Fictional Criminologies

The purpose of this chapter is to distinguish the criminology of narrative fiction from previous criminological engagements with fiction. The chapter begins with an introduction to the cultural criminological framework, focusing on Nicole Rafter’s (2006) Shots in the Mirror. The chapter then discusses the critical realist framework in Vincenzo Ruggiero’s Crime in Literature (2003) and Jon Frauley’s Criminology, Deviance, and the Silver Screen (2010). The chapter distinguishes the criminology of narrative fiction from both the cultural criminological and critical realist frameworks on the basis that the latter two are concerned with the semiotic and pedagogic roles of fiction whereas the former is concerned with the aetiological role. The chapter concludes by distinguishing the criminology of narrative fiction from the author’s previous work.

Cultural Studies Approaches to the Study of Crime in Literature

Crime in literature takes advantage of two basic assumptions: (1) that the storyline generally begins with a crime (very often murder) that underlies the subsequent narrative, often serving as the driving force of the story; and (2) that the crime itself and its narrative implications will be rooted in the actual workings of a culture’s justice system at any given moment in time. Consequently, crime literature in particular provides readers with a snapshot of prevailing attitudes about the nature of justice in a society and the basic fears about crime that threaten its collective conscience. To understand crime fiction from a cultural studies perspective, it is necessary to develop a broader understanding of the larger culture from which an author and his/her fictional creations emerge. Although writers create fiction for various reasons, publishers put their efforts into projects they hope will be somewhat financially profitable. Thus, published works exist in a culturally-specific space that never veers too far from the values, beliefs, and expectations of its mainstream society. To understand the fictional world conjured by an author a cultural studies approach takes into consideration larger socio-historical phenomena: What kinds of mythologies underlie a culture’s traditions? What historical events have helped shape the culture’s identity? What sort of political and legal systems organize the culture? What specific kinds of crime tend to be highlighted in a culture’s crime literature (guns, drugs, race, violence against women, class warfare, government corruption and repression, etc.)? What role do legitimate legal structures tend to play in a culture’s crime literature? What role does climate play in a culture’s identity? In short, a cultural studies approach begins by trying to determine the assumptions authors make about readers’ cultural knowledge, values, beliefs, and myths about crime and justice in order to develop a context for understanding what is taken for granted in the narrative.