Criminal Minds

Crime and Punishment in Film and Television

[sonjackcarl]

[perksofbeingafanboy]

“You’re no different. You’re no better.“

Se7en (1995) dir. David Fincher

[graysonhon394]

Presentations - Tuesday

Maria made a very interesting book looking at wrongful convictions and acquittals compared to wealth. She was using the OJ Simpson case, as well as several other famous cases, and looked at how the resources available to the defendant influenced the result of the trial. According to the Innocence Project, hundreds of people have been wrongfully convicted because public defenders are overworked and cannot dedicate a lot of time to each individual case. Aamir’s presentation about the shifting views of religion was very interesting. He was looking at The Godless Girl and Se7en in particular. He talked about how the characters in The Godless Girl eventually compromised their individualism, resulting in more moderate beliefs. In Se7en, the characters remained independent. He suggested that globalization and modernization have made it easier for people to hold individual identities, which is why there is a shift in the views of religion. Maddie Grosskopf’s project explored how media makes people more involved with true crime. Because of social media, people can find information and share opinions on trials. This makes people feel more involved with the trial. I thought her point that this makes people more familiar with the legal system was very interesting. All of the presentations were very interesting and I learned a lot of new information!

[graysonhon394]

Strange answers to the psychopath test

Is there a definitive line that divides crazy from sane? With a hair-raising delivery, Jon Ronson, author of The Psychopath Test, illuminates the gray areas between the two. (With live-mixed sound by Julian Treasure and animation by Evan Grant.)

[graysonhon394]

Stop Calling Sherlock a Sociopath! Thanks, a Psychologist.

I'd like to get something off my chest. It's been bugging me for a very, very long time. Sherlock Holmes is not a sociopath. He is not even a "high-functioning sociopath," as the otherwise truly excellent BBC Sherlock has styled him (I take the words straight from Benedict Cumberbatch's mouth). There. I've said it.

[thenarddog]

To fake a convincing murder, you have to have discipline. –Gone Girl (2014)

[whyimmathere]

Eternal game of tug and war

[naturaekos]

I love Halloween. The one time of year when everyone wears a mask… not just me. People think it’s fun to pretend you’re a monster. Me, I spend my life pretending I’m not.

Dexter, Season 1 Episode 4 (via naturaekos)

[michaaelchall-blog]

The fact that I’m a killer… …that’s something I can’t control.

[graysonhon394]

The Coen Brothers Reveal 'Fargo' Is Based On A True Story After All

Here's what actually happened.

This article includes parts of an interview with the Coen brothers (the directors of Fargo) about the opening text describing the film as a true story. In this interview they explain that it is not exactly based on a true story, rather it is loosely based on two separate, but still real, crimes. 

One particularly interesting quote from Ethan Coen: 

“We wanted to make a movie just in the genre of a true story movie. You don’t have to have a true story to make a true story movie” (Coen, The Huffington Post). 

[graysonhon394]

Challenge Post 14: Robert Kardashian

One thing that The People vs OJ Simpson included which is not entirely accurate is Robert Kardashian’s role in the trial. In an interview, Laurie Levenson, a law professor who covered the Simpson trial for CBS news referred to Kardashian as a “small, bit, peripheral player in the O.J. case” (Levenson, CBS). 

Robert Kardashian and David Shwimmer 

Image Source: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/02/oj-simpson-suicide-note-robert-kardashian-smiley-face

Several scenes seemed to foreshadow the eventual popularity of the Kardashian family, and it is treated as almost an inside joke with the audience. For example, in the video of Robert Kardashian reading the note OJ left in front of the press, he was never asked how to spell his last name. I think that this was added into the episode to show that no one really knew who they were at the time. The scene where Robert Kardashian tells his children that fame is fleeting also seemed like it was included to remind the viewers of how they children eventually became incredibly famous.

Khloe Kardashian interviewed about The People vs OJ Simpson Video Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=149&v=sOXxXRlDj1Q

In an interview with James Corden, Khloe Kardashian was asked about the accuracy of the show. She replied that there were a few inaccuracies, including that they did not chant their name in front of the TV after their father read the note. She added that it seemed like they were using the Kardashian name to draw in more younger viewers, who may not be as aware of the case. However, she did say that they appreciated how their father was portrayed in the show. 

Larry Karaszewski, one of the show runners, said that they chose to include the Kardashian children in the show because “you can’t help but to feel that maybe the germ of the Kardashian empire was planted at that moment (watching the Bronco chase)”. He also said that perhaps “growing up in this circus allowed them to navigate the circus that is currently happening in their TV show now” (Karaszewski,Vanity Fair). 

Sources:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/true-and-false-in-the-people-v-o-j-simpson/

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/02/oj-simpson-suicide-note-robert-kardashian-smiley-face

[denis-villeneuve]

Fargo (1996)

[always-a-pleasure]

I guess I went a little crazy, huh? No, you’ve always been crazy. This is just the first chance you’ve ever had to really express yourself.

[anamorphosis-and-isolate]

― Taxi Driver (1976) “Loneliness has followed me my whole life, everywhere.”

[strangememories]

Fury (1936)

[graysonhon394]

Anonymity

The discussion of anonymity in class reminded me of a book that I read in my Human Event class called “A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful” by Edmund Burke. Burke defined the sublime as something so immense that it feels “creepy” and scary (among many other definitions). However, we do not necessarily avoid things which are sublime. Burke argues that even though experiencing the sublime is tied to feelings of danger, there is an inherent pleasure in it. 

In the Foucault reading, he describes terrible crimes committed by people who seem like everyone else, or “the boy next door”. These crimes terrify us because it means we may never be able to know who those around us are, and the enormity of this feeling reminds me a lot of Burke’s definition of the sublime. However, people are still fascinated by serial killer films and crime novels because this feeling is also inherently pleasurable. 

[slaughteringbunnies]

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013; Martin Scorsese)