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Introduction

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Crime, Prisons and Viscous Culture

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Abstract

During a midnight screening of Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises in 2012, 24-year-old James Holmes entered a multiplex cinema in Colorado, United States of America, opened fire and killed 12 people and wounded over 70 others. Early reports of the incident—one of the bloodiest mass shootings in United States history—suggested that Holmes had dyed red hair, and when arrested by police told them that he was the Joker, fictional super-villain and Batman’s nemesis.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    According to IMDb, the online database of information relating to films, TV programmes and video games. I have deliberately avoided lists such as those by the British Film Industry (BFI), which is selected by critics, programmers and academics; and Sight and Sound, which is largely selected by critics.

  2. 2.

    According to latest figures from the International Centre for Prison studies men account for 93% of the worldwide prison population.

  3. 3.

    An example of this is provided by the outpouring of grief that marked the death of singer David Bowie in 2016 and the numerous comments made regarding his impact on issues relating to gender and sexuality. Going a step further, the German government thanked Bowie for having helped bring down the Berlin wall.

  4. 4.

    Although as Allen (2000) points out, there is enough flexibility in the concept of intertextuality for it to be used by both poststructuralists and structuralists alike.

  5. 5.

    See Orr (2003) for an overview of various debates on intertextuality.

  6. 6.

    The prisoner Charles Bronson (born Michael Peterson) changed his name to that of actor Charles Bronson, although he has now changed his name to Charles Salvador.

  7. 7.

    Much to the chagrin of most lecturers!

  8. 8.

    As is evident from Paul’s quote in this chapter.

  9. 9.

    Based on findings from the Cooperative Funeral Care survey of over 30,000 funeral homes. It is worth keeping in mind that the deceased may not have chosen the song and the choice, rather ironically, may have been made by a family member. http://www.co-operativefuneralcare.co.uk/funeral-music-chart/2014/

  10. 10.

    As Liazos (1972) argued, there is a danger within academia of othering through focusing on the ‘deviant’.

  11. 11.

    I have discussed this in Farrant (2014). This issue has also been explored by Liazos (1972).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Roehampton, London, UK

    Finola Farrant

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Farrant, F. (2016). Introduction. In: Crime, Prisons and Viscous Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-49010-0_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-49010-0_1

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