ÖVERGREPP, MODERSKAP OCH GIRIGHET – Fiktiva skildringar av kvinnliga gärningspersoner i svenska kriminalfilmer

Abstract

Aims and objectives: The aim of this study is to examine depictions of female offenders of lethal violence in 24 Swedish fictional crime movies. From the perspectives of cultural criminology and postmodern feministic criminology, depictions in fictional movies have a great impact on the way people regard real female offenders and also how they are treated by the legal system. Method and data: The 24 movies are from the popular Swedish crime series’: Beck, Irene Huss, Maria Wern and Wallander. By using critical discourse analysis and narrative analysis, the depictions are studied to show what discourses can be identified and what stories are told about female offenders. Further, a comparison is done to ascertain whether the depictions are based on traditional ideas of female offenders or whether the depictions in the movies are unconventional. Results: The result shows that in the movies, six discourses can be identified: the betrayed, the offended, the protective, the child longing, the careerist and the thrill-seeker. Overall, the female offenders generally commit crimes in revenge, for love or by greed. Many of them are depicted in accordance to traditional ideas of women as mad, bad and victims. The two last discourses can instead show unconventional depictions of female offenders. It is hard to know however, whether these unconventional depictions of female offenders are an attempt to change the discourses or if they are merely ways to entertain the audience. Regardless of the intention, depictions can result in perceptions of women as passive, mentally ill or callous.