Paper Example on Crime and Justice in Film: A Decade of Reflection

Introduction

For decades, film directors have used movies as an artistic medium to reflect the attitudes that are dominant in the world. As a result, films have become pivotal in shaping society’s ideas and perceptions around the globe. Various themes conveyed by films include romance, politics, justice, and family drama among others. However, the theme of crime and justice is the most represented theme since the inception of the industry. Consequently, over the years, various scholars have researched the relationship between crime films and actual crime in societies. It is therefore, vital to identify what the directors recognize to be the cause of crime in their movies. Despite different films dealing or identifying varying roots of evil, they all agree on the need for justice and the protection and care of victims of crime. The importance of cinema and television in identifying the causes of crime has evolved over the years to be involved in suggesting possible reasons for criminal behavior in society. Crime films tend to highlight the political, social and economic motives of criminal activities while shaping the societies’ perception of crime.

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Understanding the Meaning of Crime

Before identifying what films portray the causes of crime, it is vital to understand the meaning of crime and its impact on society as recognized by movies. Crime can be defined as any action or omission which constitutes an offense and is punishable by law. In cinema and television, the same definition is adopted as identified by Rafter who noted that crime films tend to have a central theme of lawbreaking by the characters who usually suffer the consequences of their wrongdoing. Historically, crime is a relative concept that is presented by movies to be a social construct. In understanding what films tell us about the roots of evil, it is crucial to identify the cultural representation of crime in media. Cinema and television depict an uncertainty that exists in the social and moral categories in society and tensions that persist between order and violation of social order. As such, movie directors use crime films to help the audience gain a closer look at the existing ambivalence between the fascination of evil and the safety of the good that is comforting. Therefore, crime films reveal a critical aspect of society as they are usually derived from a social context. It is for this reason that such movies have often been referenced in criminology or understanding criminal behavior. From a criminology view, crime films not only illustrate the roots of evil but also enrich the reflection of the perspectives that the scientific study of crime will neglect in society.

What Films Tell Us About the Causes of Crime

The silent cinema tendencies of representing crime became more amplified in the 1930s. At the time, Cinemas became a crucial part of mass communication. Cinema had already started to become a critical culture for the American people and provided new ideas and contrasted the traditions. The beginning of the 1930s saw the Great Depression, taking pictures, and Prohibition, which left the American consciousness with a permanent sign. The first talking pictures movie ‘Lights of New York’ highlighted crime and provided a representation of the immigration and urbanization effects on crime. In the era of Prohibition, the pleasures that were enjoyed in the new areas crashed with the traditional American morals, and the result was uncertainty and a feeling of loss. The Gangsters in the movie were indicated to be immigrants and the crisis represented the effect of the notion of the American dream in contributing to crime and the consequences of depression. Significantly, crisis, whether cultural, political, or economic, is brought about in the European Cinemas of the 1930s especially in France. In France, poetic realism was on the rise and portrayed the oppression of the lower classes in urban areas (Munby p.50). The gangsters that are exhibited in the French cinema at the time symbolize and indicate the sentiments of oppression as the cause of crime. The poetic destiny for the gangsters is defeat but they are mentioned to be sentimental compared to the American gangsters in the movies.

Rafter finds it exciting how crime movies depict the explanation of criminal behavior. In his book, Shots in the Mirror, Rafter argues that crime movies, regardless of their main characters such as cops, courts, and justice system at large, or the crime itself, have historically made two arguments simultaneously. First, they seem to criticize some aspects of society, such as police brutality, legal barriers to justice, the menace of crime, or prison violence. The films condemn such elements usually by intentionally encouraging the audiences to identify with the “good” bad character. Secondly, the movies enable the viewers to recognize the need to have law and order in society by praising the character who restores order. Unfortunately, in most crime films, the bad-guy hero is usually faced with severe consequences which include punishment or death. In this regard, crime movies provide contradictory satisfaction to their audiences.

