Murders and Acquisitions

£31.49

Murders and Acquisitions

Representations of the Serial Killer in Popular Culture

Popular culture Media studies Crime and criminology

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Language: English

Published by: Bloomsbury Academic

Published on: 29th August 2013

Format: LCP-protected ePub

Size: 272 pages

ISBN: 9781441154859


Introduction

The serial killer has become increasingly prevalent in popular culture since the term was coined by Robert Ressler at the FBI in the mid-1970s. Murders and Acquisitions explores the social and political implications of this cultural figure.

Analysis

The collection argues that the often blood-chilling representations of the serial killer and serial killing offered in TV series, films, novels and fan productions function to address contemporary concerns and preoccupations. Focusing on well-known popular culture texts, such as The Wire, Kiss the Girls, Monster, the Saw series, American Psycho, The Strangers, CSI and Dexter, this eclectic anthology engages with a broad spectrum of cultural theory and performs critical textual analysis to examine the sophisticated ways the serial killer is deployed to mediate and/or work through cultural anxieties and fears.

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