NCJ Number
64466
Journal
Questione Criminale Volume: 4 Issue: 2 Dated: (MAY-AUGUST 1978) Pages: 331-347
Date Published
1978
Length
17 pages
Annotation
TRENDS IN RECENT BRITISH RESEARCH ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MASS MEDIA AND DEVIANCE ARE TRACED FROM LABELING THEORIES TO MARXIST VIEWS OF MEDIA MANIPULATION AND STATE ILLEGALITY.
Abstract
AS EARLY AS THE 19TH CENTURY THE VIEWS THAT MODELS OF DEVIANCE CONTRIBUTE DIRECTLY TO DEVIANCE, AND THAT CRIME IS CAUSED BY SOCIAL CONDITIONS AND CLASS INEQUALITIES DEVELOPED INTO SEPARATE TYPES OF THEORETICAL ANALYSIS. THE FIRST, MORE CONSERVATIVE VIEW LED IN THE FIFTIES AND SIXTIES TO AN EXAGGERATED INTEREST IN THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF FILM AND TELEVISION VIOLENCE ON JUVENILES. THE SECOND, PROGRESSIVE VIEW, INFLUENCED BY SOCIOLOGY, RESULTED IN 'STREET CORNER STUDIES' OF DEVIANCE AS A STRATEGY TO RESOLVE SOCIAL CONFLICTS AND EVENTUALLY, IN THE SIXTIES, IN REJECTION OF THE NOTION THAT THE MEDIA AFFECTS VIOLENT BEHAVIOR. RECENTLY, HOWEVER, SCHOLARLY INTEREST HAS SHIFTED FROM THE CAUSES OF DEVIANCE TO THE CAUSES OF LABELING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE SYMBOLIC INTERACTION AND LABELING THEORIES AS DESCRIBED BY H. BECKER. IN GREAT BRITAIN THE PHENOMENON OF ADOLESCENT REBELLION WAS LINKED TO THE GROWTH OF POP MUSIC; SUBSEQUENTLY, THE IMAGE OF TEENAGE HOOLIGANS PROPAGATED BY MASS MEDIA PROMOTED STRICTER SOCIAL CONTROL. A NUMBER OF STUDIES EXPLORED VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THIS PHENOMENON, E.G., THE SOCIAL ALARM CAUSED BY EXCESSIVE MEDIA COVERAGE OF MOD-ROCKER CONFLICTS, AND THE DRUG SUBCULTURE IN THE LONDON DISTRICT OF NOTTING HILL. WHILE LEGAL DECRIMINALIZATION AND STUDENT UNDERGROUND INVOLVEMENT STIMULATED A GOOD DEAL OF RESEARCH ON LABELING, THIS TYPE OF RESEARCH AS WELL AS MEDIA COVERAGE TENDED TO EMPHASIZE JUVENILE DELINQUENCY ALONE. FURTHERMORE, THE ACTUAL EFFECTS OF MEDIA COVERAGE ON PUBLIC ATTITUDES AND THE MEDIA PRACTICES INVOLVED IN PRODUCING IMAGES WERE NOT EXAMINED. HOWEVER, 1968 STUDIES DEMONSTRATED HOW FACTS ARE DISTORTED IN THE NEWS PRODUCTION PROCESS; FURTHER STUDIES DOCUMENTED THE MEDIA'S STEREOTYPING OF CRIME AND THE INFLUENCE OF THE LOCAL ELITE ON LOCAL NEWS COVERAGE. THE EXACT ROLE THAT SOCIAL CLASS PLAYS IN LABELING REMAINS UNCLEAR. STUDIES IN THE EARLY SEVENTIES INCLUDE A MARXIST ATTEMPT TO ATTRIBUTE THE UPROAR OVER MUGGING TO A CRISIS OF LEGITIMATION OF THE BRITISH CAPITALIST STATE, A RADICAL THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF THE MEDIA'S ROLE IN STATE LEGITIMATION, AND A STUDY ON THE LOWER CLASS REINTERPRETATION OF DOMINANT-CLASS INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY THE PRESS. MOST CURRENT RESEARCH FOCUSES PARTICULARLY ON THE ILLEGALITIES INHERENT IN THE CLASS INEQUALITIES OF MATURE CAPITALISM. A SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY IS SUPPLIED. --IN ITALIAN. (KMD)