Challenging Representation and Genre in True Crime Media

Victoria McDermott is Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Troth Yeddha' Campus, USA.Leandra H. Hernández is Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Utah, USA.Amy R. May is Professor of Communication at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Troth Yeddha' Campus, USA.

• Acknowledgments IntroductionVictoria McDermott (University of Alaska, USA), Amy R. May (University of Alaska, USA), and Leandra H. Hernández (University of Utah, USA)Part I: Cultural Storytelling, Community, and Survival1. Chisme Saves Lives: Cultivating Survival through Spectral Storytelling Shantel Martinez (Independent Scholar, USA) and Darby Martinez Stapleton (Northwestern University, USA)2. Echoes of Justice: Indigenous vs. non-Indigenous Podcasters in the Realm of True Crime Marissa Kildow (University of Alaska, USA)Part II: Inclusion and Representation3. Marginalized Narratives in True Crime Zazil Reyes Garcia (University of the Incarnate Word, USA) and Diana Isabel Martínez (Pepperdine University, USA)4. Queerness, Madness, and Monstrosity in True Crime: The Case of Aileen Wuornos Emily Krebs (Fordham University, USA), Leandra H. Hernández (University of Utah, USA), and Gabrielle Y. Garza (University of Utah, USA)Part III: Challenging Dominant Narratives in the Criminal Justice System5. Screams, Shots, and Sirens: Analyzing the Rhetorical Significance of Narrative Aurality within News Discourses of Police ViolenceJoshua Guitar (Kean University, USA), Ridimerb Diaz-Ramirez (Kean University, USA), and Natalia Szabla (Kean University, USA)6. "If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”: Analyzing the Sociopolitical Framing in The People v. O.J. Simpson: An American Crime StoryOlivia Truban (Virginia Commonwealth University, USA) and Mary Jane Taylor (University of North Texas, USA)Part IV: Genre Toppling and Innovation7. Murder is Boring: A True Crime Podcast Analysis of Expectancy Violations Shelby Kriegh (University of Alaska, USA)8. Bloody Valentine: How Podcast But Make It Scary Flips the Script on Romance Film Genre SemioticsMatt Jardin (University of Alaska, USA)9. Parasocial Relationships and True Crime Podcasts: The Last Podcast on the Left, When Parasocial Relationships Go Too FarVictoria McDermott (University of Alaska, USA), Connor McDermott (University of Virginia, USA), and Maria Blevins (Utah Valley University, USA)Conclusion Victoria McDermott (University of Alaska, USA), Amy R. May (University of Alaska, USA), and Leandra H. Hernández (University of Utah, USA)About the Editors About the ContributorsIndex

This volume tackles a major issue in true crime media, the under-attention given to stories of marginalized communities. The chapters weave voices from these communities, from Indigenous podcasters' culturally sensitive portrayals of missing and murdered Indigenous women to chisme as a means to pass generational knowledge between women to true crime's positioning of disability as monstrosity. The authors critically examine the juxtaposition of women as both the consumers and consumed in true crime narratives, explore the pathologizing of queerness in true crime media, and tackle news depictions of police brutality as response to criminality rather than a crime itself. This text is a welcome addition to true crime literature and prompts readers to consider the fine line between driving awareness and fostering desensitization.