Graduation Semester and Year

Spring 2024

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in English

Department

English

First Advisor

Penelope Ingram

Second Advisor

Cedrick May

Third Advisor

Timothy Richardson

Abstract

In this dissertation, I assert that the rise of the internet and social media has exacerbated the ethical concerns already present in true crime media. This dissertation argues that true crime web sleuths operate as an effective public, shaping the true crime archive and the genre itself. The aim of this project is to explore the lack of borders between the role of consumers, content creators, web sleuths, and media outlets. Via communication, affect, and archival theory I propose that modern true crime is dependent upon consumers ability to easily slip into the role of producer and vice versa. In the dissertation, I offer analysis of recent events related to true crime as well as various podcast, documentaries, and books. Finally, I discuss how current issues such as political radicalization and AI are currently shaping the true crime landscape. I use these examples as a starting point for conversation on where true crime currently is and how the genre might develop in the future.

Keywords

True crime, prosumer, affect, Affective publics, archive

Disciplines

Other Film and Media Studies

License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.