From Criminal Minds to Crime Junkies: Why Are We So Obsessed With True Crime?

                                                   Source: weheatit.com

Crime entertainment has been on the rise in recent years, with an influx of true crime documentaries appearing on streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu, long running police dramas on television, and the media grabbing hold of real-life tragedies and exploiting them to the public. Despite the fear invoking properties of this type of entertainment, people have been consuming it for decades. Crime dramas on television reach millions of viewers each day, with shows like NCIS and Criminal Minds getting 33 million viewers each week during the height of their popularity (Parrott & Parrott, 2015). During a time where the general public and the criminal justice system are at odds, the content and bias displayed in what the people are watching continues to shape how they feel about the system as a whole. The reasons why people enjoy this type of entertainment have been researched in the past, as well as how it contributes to attitudes towards the criminal justice system. However, with new media coming out on a daily basis and a constant change in relationships between the system and the public, the need to understand the correlation between the two is always prevalent.

I have been interested in crime-based entertainment for years, watching any true crime documentary that is recommended to me and going out of my way to find new ones. I listen to crime podcasts and stay up late catching up on old episodes of Criminal Minds and based on conversations I have had with my friends and peers, I know that I am not alone in doing this. Despite knowing that the content I am consuming keeps me on edge, I continue to seek it out. But if this type of entertainment can either scare us or change the way we view the world, why are we so drawn to it?

                Source: flickr.com

Psychology Behind Watching True Crime

People are fascinated by watching crimes being committed, police finding and arresting the subjects, and how lawyers operate in the courtroom, however dread the possibility of ever getting caught up in these events in their own lives. The reasons for why people take interest in the crime genre can stem from seeking entertainment, boredom, escape, voyeurism, and convenience depending on what is available (Boling & Hull, 2018). There is also a desire for social interaction and discussion with others if something becomes popular. Fear is another element that keeps people fascinated by depictions of crime. A study was done on 13,535 people through an online survey where they were asked questions regarding why women were drawn to true crime novels (Vicary & Fraley, 2010). Women are more likely to be victims in real life crimes like murder, rape, interactions with serial killers, however in the true crime novel genre, women make up 70% of the readers. This could be, in part, due to the fear of becoming a victim in real life and the desire to see female protagonists make it out of dangerous situations in novels. Results of the study showed the women were more likely to choose a true crimes novel that indicated that a women escaped a situation by using a clever trick because they wanted to learn something from the novel. The study also showed that women were more likely to choose books that contained an interview with the serial killer in which they described their motives for killing (Vicary & Fraley, 2010). This suggests that women are fearful to become victims in their real lives, and they drive to find strategies to get out of violent situations alive and to understand the reasons for why they could become a potential victim.

However, some people like the feeling of being scared because it releases endorphins (Clasen, Andersen, & Schjoedt, 2019). People will actively seek out activities that draw out fear because they get a sense of fun out of it. Watching crime entertainment can release the same endorphins as other activities such as sky diving or haunted houses, though at a lower scale. People can also regulate the amount of fear they feel in a situation in order to obtain the best experience possible. They can simply tell themselves that it is not real or be satisfied with knowing that the perpetrator has been caught. However, this fear has led to a distorted view of the criminal justice system and crime trends. Many people believe that crime is on the rise, when it has been declining since the 1990’s (Walby, Towers, & Francis. 2016). Though this may not cause people to become more violent, it gives them a sense of fear of their community and the belief that the criminal justice system is not adequately doing their job.

