The Appeal of the Crime Genre

Although often considered by critics to be an inferior cultural form, the crime genre is not only extremely popular but also offers important insights into the ways in which the media both influence and reflect societal conditions. The crime genre is particularly relevant to criminology. It begins with some type of wrongdoing and social harm. The detective, like a criminologist, then proceeds to conduct a systematic investigation in which she or he analyzes the evidence with the aim of understanding the causes of the situation. Historically, pioneering, scientifically oriented crime genre detectives both inspired and reflected the historical development of criminology as a science. However, unlike scientific purists, detectives also have advocacy goals: They seek knowledge that will set things right or promote a just outcome. In this way, they resemble criminologists, who also define themselves as activists aiming to understand and to promote justice.

Beyond any methodological similarities between detectives and scientific criminologists, we argue that an analysis of crime fiction also offers avenues for understanding cultural attitudes and public views of crime. Many criminologists lament that the public’s knowledge of crime comes from the media—both news and fiction—which give an inaccurate picture of crime (Savelsberg 1999). Ray Surette (2007) refers to the paradox that the media portray the unusual forms of crime and ignore commonplace crimes. Local television news and crime dramas focus on murder, not property or corporate crime. As a result, the public misunderstands the frequency and seriousness of many kinds of criminality.

However, such analyses of the role of the media in promoting “misunderstandings” of crime may oversimplify the relationship between the crime genre and its fans and also fail to grasp the degree to which both the genre and fans are embedded in larger cultural contexts. Individuals are not passive media consumers. They may critically consume and interact with crime genre productions (CPGs) in myriad ways that go beyond simple reception (Joyrich 1996). Some students and scholars utilize these media to gain insights into and generate discussions about popular views of crime and justice.

An emergent field of criminology—cultural criminology—asks why crime is an attractive spectacle. It encourages analyses of the media’s depictions of crime and criminals as social constructions, how these constructions interface with the public’s views of crime, and how these constructions are then transformed into and referenced in social life and social policies (Ferrell, Hayward, and Young 2008).

Increasingly, criminologists are sensitive to the relationship between criminology and the media—for example, in how films reproduce extant theories of crime (Rafter and Brown 2011). Others trace the shifting ideologies in films and television crime drama and demonstrate how, over the years, these shifts have paralleled changes in public attitudes about crime and changes in crime policy (Lenz 2003). Some scholars discuss how shifts in the policies and the personnel of the criminal justice system are manifest in the crime genre—for example, women in policing (Cavender and Jurik 2012; Martin and Jurik 2007).

We take seriously the significance of the crime genre. In the sections that follow, we discuss the history and longevity of the crime genre as well as controversies that have surrounded it. We pay particular attention to the various explanations that have been offered by scholars, critics, and fans for the genre’s popularity. We augment this discussion with the results of open-ended surveys and conversations that we conducted with a nonrandom sample of professors, other professionals, and students regarding their views of the crime genre. Although our efforts were exploratory and our sample was not representative of the general public, our findings reveal the extensive popularity and wide variety of reasons that individuals seek out CGPs. They also suggest the ways in which many individuals actively engage the crime genre.

In considering the appeal of the crime genre, we note at the outset that we use the term crime genre broadly to include popular media that deal with crime as fiction: novels, television, and film. Arguably, video games might also be included, although we find them unique enough that we have largely left them to a future investigation.

While news coverage of actual crimes does not fit within the purview of the crime genre, news and real crimes are related to the genre. Historically and today, crime genre stories are sometimes based on actual crimes that are fictionalized to accommodate a movie format or to fit within a television police series. The film noir classic The Naked City (1948) was based on a crime that had occurred 25 years earlier (Wilson 2000, p. 72). Episodes of CSI are suggested by the series’ consultants and by actual cases they worked as crime scene investigators (Cavender and Deutsch 2007). Another instance of the interrelatedness of news and genre fiction occurs when news coverage intentionally uses the language of fiction. For example, in London in 1888, newspaper coverage of the “Jack the Ripper” murders drew upon the language of genre fiction, in that case, the horror genre (Walkowitz 1982). Today, television news sometimes not only uses the language of the crime genre but specifically references the genre—for example, local television news may show crime scene investigators at a crime site and reference CSI (see Cavender and Deutsch 2007). Of course the hybrid format of reality television includes crime programs like Cops or America’s Most Wanted. These reality television programs constantly invoke truth claims, but their similarity to crime fiction is well documented (Fishman and Cavender 1998). Notwithstanding the importance of crime news, our analysis focuses on the fictionalized crime genre.

