After addressing a brief summary of the plot of your movie or gist of your news article, your paper should address each of the following key questions/issues (not necessarily in this order): Did the movie or news article take an individualist or structural/sociological approach in the way the crime/criminal was described/depicted? That is, did the factors or “causes” that encouraged people/individuals to commit crime/s lie inside the individual (in some sort of psychological or biological abnormality), or were the causes/factors that motivated their behaviors found in the environment or “social structure” in place? What were the characteristics of the group or individual that perpetrated the crime/s (age, socio-economic status, racial/ethnic characteristics, gender, geographical location, etc.)? Based on everything we’ve discussed in class and addressed in notes, readings and videos throughout the semester, how/why might this be relevant to the story/plot? * If you’re analyzing a movie in which there are several crimes taking place, choose one to analyze. What were the characteristics of the group or individual that were victimized (age, socio-economic status, racial/ethnic characteristics, gender, geographical location, etc.). Based on everything we’ve discussed in class and addressed in notes, readings and videos throughout the semester, how/why might this be relevant to the story/plot? ** If you’re analyzing a movie where there are several cases of victimization, choose one to analyze. What specific criminological/sociological theories were reflected or challenged by the movie/article you chose?
