1. What are Dowler et als thoughts on the influence of American television on Canadian audiences?

What role do racial views play in how we process crime-related entertainment? Do you agree with the authors overall take on the impact of crime-related media on Canadian society? The article, Constructing Crime: Media, Crime, and Popular Culture, by Dowler et al presents that the distinction between crimes in reality and fiction has been blurred due to the increased fame of various crime shows. Many popular shows are believed to create audiences assumption regarding how crimes are supposed to happen, what evidence required to prosecute crimes, and how our law system addresses crimes. Prosecutors lament the fact that they have to supply more forensic evidence because jurors expect this type of evidence, having seen it on television (Dowler et al, 2006). This distorts what actually happens in reality. Moreover, viewers knowledge of crimes can be achieved not only from news sources and reality shows but also from dramatic movie and television series. However, there is also a concern regarding the fact that some serious crimes are portrayed in an entertainment way on television. This would even make the distortion even worse. The article also discusses that the media have significant influence on audiences production and filtering of crime ideas. What is seen on television can affect and structure how viewers perceive crimes in reality. The authors state that in both Canadian and American newscasts, racial images saturate media portrayals of criminality and victimization. The public tends to pay less attention to minority victims, compared to white victims. On the other hand, many racial stereotypes are formed against minority groups of people when it comes to define active participants in criminal cultures or offenders. Gender is considered to be another aspect of how crime is viewed. Female victims are frequently considered to be accountable for their own victimization while minimizing the perpetrators responsibility. Violence against women is devalued, while the female victim is depersonalized, objectified, and dehumanized (Dowler et al, 2006). In my opinion, I agree with most of the authors opinions on how medias influence on the public perception of crimes. Even though I agree that media can distort crimes in reality, I think the impact is moderate. I believe that not everyone fails to differentiate things on television from reality. I also agree with their arguments about race in the article. However, I am certain that some stereotypes, especially regarding female victims, have changed and will change in the future.