In any case, crime is and has always been an important topic in the news, in fiction, and for the citizenry. Citizens frequently list crime as among their top social problems of concern. One of the oldest accounts of a written crime story occurs in a succinct three-word passage in the Bible—“Cain killed Abel”—and today a crime story is often the lead in local television news broadcasts. The crime genre is a standard feature in television programming, and bookstores that cater to fans of the crime genre are an exception to the decline of bookstores in the United States. We now turn to a discussion of the longevity of the crime genre.

The crime genre is a staple of dramatic fiction and seems to be popular across all media. Stories of legendary bandits like Robin Hood (Knight 2003) were told in oral narratives, and tales of outlaws like Jessie James were disseminated in the written forms of their day. Indeed, each new medium quickly adapts the crime genre to its format. The Great Train Robbery (1903), an early film, signals the beginning of the western genre, but a crime motivates the action (Moody 2003). The crime genre was popular in radio programming (e.g., Sam Spade: Private Eye and Dragnet), and the genre facilitated the early success of television—wherein radio crime dramas like Dragnet were transported to the new medium (Fishman and Cavender 1998).

Edgar Allen Poe is often credited as the originator of the crime genre in the 1840s. However, there is at least one crime story (The Tale of the Three Apples) in the Tales of 1001 Arabian Nights which dates from the eighth century, and ancient stories in China dealt with magistrates who solved crimes (Demko n.d.). The publication of The Newgate Calendar in England in the late 1700s demonstrated that the public was interested in reading what were purported to be “true crime” stories. The Rector of Veilbye, a Danish crime novel by Steen Steensen Blicher, was published in 1829 but based on actual events in the 1600s; it demonstrates both the longevity of the genre and its international dimension (Wikipedia n.d.). The Moonstone (1868), a Wilkie Collins novel, is one of the earlier crime novels in the English language.

Edgar Allen Poe did write three short stories in the 1840s that had a profound impact on the crime genre: The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841), The Murder of Marie Roget (1842), and The Purloined Letter (1845). Poe created a formula—the brilliant, rational detective who is paired with a loyal colleague—that would have a lasting impact on the classic private detective story. Indeed, Poe’s formula was at the heart of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short stories and novels, which featured one of the best-known characters in western literature: Sherlock Holmes. Today, almost 150 years later, the Holmes character and his loyal ally, Dr. Watson, are always in the popular consciousness. Two current popular television programs, one in England (Sherlock) and one in the United States (Elementary), reimagine Holmes and Watson living in contemporary London and in New York. Two recent films featuring the Holmes and Watson of the late 1800s have been box office hits: Sherlock Holmes (2009) and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011).

The classic private detective was imported to the United States in the 1930s, although in the hardboiled tradition popularized by Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. Their private detectives were wisecracking iconoclasts who resembled the knight errant of earlier literature or the cowboy hero as imagined in stories about the “the Wild West” (Cawleti 1976). Today there are fewer private detectives and many more police detectives. The police procedural drama is standard fare in television programming around the world. Commentators attest to the continuing (and now global) popularity of the crime genre.

Blogs and other Internet entries about the crime genre are now commonplace, and many offer popularity claims. The Wikipedia entry for the category “Crime fiction” (n.d.) claims that 20 to 25 percent of all book sales globally and as many as half of the best-selling novels fall within the crime genre. Another source notes that in 2011, one third of the titles nominated for the prestigious Booker Prize (for novels) were crime fiction, the top ten titles borrowed from libraries were crime novels, and crime drama dominates television (Russell 2011). Whatever the accuracy of such claims, our own quick glance reveals that during one week chosen at random, four of the top ten best sellers listed in The New York Times Sunday Review of Books were crime genre novels. Moreover, twice a month The New York Times Sunday Review of Books includes a section of reviews of recently published crime novels. Book sales are a metric of popularity. British mystery writer Agatha Christie is reputed to be the best-selling novelist of all time (Bergin 2013). More recently, Scandinavian author Steig Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy has sold 65 million books; the trilogy has been adapted into three Swedish films, and the first film in the series has been adapted into a US film.

As we noted, the crime genre is popular across media. In terms of television, the longest-running television drama in the United States was Law & Order. In England, The Bill, a police procedural, is the longest running television program. Both Law & Order and The Bill were exported to other countries, where they enjoyed large audience ratings. In terms of a global market, the popular British police procedural Prime Suspect, has aired in more than 70 countries, and one installment enjoyed as many as 200 million viewers (Cavender and Jurik 2012).

