Summary Of Why We Are Drawn To True Crime Shows

Bonn, Scott, “Why We Are Drawn to True Crime Shows.” Time, 8 Jan. 2016, https://time.com/4172673/true-crime-allure/. The article “Why We Are Drawn to True Crime Shows” is written by Scott Bonn, a criminologist professor at Drew University. His research has allowed others to delve deeper into why society is fascinated by gruesome events in true crime media. In “Drawn to True Crime,” Bonn discusses that with the rise of true crime, humans are becoming fascinated with the genre because of the emotions and ambiance they experience in their home environment. In his conclusion, he explains people experience adrenaline when watching terrible criminal events, which creates an addictive and stimulating experience for the brain (Bonn). He further explains,

She is a history professor at Rowan University. Her research has informed the audience about modern sensationalism, which assists the audience in understanding the effects stereotypical tropes have on true crime viewers. In “True Crime: The Origins of Modern Sensationalism,” Wiltenburg discusses the roots of sensationalism in true crime media to illustrate that crime storylines sway the audience’s perception of crime, causing people to dramatize the criminal activity in their lives. “An article in the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on a study finding that ‘heavy watchers’ of television news reports greatly overestimated the incidence of crime in their communities, as compared with ‘light watchers’” (Wiltenburg 1). Then, Wiltenburg discusses that religion and politics have shaped society’s viewpoints of punishment in the past. As true crime media has become mainstream, the influences of sensationalist media became ambiguous. (Wiltenburg). Wiltenburg’s purpose in this article is to inform readers of the effects sensationalist media has on an audience. This article provides background information for the uprising in true crime media and true crime’s plotlines influence on an