In recent years, media attention has increased for crimes committed against women by partners or ex-partners. Violent crimes dominate the news and mass media, recounting in the typical forms of television fiction crimes that seem increasingly heinous. It is important to note, without entering into the merits of historical truth and narrative truth, how criminological knowledge is conveyed to the general public in popularized form and contributes to creating a shared representation of these crimes. The study was motivated by an interest in understanding what representations are conveyed by television broadcasts and how closely they relate to criminological theories and literature on the subject. We therefore examined with thematic analysis 17 episodes of the programme Amore criminale with the aim of tracing two interconnected levels of knowledge: a) the level of representations of the individual stories of the victim and the murderer; b) the representation level relating to the couple’s relationship and the representation of the couple in the reconstruction broadcast. The objective of the proposed qualitative research is to examine the media portrayals proposed in thematic television programs, as well as the narrative profiles of the victims, perpetrators and their relationships, as described in the account of the drama, by the presenter and the numerous characters involved in the narrative (relatives, friends and professionals).
Media representation of intimate partner crimes: A thematic analysis of televisione broadcast narratives
De Gregorio Eugenio
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
;
2025-01-01
Abstract
In recent years, media attention has increased for crimes committed against women by partners or ex-partners. Violent crimes dominate the news and mass media, recounting in the typical forms of television fiction crimes that seem increasingly heinous. It is important to note, without entering into the merits of historical truth and narrative truth, how criminological knowledge is conveyed to the general public in popularized form and contributes to creating a shared representation of these crimes. The study was motivated by an interest in understanding what representations are conveyed by television broadcasts and how closely they relate to criminological theories and literature on the subject. We therefore examined with thematic analysis 17 episodes of the programme Amore criminale with the aim of tracing two interconnected levels of knowledge: a) the level of representations of the individual stories of the victim and the murderer; b) the representation level relating to the couple’s relationship and the representation of the couple in the reconstruction broadcast. The objective of the proposed qualitative research is to examine the media portrayals proposed in thematic television programs, as well as the narrative profiles of the victims, perpetrators and their relationships, as described in the account of the drama, by the presenter and the numerous characters involved in the narrative (relatives, friends and professionals).I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
