criminal. These are called binaryoppositions. The opposites fight each otherfor dominance and audiences want to see

them resolved. It might not just be betweenpolice and criminal, it could be between policeofficers, the lawyers or their family members.


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Suspense

Sometimes we see what the detective seesand other times they know the answer beforethe viewer does. Inspector Morse and

Columbo often crack the case in their mindsand we have to wait to find out what theyknow.

The steps along the way to solving the crimecreate suspense. Questions are usually raisedin your mind.


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Dramatic irony & cliffhangers

If you are shown something the detective

hasnt seen, a suspect hiding a murder

weapon or a seemingly innocent witness up to

no good. When you know something the

heroes dont know, this is called dramatic

irony. This is often combined with

cliffhangers, when something dramatichappens and the viewer is left wondering.


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Resolution

When all the questions are answered and the

quest comes to its natural conclusion: the

resolution. Successful crime dramas may

delay and delay the resolution and we want to

see the crime solved so we can relax. Until

next time


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Todorov

This pattern of narrative where the story is

resolved has also been described by the

theorist Tzvetan Todorov. He reduced stories

to a simple formula:

Equilibrium

Disruption

Restored equilibrium

or Order/Chaos/Restored order

Victims and Criminals

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Transcript of Victims and Criminals