The long-term worldwide popularity of the crime genre is the subject of geographer George Demko’s (n.d.) analysis in The Landscapes of Crime. Demko provides a global travelogue that offers specific examples of the crime genre in novels and on television in Italy, Spain, Sweden, Russia, the Czech Republic, Japan, China, Argentina, Mexico, and Israel. As we discuss in more detail further on, Demko argues that well-respected novelists are influenced by crime stories and, in addition to so-called legitimate novels, also write crime novels or teleplays. In the Czech Republic, for example, author Karel Capek wrote a series of stories (in the 1920s) that were influenced by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Another Czech writer, Josef Skvorecky, wrote crime novels (the Lt. Boruvka series) and also a crime genre teleplay in the 1970s–1980s in addition to his noncrime novels. Others agree about the global popularity of the crime genre. John Crace (2009) and Kerstin Bergman (2009) discuss the recent popularity of Scandinavian crime genre exports, including the international hit Danish television series The Killing and other popular exports, such as Henning Mankell’s Wallander novels and the Swedish and British Wallander television series.

In addition to global diffusion, experts identify other factors that explain the crime genre’s popularity. One factor is the presence of women authors and protagonists within the crime genre. Scholars (e.g., Klein 1995; Reddy 1988) have noted the male-centric and often misogynistic nature of many earlier CGPs: Men wrote and were the central protagonists of these productions. Women appeared either as femme fatales, romantic interests, or victims. Of course even decades ago, there were exceptions to the male-centric nature of the genre. As noted earlier, Agatha Christie is said to be the best-selling writer of all time. Dorothy Sayers, another British author, was very successful in the 1930s as a crime genre writer. U.S. writer Vera Caspary’s crime novel Laura was adapted into a classic film, as was Dorothy Hughes’s In a Lonely Place. More recently, scholars (Klein 1992; Reddy 1988; also see Cavender and Jurik 2012) have argued that the proliferation of women as creators and protagonists is so significant that a subgenre has emerged: a feminist crime genre. Productions in this subgenre foreground women and women’s issues: They feature less gratuitous violence and are more attuned to social justice issues (Cavender and Jurik 2012; Klein 1992). Others reference a similar trend in Scandinavian crime genre exports, which they call “femikrimi” (Baehr 2010)—that is, stories written by women, featuring women protagonists and often having a feminist perspective. Taken together, this emphasis on stories about and for women developed a stronger market for the crime genre among women (Mizejewski 2004).

Another shift that maintains the popularity of the crime genre is its focus on forensic science. Of course Sherlock Holmes referenced the forensic evidence of his day, including fingerprints and chemical analyses for blood stains (Harrington 2007). More recently, beginning in the early 1990s, Prime Suspect’s DCI Jane Tennison relied on forensic evidence in her investigations. Prime Suspect is credited as beginning a trend toward forensic realism in television police procedurals (Cavender and Jurik 2012; Jermyn 2010). This focus on the science of detection became the impetus for CSI and its successful spinoffs, for other television programs, and for novels such as the Jefferson Bass series, whose protagonist is a forensic anthropologist. The two current television adaptations of Sherlock Holmes feature forensic science and social media, which are designed to draw in younger viewers (Crompton 2012).

There are other, more unobtrusive and sometimes humorous examples of the popularity of the crime genre. When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle killed off Sherlock Holmes, men in London wore black armbands to express their sympathy (Klinger 2005, p. xxxii). Recently the Danish police procedural The Killing became so popular in London that sweaters like those worn by Sara Lund, the lead character in the series, quickly sold out in stores and online. And when Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, visited Denmark, Sofie Grabol, the actress who played Lund, gave the duchess one of the sweaters that she had worn in the series. A US version of The Killing was also popular, and when the first series ended with no resolution of the crime that motivated the season, fans of the program expressed their anger in a flood of Internet postings. Similarly, after the final episode of Prime Suspect aired in England, viewers and critics were so angry at the conclusion of the series that its writer felt compelled to explain the script and his choices in an article in The Guardian (Everhart 2006).

Despite its longevity and popularity, the crime genre has always been a somewhat controversial one. We now turn to those controversies.

A long-standing controversy pertains to the question of the artistic merit of the crime genre, especially the crime novel. Some critics maintain that crime novels are of a distinctly lowbrow quality, while others argue that they can be very literary. In 1950, critic Edmund Wilson (1988) responded to the claim of literary merit by condemning what he called the “sub-literary level” of crime novels. He called avid readers “addicts” and characterized the reading of crime genre fiction as a “silly vice” ranking somewhere between smoking and working crossword puzzles. Wilson argued that readers of crime fiction feel guilty about their reading habits, which is why they claim that there are well-written novels of this kind. But Wilson (1988, pp. 36–39) concluded that even the most highly acclaimed crime novelists do not write very well.

Wilson’s condemnation of the crime novel was a result of assertions by some critics that great writers like Fyodor Dostoevsky and William Faulkner wrote crime novels. Speaking to this issue, John Cawleti agrees that Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment does contain elements of a crime novel: a crime, a murderer, a detective, an investigation, and the apprehension of the criminal. However, Cawleti (1976, p. 133) maintains that the novel does not fulfill the usual expectations of the genre and that the standard elements, while present, are arranged differently and in a nonformulaic manner. He reaches a similar conclusion for Faulkner’s Intruder in the Dust. The novel includes a murder and ultimately a resolution of the crime, but the structure of detection and mystification, although present, does not constitute the novel’s main action (Cawleti 1976, p. 134).

