Crime Films Flashcards
1
Q
How did Nicole Rafter define Crime films? (Date?)
A
2006
“Crime films best understood as a category that encompasses several genres”
2
Q
What are the 8 kind of narratives found in crime films according to Nicole Rafter (2006)?
A
- Mystery & detective
- Thrillers
- Caper or Heist
- Justice Violated/ Restored
- Disguised Western
- Revenge/ Vigilante
- Biography of a criminal career
- Action film
3
Q
How did Leitch define Crime Films? (Date?)
A
2002
“Includes all film, that focus on any of the three parties to a crime - Criminal, Victim, Avenger”
4
Q
What Are the Two contradictory projects that Rafter (2006) suggests that crime films are engaged in? (Explain?)
A
- Reaffirm the social order: Criminals are punished by police working within the law and the social order is reaffirmed
- Critique the social order: Gangsters as a metaphor for corrupt business, are the guilty really guilty?
5
Q
What are the 4 theories which Rafter (2006) suggests about why people commit crime?
A
- Born Bad: Biological explanations (Biologically different to non-criminals, link to Lombroso)
- Made Bad: Normal individuals made bad by their environment or circumstances (Chicago School - Criminogenic environment
- Twisted Psyches: Crime caused by psychopathology
- Rational Choice: Crime and free will/desire, people driven to crime through greed and choice
6
Q
Suggest 4 appeals of crime films
A
- Escapism and voyeurism
- Fascination of detection
- Durkheimian (Moral boundaries)
- Puzzles (heist films)