 
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Obtaining Access to Different Forms of Crime Based Entertainment

            In an age where people have access to numerous types of criminal justice media entertainment in seconds, due to advancements in technology and social media, there are more ways for people to interact with crime entertainment. One of the fastest growing outlets for crime entertainment is true crime podcasts (Boling & Hull, 2018). One of the pioneers of this genre is the podcast, Serial, which in 2016, had grossed over 80 million downloads. Following Serial’s success, hundreds of true crime podcasts followed suit, becoming one of the most popular genres on all podcast streaming platforms. A study was done to determine the demographics of who listens to these types of podcasts and what keeps them coming back. An online survey was used and discovered that 73% of the people who listen to true crime podcasts are female. When asked for the reasons why they enjoy listening to true crime, the highest reported answers were for entertainment, convenience, and boredom (Boling & Hull, 2018). True crime podcasts capture the attention of audiences with the knowledge that the events that are being described actually transpired, however the way in which they are presented paints an image of storytelling. This allows audiences to enjoy the mystery and drama, but not always to the extent that it makes them fearful that the events will ever happen to them. 

    I know that personally that I wait, excitedly, for Mondays to come around because it means that a new episode of the podcast, Crime Junkies, comes out. When there is a new episode, Crime Junkies jumps to the top of podcast lists for most listened to in a day. People can not get enough. 

            One constant outlet that has been providing audiences with crime dramas for decades is television. Shows like Law and Order and NCIS have been releasing fictionalized portrayals of police work to audiences for years, while shows like Forensic Files and Cold Case Files examine real life criminal cases. A large appeal to crime dramas that change focus every episode is that the audience never gets to know the victim, but often times roots for the investigators to succeed (Turnbull, 2010). The consistency of the investigators or police officers provide a sense of comfort to the audience. These characters have dimension, the victims do not. A large amount of the entertainment that comes from these shows is from the excitement of watching the recurring characters figure out and solve a case, ignoring the true terror of what happens to the victims. These shows present a case, goes through the investigation, captures the suspects, and convictions them, all within an hour. This presents a sense of closure, when in real life that is not always the case. This can make people frustrated when they are involved with a case in the real world and it does not go as smoothly as they are portrayed on television.

Movies and documentaries are another way in which people consume crime entertainment. Streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, in recent years, have been releasing crime entertainment more than ever before as interest continues to grow. Like with television shows, movies showcasing crime conclude the story before the credits roll, providing closure to the viewer. Research shows that when watching “scary” movies, children are more afraid of symbolic stimuli (ex. Monsters, ghosts), while adults are more fearful of realistic stimuli (Martin, 2019). This fear and anxiety inducing content of realistic situations provides a strong entertainment value for older viewers. There is also a shared interested in crime movies between sexes. A study was conducted to see which type of movies sexes preferred, asking 150 undergraduates which genres they most liked to watch. Men and women reported liking different genres for the majority categories listed, however there was no difference between men and women in liking crime and mystery related films (Martin, 2019). This shared interest contributes to the wide popularity of crime related forms of entertainment, because the target is not necessarily directed at a specific group of people. This keeps ratings and viewership high, which drives the production of more crime-based entertainment in the future. I know that when my boyfriend and I are trying to pick something to watch or listen to, true crime is more often than not what we both agree on.

Despite similar interest in the crime and mystery genre, women still indulge in watching more criminal justice media entertainment than men. Women make up roughly 60% of the viewership of crime shows and movies, however, this number is even higher when a woman is the main character (Umstead, 2018). The age demographics that watch the most content in this genre are people ages 18-49, suggesting that younger people prefer to watch crime entertainment. With so many people watching this type of media, there is a false sense of knowledge in how the criminal justice system works. However, every movie and television has some bias, whether it be in favor or against the criminal justice system. Along with that, dramatized depictions of the characters and their jobs are created in order to keep the audience engaged. With crime entertainment being a well like genre people with all ages, genders, and backgrounds, there is a great risk that the public will be influenced by what they are watching.