Notwithstanding Cawleti’s conclusion that these specific works are not crime novels even though they deal with crimes, many critics maintain that there is a significant relationship between the crime genre and other literary traditions. Laura Marcus (2003, p. 246) suggests that the crime genre paradigm shaped nineteenth-century fiction of writers like Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens, and Honoré de Balzac, who structured their “narratives around secrets and disclosures.” Marcus (2003, p. 247) discusses G. K. Chesterton’s (1902) claim that the detective story is “the earliest and only form of popular literature in which is expressed some sense of the poetry of modern life.” Chesterton, the creator of the Father Brown crime series (his protagonist is a Catholic priest), proclaimed that the detective was a poetic figure (quoted in Marcus 2003, p. 247).

Earlier we noted that some well-respected writers also wrote crime fiction. In addition to Karel Capak, the Czech writer who was influenced by Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories, Jorge Luis Borges, the famous Argentinian writer, credited G. K. Chesterton as one of his influences (Marcus 2003, p. 254). In turn, Umberto Eco, author of the Name of the Rose, a critically acclaimed crime novel and a film adapted from it, acknowledged Borges as one of his influences (Marcus 2003, pp. 253–257). Finally, although Cawleti (1976, p. 193) concludes that Intruder in the Dust is not a crime novel, he notes that William Faulkner was interested in the literary possibilities of the crime genre and did write a few “more or less straight detective stories” published in a collection of short stories titled Knight’s Gambit. Set in Faulkner’s mythic Yoknapatawpha County (Mississippi), his protagonist, County Attorney Gavin Stevens, was also a character in Intruder in the Dust.

As noted earlier, there are also arguments about what constitute the “proper” boundaries of the crime genre—that is, what should and should not be considered part of it. This type of debate surrounds most genres. Genres are categories of cultural production defined by predictable elements or conventions. For example, the defining elements of the crime genre include a crime, a person who investigates the crime, and a resolution wherein the criminal is discovered and punished. Of course any specific CGP may neglect some of these elements or add others that are not usually expected. Some scholars conclude that violations of genre expectations are so commonplace that perhaps genre is not a useful concept in the analysis of cultural productions (Mittell 2004). Critics of the crime genre denounce its formulaic nature because, as Cawleti (1976, p. 8) notes, formulaic standardization is devalued in art. Yet people who like a particular genre come to rely on formulaic elements but are simultaneously often captivated by innovative alterations to these formulas in CPGs.

Other critics suggest that, with respect to the crime genre—and whether in novels, television, or film—the elements or conventions that define it also constrain it. Even the most engaging television crime drama tends to be limited by its formulaic dimensions: crime, investigation, resolution. These limitations produce a level of conservatism in the narrative structure of the production and also in how it addresses a social issue like crime (Jermyn 2010). Although some scholars (e.g., Cavender and Jurik 2012; Klein 1992) argue that some CGPs can have progressive feminist and/or social justice implications, others argue that the genre formula limits such potential (Thornham 1994).

Another long-term controversy for the crime genre pertains to its effects. As noted in our introduction, many criminologists argue that CGPs mislead the public about the extent and nature of the crime problem. Further, critics have long contended that crime stories were bad for us in other ways, and especially bad for young people. This criticism has ranged from claims that crime films caused violence and juvenile delinquency (Allen, Livingstone, and Reiner 1997) to a similar claim about crime in comic books. Such arguments have also been made about watching television, playing video games, and listening rock music (Phillips and Strobl 2013). Yet the link between such media and violence is equivocal at best, with many scholars arguing that it is not these productions alone but rather their location in the context of a broader culture that is most important (Phillips and Strobl 2013).

Many sources argue that the crime genre is a literary, durable, and flexible genre, one that is popular worldwide because it can be adapted to each society and may promote discussion about social issues (Demko n.d.). Bergman (2009) describes the crime genre as “a dominant genre and maybe the dominant genre of today.” A measure of perceived significance of the crime genre is that in different periods, governments have banned it or used it for propaganda purposes. Crime fiction was curtailed in Francisco Franco’s Spain, and in the Soviet Union it was a propaganda tool. During the Soviet period, a Czech television program called Major Zeman featured villains who were US spies (Demko n.d.). Crime fiction was also utilized during World War II by US and British producers to promote support for the war (e.g., Sherlock Holmes films and radio programs).

