{"id":10442,"date":"2020-04-01T22:02:28","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T22:02:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/?p=10442"},"modified":"2020-10-22T18:03:31","modified_gmt":"2020-10-22T18:03:31","slug":"two-truths-and-a-lie-the-true-crime-affect-on-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/?p=10442","title":{"rendered":"Two truths and a lie: true crime effect on society"},"content":{"rendered":"

True crime series are nothing new to popular media, and though they draw audiences in the millions, the genre’s recent resurgence questions the impact it’s had on society through depictions often far from the truth.<\/h3>\n

Dr. Julie Goldenson, a forensic and clinical psychologist of almost 15 years, says different shows vary in accuracy depending on how criminal behaviour is portrayed. \u201cShows tend to sensationalize crime,\u201d Goldenson wrote in an email, adding that psychologists are portrayed \u201cfairly inaccurately.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 2014 study<\/a> from researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, reveals that different people have varied visceral reactions while being exposed to violent film and images depending on their \u201cbrain circuitry,\u201d as well as \u201chow aggressive they were, to begin with.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the press release, Dr. Alia-Klein was quoted explaining that behavioural patterns become ingrained in a person\u2019s nervous system and are solidified in adulthood. \u201cThis could be at the root of the differences in people who are aggressive and not aggressive, and how media motivates them to do certain things,\u201d said Dr. Alia-Klein.<\/p>\n

\"screenshot

Screengrab of various True Crime docu-series and movies available on Netflix Canada (Jade Encila, 2020)<\/p><\/div>\n

Dr. Gary Ellis, justice studies program head at the University of Guelph-Humber, says he believes true-crime entertainment through all media platforms, whether it be film, television or podcasts is \u201charmless to most [and] educational to many.\u201d However, Ellis also says that for a small part of the population, true crime may encourage certain people towards negative and sometimes even criminal actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the greatest fear I have is the desensitization to crime,\u201d <\/strong>says Ellis. \u201cI think that affects the moral fabric of society, where people stop feeling it, they become numb to it and they don\u2019t care.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n

True crime cases are adapted from real life\u00ad, affecting real people and society\u2013 a fact Ellis says people sometimes forget to recognize. \u201cIt just becomes another news story,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

In the classroom, Ellis says true crime has played a role in undoing certain perceptions of the criminal and judicial process. \u201cWhat you will find is that \u2018true crime\u2019, is not always \u2018true crime\u2019,\u201d says Ellis. \u201cIt is presented through snippets from editors and so on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ellis says that within the justice studies field, actual videos of crimes are used for educational purposes. He says that some of them can get pretty gory; however, explains that it\u2019s the best way to assist students in understanding what is involved in criminal investigations.<\/p>\n

Mathusha Nakulesvaran is a second-year justice studies student at the University of Guelph-Humber and is a self-proclaimed \u201ctrue crime junkie.\u201d Nakulesvaran admits she watches true crime shows and listens to podcasts like NPR\u2019s Serial, regularly, and believes her interest for the genre stems from her passion for the relationship between psychology, mental illness and the criminal mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t necessarily say that true crime glorifies crime itself,\u201d says Nakulesvaran. \u201cI like to learn new things and sometimes, these shows help me understand concepts better than any professor or instructor can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"toronto<\/p>\n

She says that as a justice studies student, she acknowledges that there is a fine line between what is real and what is fake or dramatized for entertainment purposes. \u201cShows don\u2019t always capture the reality of what\u2019s going on in our society,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Lisa Gallagher, director of the Toronto True Crime Film Festival<\/a>, says there has been a recent surge of popularity of true crime series. \u201cOlder true crime always just used to be about the killer and what is going on in their mind,\u201d she says. \u201cModern true crime now is way more victim-based.\u201d Gallagher says newer true crime content often relates to different social justice issues and inequalities.<\/p>\n

She says modern true crime exists to find out what happened in a case, to get justice for someone or to make sure that people know someone\u2019s story. \u201cThey are either advocating for the victims, or they\u2019re letting them tell their own story so that they can have ownership over it,\u201d says Gallagher.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a genuine interest in people,\u201d Gallagher says.

\u201cNothing gets me more worked up than something unjust\u2013 especially when it comes to people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n

\"ted

Newspaper editorial on notorious serial killer, Theodore ‘Ted’ Bundy (CBS News, 2018)<\/p><\/div>\n

Gallagher says that people who aren\u2019t interested in true crime usually have certain assumptions about people who enjoy it. \u201cSome people may think that we\u2019re just into salacious details and that we all love Ted Bundy and think he\u2019s hot\u2013 which is absolutely not true,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Gallagher compares watching these shows and documentaries to keeping up with the news\u2013 saying that she uses true crime content to stay up to date about certain crimes and what\u2019s happening in the world.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

-30-<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Society’s growing obsession with true crime begs to question the accuracy of its portrayals and affect on society. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":10446,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[132,174,62],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10442"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}