Rotten, Vile, and Depraved! Depictions of Criminality in Superhero Cartoons

The literature argues that media depictions of crime present messages that conform to and promote the dominant ideology about the causes of crime and the nature of criminality. Most research focuses on television news and adult programs, but little research examines messages about criminality present in children’s shows. To fill this gap, a content analysis of children’s cartoons was conducted, using episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, Spider-Man, and Justice League Unlimited. Three central themes emerged. First, much criminal activity centers on greed. Second, criminals are aware of right and wrong but pursue crime to meet their own self-interests. Third, criminals are different from law-abiding people. Even if they are flawed or evil, criminals are rational and therefore culpable actors. These shows provide messages about criminality consistent with the dominant ideology. Television is a primary venue through which deviant behavior is socially constructed, as well as a medium through which cultural images about crime and criminality are disseminated and reinforced. In general, the literature argues that media depictions of crime and criminals present messages that conform to and promote the dominant ideology about the nature and motivation for criminal behavior. Most research focuses on television news and adult programming like Law & Order or America’s Most Wanted. Little research has examined the messages about criminality to which people are exposed at an early age. For people who have limited non-media sources of information about crime, like the general child audience, the media becomes even more relevant for defining the socially constructed reality of crime (Surette 2003). Research on children’s programming generally focuses on the amount of violent content young people may see or how depictions of violence may translate to real-world aggressiveness or use of violence by the young viewer (Blumberg et al. 2008). Although the debate continues regarding the effects of television viewing on behavior, it is clear that children’s shows contain significant amounts of broadly defined violence. For example, Wilson et al. (2002) analyzed data from National Television Violence Study and found that 97% of superhero shows depicted violence. However, compared to other children’s programs, this violence was more often portrayed as justified or morally correct.