Given its long-term popularity as measured by book sales, the proliferation of television crime dramas since the inception of TV, and a steady stream of crime genre and subgenre films (e.g., the spy thriller), it is not surprising that many people have tried to explain why the crime genre is so popular. Indeed, scholars and writers alike have offered numerous explanations for the crime genre’s enduring popularity. Interestingly, some of these explanations parallel the controversies that surround the genre and the criticisms of it.

Recall that Edmund Wilson (1988) condemned the subliterary quality of crime genre novels. However, others use this very point to explain the crime genre’s popularity. Writing in The Nation in 1944, Joseph Wood Krutch (1988, p. 44) suggests that some “serious novelists have become too serious” and that audiences read this literature more from a sense of “cultural duty” than because it is satisfying to read. Krutch adds that these serious novelists do not understand the distinction between what is important and what is interesting to read.

In an even earlier comment on the distinction between literature and the crime genre, Marjorie Nicolson (1929; cited in Marcus 2003) offers the provocative appraisal that the crime genre is not so much escapist literature as it is an “escape from literature.” In Nicolson’s (1929) view, the literary novels of her day were too focused on “long-drawn-out discussions of emotion”; they portrayed their characters as “either victims of circumstances or of their glands,” and they were “monotonous.” In contrast, she argues that the crime genre offers a “straightforward appeal to the intellect” and that the genre’s characters exhibit a sense of purpose that is “controlled and directed by a thinking mind” (quoted in Marcus 2003, p. 249). Critics agree that the crime genre is an antidote to monotony: it offers excitement and adventure (Croft 2012).

Despite its literary detractors, many critics agree that across media, examples of the crime genre can be well written. For instance, a recent television crime drama called The Wire enjoyed enthusiastic reviews from critics and scholars in both the United States and England, who praised its writing and its social realism (discussed in Cavender and Jurik 2012, p. 134). The crime genre can be peopled by interesting and complex characters or by stock characters that are developed in a skillful manner (Croft 2012). Moreover, even if formulaic, the better CGPs succeed at working within the conventional elements while, at the same time, adding some new and interesting features. That is, the crime genre is popular because of the security of the known alongside novelty (Cawleti 1976, p. 12).

As noted, Nicolson (1929; cited in Marcus 2003) suggests that the crime genre appeals to the intellect. Indeed, this is perhaps one of the most frequently mentioned explanations for its popularity. Nuanced versions of this explanation include the fact that the genre plays to our impulse to use our brains to figure things out; it is like a kind of game-playing (Croft 2012). Some sources (e.g., Nicolson 1929) note that the crime genre has always constituted one of the most popular literary traditions among intellectuals. Indeed, scholars (e.g., Marcus 2003, p. 263; Reddy 1988, pp. 15–16) point out that many crime stories are set on university campuses, and that this practice is so frequent as to almost constitute a subgenre. One of the most frequent variants of this brainy sort of explanation is that the crime genre offers the pleasure of a puzzle; it plays to our curiosity to know what happened (Nicolson 1929; cited in Marcus 2003). Others note that it is not so much the solution to a puzzle as the pleasure of observing the detective work through the investigation that makes the crime genre popular (Cawletti 1976, p. 89).

Some sources offer somewhat philosophical explanations for the crime genre’s popularity. The crime genre is popular because it offers a way of dealing with human evil (Halttunen 1998) or with death (Malmgren 2001). Others take an almost Aristotelian view—a good story has a beginning, middle, and end—noting that crime genre stories deal with order, disorder, and resolution (Criminal Minds at Work 2008; Demko n.d.). Some expand on this point and argue that the crime genre is popular because it addresses the question of whether there is order, or if, instead, the world is characterized by chaos (Chang n.d.). Crime fiction usually comes down on the side of an orderly world—the disorder caused by crime is repaired when the crime is solved—which offers comfort to fans (Cawleti 1976, pp. 87–89). Thus, according to the tenets of the genre, the world is a comprehensible, knowable place. Indeed, the investigator, whether a private detective or a police officer, methodically analyzes the elements that have created disorder and chaos and acts to set things right (Chang n.d.). In this, the detective acts because of a personal moral code. One source characterizes the detective as a philosopher in a trench coat (Chang n.d.). According to others, the analytic mode of investigation makes the detective akin to a scientist (Malmgren 2001).

The claim that crime genre stories often end with a comforting resolution is sometimes described as a kind of poetic justice that yields a satisfying conclusion where “the good guys win” (Krutch 1988). Others suggest that the crime genre is popular because it is a kind of moral fiction, one that addresses social themes and issues that are often unaddressed by contemporary politics (Croft 2012; Routley 1988). The formulaic nature of the genre allows those who produce it, again across media, to deal with social issues often left untouched in the real world. Elsewhere we have offered a similar perspective, arguing that the crime genre can be a site for progressive moral fiction (Cavender and Jurik 2012, pp. 30–35). The crime genre can take up issues that affect the socially marginalized and view them from that marginal perspective. It can show how these issues are often related to or even occasioned by the structure of society. And the crime genre can offer a story of how an individual, acting alone or with others, can try to get at the truth—try to produce justice. Such stories might encourage others in a similar pursuit. Recall Chesterton’s (1902) argument that crime fiction is the primary fiction for understanding the modern world (discussed in Marcus 2003).