On the one hand, they identify the root for the bad-guy character to commit a crime which results in challenges with the authority which usually exposes injustices that exist in society. In this sense, the films champion the underdog who most viewers can identify with. On the other hand, their endings provide an overhaul that makes criminal rebellion to justice unnecessary. This dual satisfaction has been the result of most crime films since the inception of cinema. For instance, the movie ‘Badlands’ portrays how the wicked environment that the character lives in prompts the individual to become a criminal. The 1973 film was fictional but loosely based on the real-life murder spree of Charles Starkweather and his girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate. The main character in the movie is known as Kit who has a troubled past especially owing to he served at the Korean war. His girlfriend, Holly, also had a strained relationship with her father who at some point, shoots her dog because he disapproved of her relationship with Kit. Another film that portrays the effect of the environment as a possible cause of criminal behavior is ‘Angels with Dirty Faces.’ In this movie, the characters are faced with poverty which prompts them to crime as they try to lead a better life.

In the 1960s, cinema and television’s representation of crime took a different and more innovative approach reflecting the changes in American society during that time. As urbanization was taking place, crime films indicated the root of crime in the community to be the collision of culture among the youths who came from different cultural backgrounds. Racial injustices experienced in the American urban society was the general approach of the movies where the minority and discriminated groups would fight the system. This was a reflection of the freedom movements that were a commonality. For example, ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ was a film that illustrated the issue of racial discrimination. In this film, the oppression of freedom by the authority and justice system at large is criticized by using violence. In the ‘Godfather 1’, the violent scenes indicate the representation of values of family, rituals, betrayal, honour and family in the world which was stereotyped. There is a presumed separation existing in the American society between law and crime and good and evil. The counterculture of the youth is, therefore, depicted to be one of the causes of lawbreaking in the movies. In the past, Cops have been looked down on by American society. The world therefore never believed in the fight for justice that was being put on by the system. The development of attitudes towards law enforcement led to the emergency of heroes in society. The cops were being used by the government and significant business people to attack protestors and workers and the public never liked them. The movie ‘Dirty Harry’ portrays an excellent example of social changes are a cause of crime.

In the 1970s, American society was marred by legitimacy issues. The cinema industry also reflected the overlapping events of the community that brought about the crisis. The problems ranged from harmful pollution brought about by the rise of industrialization, manufacturing of products that were unfit for human consumption, high rate of unemployment, and unethical government practices that included bribery by the manufacturing sector to avoid facing consequences of the environmental pollution they brought about. As a result, the cinema industry also reflected the social disorder by releasing blockbusters revolving around similar issues. ‘The Godfather’ represents a perfect example of how crime films portrayed a figure that was looked upon by the society to bring back law and order especially in the government.

During this period of the 1970s, American society was also faced with a new problem; violence against women. This issue was brought about by the unflattering views about women which consequently led to protests in various parts of the country as women’s liberation. Crime films produced and released during this period explored the role of women beyond the traditional wife and mother representing them as complex characters that matched the professionalism of their male counterparts. The documentary ‘A Decade Under the Influence’ was about the Hollywood New Wave. This film exhaustively discussed the role of women in the film industry, highlighting the limitations the society put on them. The first film to depict the plight of women was ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ with its characterization of Bonnie Parker who was the lead character. This film and several others in the 1970s were meant to show the male dominance in Hollywood and that the commonly accepted “male gaze” (the objectification of women by men onscreen) was not only false representations of women but also unrealistic.

In the 1980s crime movies, postmodern gangsters were on the rise, and they had a new representation of crime and its uses. The sale and consumption of drugs in America which was established in the movie ‘the French Connection,’ and continues to become a theme to this date. Drugs are attributed to be the primary cause of crime and are associated with social dissolution and fortunes. The originality of criminal ethics is brought while crime perpetrators are depicted to be members of juvenile gangs. The issue of drugs has been there for a long time and is a significant cause of crime in different police procedurals. Movies, especially crime films, establish an aspect of crime stories that have kept the society hungry for more. Through highlighting investigation measures, punishments and trials, the movies are clear on one common thing that has been in the community for long. While the focus is made on the way of getting justice, the films do much more by establishing the cause of crimes. The plots that are used on crime movies may draw on the historical reasons and may create celebrated heroes (Doherty p.1932). Although the movie plots are fictions mostly depicting on attitudes of the society, they indicate the settings that cause individuals to adopt criminal behaviours. Whether they focus on the justice system, the police or the community, movies portray crime to be a human characteristic and they go further to elaborate that crime is not only found in the society but also within the elements that are supposed to diminish it.

One aspect of the causes of crime that is depicted by crime movies revolves around the economic environment. In the early days, when police procedurals were beginning to take shape, the public or rather the audience identified very much with the gangsters that were portrayed in the films. The c...