In modern life, the media is increasingly pointed to as promoting crime, a reality at least partially due to the vast presence of media today. In earlier times media was far more limited; people relied only on newspapers, television, radio, and films. Through technology, however, media is literally omnipresent. Communication devices and laptop computers allow the Internet to be accessed from virtually any location and at any time, just as the devices provide unrestricted access to films, programs, videos, and news broadcasts. Consequently, ideas of the media as promoting crime are reinforced simply because the influence is so widespread. At the same time, the sheer power of media has the potential to emphasize social construction of crime, which may go to reduction. These issues are examined in the following, but it will be seen that the nature of media content itself, while reinforcing norms, more likely encourages crime.
Media as Cure
To understand how media may help to cure crime, it is necessary to note how crime itself is a social construction. On one level, there are behaviors and acts most societies perceive as inherently wrong or criminal, and they are usually of the more extreme kinds. On another level, however, there is a vast range of ‘crime’ that is defined as such because the acts deviate from accepted conduct, and no matter the impacts of them. For example, it is arguable that embezzling money from a large corporation does not actually harm anyone. Then, there are the ‘victimless’ crimes, such as substance abuse and prostitution, which are socially defined as crimes but which of themselves harm no others. This is true despite the ancillary crimes, such as violence and theft, associated with them; those are in fact usually effects of the criminality attached to the behaviors. The justice system nonetheless largely exists as a response to the interpretive creation of crime definition, and this in turn is enhanced by public reaction to media reports of crime. For example, the public agrees that the predator of children is abhorrent and the crime is firmly established socially; when the media focuses on a single child victim, the construction is then amplified, as occurred when the 1994 sexual assault and murder of seven year-old Megan Kanka led to statutes requiring that convicted predators be identified within a community.
Use your promo and get a custom paper on
"The Media As Cause Of Crime Or The Media As A Cure For Crime".
As crime is so predominantly constructed socially, then, public response becomes a major factor in evolving forms of address, and the media is greatly empowered to shape thinking emphasizing deviance. In the news, murders are ‘gruesome’ and ‘savage,’ reinforcing cultural and social values attaching extremes of criminality to the acts. Then, by portraying social values in positive ways, non-news media lessens any attraction to deviant behaviors, and it does this on many levels. Most are indirect; TV commercials attach positive meaning to acts of kindness, domestic scenes, and human caring for others. The intent is to sell, as in advertisements promoting gift-giving, but the message reflects mainstream values of generosity and care. Similarly, films, videos, and ads widely reinforce the idea of ‘decency’ as integral to desirable living. Romantic love results from setting the interests of the self aside in many films, while music videos celebrate the benefits of friendship, environmental concerns, and the intrinsic good of positive interaction. Media is then enabled to reduce or ‘cure’ crime by emphasizing the advantages to adhering to mainstream values. It is then reasonable to claim that a more consistent presentation of these values, and in all media, would weaken any appeal of crime. This also exists in place with the power of the media to instill fear regarding the consequences of crime, as in works stressing the realities of prison life and/or the pain often experienced by victims of crime.
Media as Cause
The potential of media to lessen crime through positive reinforcement of values and emphasis on negative consequences aside, there remains the inescapable fact that media exists, first and foremost, to market. No matter the content or medium, those presenting it rely on profit generated through advertising and financial support, and this in itself creates a highly competitive arena in which commanding more public attention is the goal. This goal is then usually served by presenting content that is sensational, and actually deviating from non-criminal norms. Interestingly, this goes to Reward Theory; the films and programs essentially state that behaving in defiance of norms brings benefits greater than adherence to them, and no matter the overt consequences as negative. For example, the recent film, The Wolf of Wall Street, conveys disaster as following greed and corruption, but it also very much glamorizes the processes. An enormous number of old films present the ‘gangster’ as an exciting rebel, and modern music videos often celebrate the excitement and prestige of living a marginalized, criminal life.
Then, a vast number of ads, videos, films, and programs emphasize aggressive sexuality as attractive, sending the message to males that dominance defines masculinity, and blurring the line between the masculine and the abusive. Generally speaking, the majority of media entertainment seeks to excite, and excitement is more easily generated by defying norms. Attractive people engage in crime and, even when they suffer for it, remain attractive and even heroic. Consequently, the fundamental need of all media to capture large audiences translates to an indirect promoting of crime through the glamorizing of deviant behavior.
Conclusion
There can be no discounting of the influence of media, even as it also reflects societal ideas and values. It then has the potential to discourage crime, through relaying positivity attached to accepted values; as the values are largely social constructions, reflective power alone reinforces the meaning. At the same time, however, the greater weight lies in the media’s need to attract as many viewers as possible, and conformity is less appealing than deviance. It essentially comes down to market factors and, this being the case, it is far more likely that media will promote crime, simply because it gains more attention through sensationalizing behaviors that defy norms.