In contrast to the emphasis on resolution, others suggest that the crime genre is popular because it does not always end in a neat resolution. The chaos that crime has occasioned may continue in a way that squares with social existence in a postmodern world—that is, the criminal is captured but injustice continues. At other times, the wrongdoer escapes altogether (e.g., the ending of the film Chinatown). Such views suggest that there is no benevolent order in the world or that the state of the world is simply not knowable. In Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, the protagonist, William of Baskerville, tells his young protégé, “I behaved stubbornly, pursuing a semblance of order, when I should have known well that there is no order in the universe” (Eco 1984, pp. 491–492; quoted in Marcus 2003, p. 257).

Others offer more psychological explanations for the crime genre’s popularity. Psychiatrist Karl Menninger (1969) suggests that in a bureaucratic, overly controlled society, we identify with criminals (real or fictional) who audaciously violate the law. The thrill of audacity may also explain why we identify with the protagonist played by Bruce Willis in the film, Die Hard and with Eddie Murphy’s character in Beverly Hills Cop: Their actions violate bureaucratic rules and they are often in trouble with their superiors. For others, the identification with a villain is thrilling because it is unfamiliar; it is a kind of voyeurism, a safe visit to darkness (Halttunen 1998). This same desire explains “dark tourism”—for example, visits to prisons like Alcatraz or to sites of atrocities like Auschwitz-Birkenau (Brown 2009). Others see the crime genre as a different form of tourism: The genre takes the audience to faraway places. Some sources suggest that the current popularity of Scandinavian crime stories is that they offer bleak terrains but also locales that are more exotic than New York or Los Angeles (Crace 2009; Demko n.d.).

Finally, the conventions of the crime genre allow for diversity of another sort. Just as a feminist crime genre (“femikrimi”) has emerged, scholars have also noted the genre’s ability to include in a positive way protagonists who are gay or lesbian (e.g., Katherine Forest’s Kate Delafield series), who are members of traditionally disadvantaged social groups (e.g., for African Americans, Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins series; for Asian Americans, Leonard Chang’s Allan Choice series; for Native Americans, Tony Hillerman’s novels and films in the Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee series). The inclusion of heroic characters from these groups in such a popular genre is an important dimension for understanding diversity and contributing to the acceptance of diversity.

Thus far, the explanations for the popularity of the crime genre that we have discussed are those offered by either by scholars, creators of crime genre products (e.g., novelists), and bloggers. Interestingly, Priscilla Walton and Manina Jones (1999) add another dimension to the explanations of why the crime genre is popular. In Detective Agency: Women Rewriting the Hard-Boiled Tradition (1999), they report the results of their 1995 survey conducted with crime genre fans. Walton and Jones administered the survey via an electronic newsletter, “DorothyL,” a forum for discussions of the crime genre and more specifically crime novels. As the subtitle of their treatise suggests, they were interested in novels written by women and featuring women protagonists. They received 112 responses to their survey. The respondents were primarily from the United States (92) and Canada (10); 97 respondents were women and 15 were men. Most were in their thirties or forties and most had some college education (1999, p. 273).

Respondents were asked about their reading habits, including whether they read crime novels by authors from a thorough listing of women writers. They were asked their views about the strong women protagonists in these novels and whether they viewed such novels as feminist novels (Walton and Jones 1999, pp. 274–275).

Their survey yielded interesting results. Respondents enjoyed seeing women protagonists do well, especially in a man’s world; this included getting the better of criminals (1999, p. 55). Some respondents saw strong women protagonists as role models who helped them through their own difficult decisions (1999, pp. 55–56). Indeed, Walton and Jones report that some women crime novelists mention having been told by readers that their lead character helped them with difficult decisions or gave them a sense that they could resolve their problems (1999, p. 57).

The most interesting result of the survey is that, although many respondents enjoyed novels that featured strong women protagonists, few self-identified as feminists or viewed these books to be feminist novels. Indeed, many respondents were critical of feminism, which they viewed as strident and preachy. Instead, the respondents viewed the novels written by these women crime writers as simply a realistic portrait of the situation of contemporary women. That is, the novels and their protagonists were “natural”—not “political.” Respondents said that the writers were not trying to force-feed opinions so much as writing realistically about a strong woman who “operates in a traditionally male environment” (1999, pp. 60–61).

