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This book offers the first book-length study of user-generated, social media-based true crime content. The book considers the large and varied true crime community, outlining their at times contradictory needs and desires, from those who wish to partake in acts of sleuthing and fannish behaviours, to those who seek spaces to articulate marginalised opinions and challenge ethically problematic practices. The collection is divided into three sections: “The Ethics of Watching and Doing,” which concerns the ethical pitfalls of true crime content on social media; “Participatory Culture,” which deals with the acts of participatory culture that define not only contemporary true crime fandom but also nearly all digitally-based fan activities; and “True Crime Communities,” which considers the enthusiasts who both consume true crime and seek out others online to share their interests.
This book will appeal to those researching the true crime genre, fan practices, contemporary social media usage and the ethics of screened representation.
Dr Simon Hobbs is a Senior Lecturer in Visual Culture at the University of Portsmouth, UK. His research areas include true crime, extreme art cinema, fandom, and material culture. He is the author of Cultivating Extreme Art Cinema: Text, Paratext and Home Video Culture (2018).
Dr Megan Hoffman is an independent scholar. Her research interests include crime fiction, true crime, popular culture and gender studies. She is the author of Gender and Representation in British 'Golden Age' Crime Fiction: Women Writing Women (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016).
List of contents
Chapter 1: Introduction.- Part 1: The Ethics of Watching and Doing.- Chapte 2: Pushing Back: How Social Media is Amplifying the Voice of Ethical True Crime Advocates.- Chapter 3: The Relationship Between True Crime Reporting and the Law: An Open Discussion with a True Crime Influencer.- Chapter 4: Examining the Risks and (Potential) Benefits of Websleuthing.- Chapter 5: Spirited Advocacy: True Crime, Paranormal Entertainment, and the Dorothea Puente Murder House.- Part 2: Participatory Culture.- Chapter 6: School Shooter Fanfiction as True Crime Content: Making the Case for Fan Creations as Legitimate Modes of Production, Consumption and Understanding.- Chapter 7: Influential Bodies: An Analysis of the Dark Fan Influencer through Murderabilia Unboxing Videos.- Chapter 8: You Shouldn’t be Looking: Gothic Storytelling and Alternate Reality Games.- chapter 9: “I used to be a true crime girly”: True Crime Anti-Fandom as Cultural Critique.- Chapter 10: True Crime Podcasts on Spotify: How Hosts Handle Dark Stories.- Part 3: True Crime Communities.- Chapter 11: Crowd-Sourcing Cold Cases: Traditional Narratives in Online Crime-Solving Communities.- Chapter 12: “No Speculation or Rumors”: Affective and Investigative Strategies in True Crime Podcast Communities.- Chapter 13: #NSFL Communities: Confabulated Terrors, Circulating Bigotry and Suspension of the Dead.- Chapter 14: Exploring Serial Killer Dark Fandom Practice in the Digisphere.- Chapter 15: Strategies for Dealing with Controversial User-Generated Content on Social Media: Challenges and Managerial Responses.
About the author
Dr Simon Hobbs is a Senior Lecturer in Visual Culture at the University of Portsmouth, UK. His research areas include true crime, extreme art cinema, fandom, and material culture. He is the author of Cultivating Extreme Art Cinema: Text, Paratext and Home Video Culture (2018).
Dr Megan Hoffman is an independent scholar. Her research interests include crime fiction, true crime, popular culture and gender studies. She is the author of Gender and Representation in British 'Golden Age' Crime Fiction: Women Writing Women (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016).
Summary
This book offers the first book-length study of user-generated, social media-based true crime content. The book considers the large and varied true crime community, outlining their at times contradictory needs and desires, from those who wish to partake in acts of sleuthing and fannish behaviours, to those who seek spaces to articulate marginalised opinions and challenge ethically problematic practices. The collection is divided into three sections: “The Ethics of Watching and Doing,” which concerns the ethical pitfalls of true crime content on social media; “Participatory Culture,” which deals with the acts of participatory culture that define not only contemporary true crime fandom but also nearly all digitally-based fan activities; and “True Crime Communities,” which considers the enthusiasts who both consume true crime and seek out others online to share their interests.
This book will appeal to those researching the true crime genre, fan practices, contemporary social media usage and the ethics of screened representation.
