Forever trapped in the imaginary of late capitalism? The serialized true crime podcast as a wake-up call in times of criminological slumber

Abstract

Within this article, we explore the emergence of the serialized true crime podcast through an ultra-realist lens. These representations have become increasingly popular in recent years and appear to embody changing sensibilities towards crime and criminal justice – we critically consider whether serialized true crime podcasts do or could represent a change from the true crime of the past. More importantly, we question the extent to which academic criminology is equipped to engage in critical analysis of this media and address the questions that they raise about crime and society’s response to it in late capitalist society.

Reel cruelty: Voyeurism and extra-juridical punishment in true-crime documentaries

“…The elements deemed innovative in the 1980s today simply seem synonymous with the true-crime subgenre of documentary. A compossible explanation, provided by Yardley et al (2019: p. 17), is that late capital’s post-millennial reset of the predatory neoliberalism project has accelerated certain dislocative trends that manifest therapeutically and hegemonically in the true-crime genre as the search for a commercial stand-in for politico-juridical justice. The following two case studies, both of which can be productively regarded as post-millennial descendants of The Thin Blue Line ’s model of penal spectatorship, register and extend these affective tendencies for extra-legal and quasi- commercial forms of justice, and in so doing they throw into relief the inscription in true-crime documentaries of the desire to see the unjust suffer justly.…”

“… 2. Academic critics tend to provide more nuanced criticism of the genre than their popular counterparts, see for instance, Yardley et al’s (2019: p. 511) recent article, which argues that true crime is frequently neither celebratory of the criminal justice system nor definitive in its evaluation. …”

Seeking Justice Elsewhere: Informal and formal justice in the true crime podcastsTraceandThe Teacher’s Pet

“…These new open-ended structures are potentially more addictive for listeners, even though they do not provide the court’s promise of closure through prosecution. Despite the scholarship arguing that true crime reinstates criminal justice order at the conclusion, Elizabeth Yardley et al (2019) find that podcasts are “neither celebratory of the criminal justice system nor conclusive” (511). As Bruzzi suggests, “part of this genre’s dynamism is that it remains resistant to closure, seeking instead to keep its cases alive and open” (2016: 278).…”

“…. as to ownership and control of the emotional narrative, as private tragedy becomes open for public consumption” (Yardley et al, 2019: 514). In cases where the victim has been murdered, such as the mothers of Trace and The Teacher’s Pet , there are often secondary victims such as family members.…”

Indefinite stuckness: Listening in a time of hyper-incarceration and border entrapment

“…Yet, sound is particularly leaky and fluid, and technological advancements in sound recording, production, and dissemination make first-hand accounts of incarceration more accessible to ‘outsiders’ – should we choose to listen. The ubiquity of smartphones (even in some carceral contexts, albeit usually illicit) and the rapid growth in popularity of podcasts (Yardley et al., 2018) provide new ways to create counter-narratives of migration, criminalisation, and detention. Indeed, Milivojevic (2018) urges researchers to study ‘the technology-mobility nexus’, including how migrants are reclaiming technology to challenge exclusive borders.…”