In one way, the results of Walton and Jones’s survey belie our assertion that there is an emerging feminist crime genre that appeals to women. However, Walton and Jones (1999, pp. 61–62) note that readers, especially series readers, come to trust the writer and to care about the protagonist. Thus it may be that the crime genre’s conventions and the security they engender allow writers to address social issues for readers who might not otherwise engage such issues. For these readers, these are not political issues but are, instead, a realistic depiction of the world that confronts a woman character with whom they identify.

We have given a good deal of attention to Walton and Jones’s survey. Although it is almost 20 years old and focuses only on crime genre novels, it is nonetheless interesting because it questions fans about their “likes and opinions.” That survey encouraged us to also ask people their opinions about the crime genre. In the next section, we report our own data.

For two months (March 1 to April 30, 2013) we conducted surveys and spoke with individuals and groups about their interest in the crime genre. We spoke with academic and nonacademic professionals and with students—undergraduate and doctoral. Some conversations were in the United States and some in the Czech Republic, where we were giving a series of invited lectures about the crime genre. During colloquia, we presented DVD scenes from two television series: The Killing (Danish version) and Missing, a US series filmed in the Czech Republic. Afterward, we engaged the audience in discussions about these segments and about their views of crime fiction more generally.

In one-on-one discussions and in the colloquia, we noted our interest in the crime genre across books, television, and film media. We asked people why they liked the crime genre (or why not) and for those who did, to give specific examples. Although professors and other professionals were more likely to reference novels and students were more likely to reference television series, respondents often mentioned “favorites” across media. In total, we collected comments from approximately 50 people in these conversations.

We also surveyed 60 students in two undergraduate criminal justices classes, asking them a series of open-ended questions about what, if any, CGPs they consumed and what they liked and did not like about these products.

Our sample of students, academics, and other professionals is not representative of the populations from which they are drawn, nor is it at all representative of the general public; it is, nevertheless, useful for generating insights about how educated individuals in at least two different countries engage CGPs. In particular, we gained insights into how they draw on these productions as a resource related to their daily routines and even long-range life goals.

Respondents offered an array of reasons for their enjoyment of the crime genre; some paralleled scholars’ and critics’ explanations discussed earlier. The literary quality of novels was frequently mentioned. A professional who had been a literature major said that he was “snooty” and did not read crime novels until he read Ian Rankin while living in Scotland. The experience gave him a different perspective on Scotland and on crime novels. Others also mentioned different perspectives: they enjoyed reading about the criminal’s point of view. A US professor also addressed the literary issue: “the crime genre formula makes few demands, so getting into a book requires no preparation; they are relaxing and stimulating.” He added, however, that the formula also facilitates character development. Several professors and other professionals mentioned their enjoyment of well-written crime novels, especially in terms of “complex, multilayered characters.” Some Czech doctoral students made similar comments about crime films, noting that their favorites exhibited high “artistic dimensions.”

Many respondents reported that they liked the crime genre, especially novels, because they liked puzzles. There were several variations on this explanation. Two professors, one in the United States and the other in the Czech Republic, likened the puzzle aspect of the crime genre to social science: The detective, like the social scientist, sifts through evidence to gather facts and understand them. Several students said that crime programs made them “pay more attention to detail” and otherwise “develop their mental capacities.”

A frequent explanation that crossed media was that the crime genre offers an escape from everyday life. It allows respondents to experience different locations and situations in a safe manner. In one variation, a Czech doctoral student said that he enjoyed the crime genre because it presents “an ideal world with good endings, which is very different from Czech society.” Although some US students said that the genre made solutions to crime appear too easy, others commented that such easy solutions provided them with an escape from reality “where the good guy wins”—and a welcome rest from their studies. However, two US students stressed that they preferred crime productions that blurred the lines between good and evil.

Several US undergraduate students said that they enjoyed programs like Law & Order because they are realistic, “almost like current events.” One student who works in a law firm watched Law & Order: SVU to get ideas about how to strengthen the firm’s domestic violence cases. Other undergraduates—majoring in criminal justice—enjoyed comparing “unrealistic” television crime dramas with the actual operation of the criminal justice system. Of 60 US students who completed our survey, 10 said that it gave them a chance to see what life would be like in their future careers.