                    Source: forbes.com

How the Public Interacts with the Criminal Justice System

            Tensions between the general public and the criminal justice system have been an ongoing issue. Truth and legitimacy is all but broken between the two populations and the extent in which people indulge in criminal justice entertainment is partially at fault. Crime shows and movies are can be dramatized and misleading, resulting in a distorted view of the criminal justice system and how it works (Barlow, Barlow, & Chiricos, 2016). The media can focus on certain crimes because of entertainment and shock value and convince viewers that violent crimes are more prevalent in society than they actually are. This can cause fear within a community and tension between the people and the police force. This also drives a disconnection between races (Baranauskas & Drakulich, 2018). Studies show that white people who watch crime dramas are more likely to fear black people within their own community. This results in more false accusations which can then lead to miscarriages of justice, a big problem within the criminal justice system.

            The type of criminal justice media entertainment people watch also affects their attitudes on the various practices of the criminal justice system. A study done in Austria looked into how watching movies depicting the death penalty alters people’s opinions on capital punishment (Till & Vitouch, 2012). Two groups of people were shown two different movies that both contained a negative view on capital punishment. Though the circumstances of the suspects in the films were different, both groups reported after their films concluded that they had a less positive view on capital punishment. It was also found that viewing the execution itself resulted in negative attitudes for the death penalty, however simply watching crime shows and police dramas resulted higher rates of endorsement of the death penalty (Till & & Vitouch, 2012). Whether it is their intension or not, pieces of entertainment influence the public’s opinions on the criminal justice system even after the credits have rolled.

    Though many true crime pieces are biased either for or against the criminal justice system, the information they present regarding potential issues is still valid and concerning. There are mistakes made in every professional field, but in this case, people's safety is on the line. These shows give people an insight into a system that they are depending on, for better or for worse. What might been at the root of the true crime obsession is simple curiosity. Curiosity about the system that is meant to protect them or curiosity about the minds of people who can hurt others. As long as there is crime, there will be people interested in seeing it, and true crime will continue to thrive.  

Sources: 

Baranauskas, Andrew J, & Drakulich, Kevin M. (2018). Media construction of crime revised: Media types, consumer contexts, and frames of crime and justice. Criminology (Beverly Hills), 56(4), 679–714. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12189

Barlow, Melissa Hickman, Barlow, David E, & Chiricos, Theodore G. (2016). Economic conditions and ideologies of crime in the media: A content analysis of crime news. Crime and Delinquency, 41(1), 3–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128795041001001

Clasen, Mathias, Andersen, Marc, & Schjoedt, Uffe. (2019). Adrenaline junkies and white-knucklers: A quantitative study of fear management in haunted house visitors. Poetics (Amsterdam), 73, 61–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2019.01.002

Boling, Kelli S, & Hull, Kevin. (2018). Undisclosed information— Serial is my favorite murder : examining motivations in the true crime podcast audience. Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 25(1), 92–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/19376529.2017.1370714

Martin, G. N. (2019). (Why) do you like scary movies? A review of the empirical research on psychological responses to horror films. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02298

Parrott, Scott, & Parrott, Caroline Titcomb. (2015). U.S. television’s “mean world” for white women: The portrayal of gender and race on fictional crime dramas. Sex Roles, 73(1-2), 70–82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-015-0505-x

Till, B, & Vitouch, P. (2012). Capital punishment in films: The impact of death penalty portrayals on viewers' mood and attitude toward capital punishment. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 24(3), 387–399. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edr051

Turnbull, S. (2010). Crime as entertainment: The case of the TV crime drama. Continuum: Entertainment Industries, 24(6), 819–827. https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2010.510591

Umstead, R. T. (2018). Crime and Viewership: Spate of true-crime shows helps networks nab viewers. Multichannel News, 39(14), 20.

Vicary, Amanda M, & Fraley, R. Chris. (2010). Captured by true crime: Why are women drawn to tales of rape, murder, and serial killers? Social Psychological and Personality Science, 1(1), 81–86. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550609355486

Walby, Sylvia, Towers, Jude, & Francis, Brian. (2016). Is violent crime increasing or decreasing?  A new methodology to measure repeat attacks making visible the significance of gender and domestic relations. British Journal of Criminology, 56(6), 1203–1234. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azv131