Some respondents mentioned enjoying the socially meaningful dimensions of the crime genre. Several Czech doctoral students enjoyed Czech films that were parodies of more standard genre fare. They said that Czech filmmakers were especially good at creating comedies and parodies dealing with life in the Czech Republic. There were, of course, variations on the “socially meaningful” theme. A US professor liked a specific subgenre, mafia stories, because of their depiction of family loyalty. A Czech doctoral student enjoyed films and television series that addressed issues of the protagonist’s work-life balance. Other Czech doctoral students referenced the genre’s depiction of strong, independent women. One said that the Czech television series Expositura presented a capable, moral woman. Another Czech doctoral student noted that Lisabeth Salander (of the Millennium Trilogy) was “independent and needed no one.” However, respondents in both countries also were critical of the crime genre, especially the depiction of women and persons of color. Professors and students argued that women were still often portrayed in a stereotyped manner and too few women were shown in professional positions. Three US students wrote that there were too many racial stereotypes in CGPs. Two US students and one Czech professor argued that crime genre programs generally distracted from major social issues rather than addressing them.

Respondents in both countries commented about violence in the crime genre. Several US students (all men) said that they really liked some of the violence because it increased the excitement and sense of danger at a safe distance. However, a number of respondents viewed the violence as problematic. Two female respondents who avoided CGPs altogether identified the violence and ensuing fear of victimization as their reason for disliking the genre. At one colloquium, a Czech professor said that she almost left the auditorium because the opening scene of The Killing was so “scary and violent.” A Czech professor at a different colloquium made a similar comment about the opening scene in Missing. “I don’t like such fiction because it makes me afraid. As a woman, it’s a constant fear, and these movies reinforce it.” A Czech doctoral student at a third colloquium said that the genre is too violent. “It desensitizes people to violence.” She was especially critical of video games on this dimension. Interestingly, however, several other Czech doctoral students said that the artistic dimensions of some films overshadow the violence. A student said that some violence, as in Quentin Tarantino films, is a parody and is used to make a social point about violence. Two men reported that they avoided the genre but did not cite excessive violence as the reason; they rather attributed their avoidance to the “unrealistic and hokey” (formulaic) nature of the genre.

In sum, our respondents liked the crime genre for many of the reasons that scholars, critics, and fans have noted. They enjoyed it across media, they thought it could be of a high quality across media, and their comments reflected the global nature of crime genre appeal. We found most interesting the degree to which most of our respondents viewed CGPs as tools—for entertainment, for sharpening their wits and observational skills, for escape and safe voyeuristic experiences. Perhaps because of the intellectual setting of our conversations and surveys, respondents also more critically addressed the books or programs that they watched. They claimed to understand that such CGPs were not reflective of reality but also attributed some degree of realism to the productions that they engaged. Some chose more complex and nuanced productions, whereas most sought out simple portraits of good and evil as a means of escape. A few respondents preferred older classic books and programs, whereas others wanted CGPs that dealt with current social issues. In any case, it would be very difficult to characterize our respondents as blind consumers passively shaped by crime genre content.

The crime genre is an enduring aspect of popular culture. Its popularity is reflected in its longevity and in metrics such as high volumes of book sales, constant presence in television programming, and success at the box office, especially with subgenre films. Notwithstanding criticisms such as the subliterary quality of novels or the formulaic nature of television and film presentations, the crime genre has proven to be a malleable aspect of popular culture. The genre responds to social change and shifting demographics (e.g., “femikrimi” and an increasing presence of interesting protagonists who are drawn from marginalized populations). The crime genre transcends media, is equally suited for the modern and the postmodern, and now prevails in a truly global market.

As for its relevance to criminology, the crime genre offers an interesting way of seeing operational changes in the criminal justice system (e.g., the presence of women in policing or as attorneys and the use of forensic science). Similarly, analyses of the crime genre offer a mechanism for tracking ideological shifts in public attitudes about crime and changes in crime policy. Indeed, in a mediated world, an understanding of the crime genre is a key component of understanding our views of crime.

The data that we gathered in conversations and in colloquia in the United States and the Czech Republic are consistent with decades of literature: People enjoy the crime genre because they like puzzles, they want to escape from life’s pressures, they like the genre’s realistic style, they prefer a world in which justice triumphs, and they like the genre’s facility for addressing social issues. Most significantly, however, our data suggest the active and nuanced nature of professionals’ and students’ engagement with CGPs. Their interactions with books, television, and film clearly go beyond a simplistic or decontextualized analysis of cause and effect relationship between the crime genre and individual perceptions of crime. Future research should incorporate more in-depth interviews with more representative samples and consider more questions to distinguish unique CGP forms, including new media such as video gaming. In the meantime, the crime genre shows no indications of diminishing popularity.

The authors appreciate colleagues who helped in the preparation of this chapter: Sarah Prior; Alena Křížková; Zdeněk Sloboda; Majka Dlouhá; and other students and colleagues who discussed the crime genre with us at Arizona State University in Phoenix Arizona; Palacký University in Olomouc, Czech Republic; Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. We wrote this chapter while we were Research Affiliates in the Gender and Sociology Department, Institute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Our colleagues there offered many thoughtful comments in the development of this chapter.