Media Portrayals of Female Offenders
Directions:
You will need to watch a film/movie/episode that predominately features a female offender. You have the freedom to select the film/movie/episode you wish to analyze. However, the film/movie/episode must largely focus on a female offender. You will likely find several options across the numerous crime shows and movies available today (e.g., Law & Order: SVU, Criminal Minds, Netflix and Hulu shows).
Then, in a 2-3 page (typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 1 margins) paper, you must analyze the Hollywood portrayal of a female offender and compare/contrast it with what you have learned within this course. You must address the following within your paper:
Briefly summarize the story.
Discuss how the movie/documentary/episode relates to a topic (or topics) covered in the class. Incorporate references to relevant class material where appropriate. In other words, discuss how the stories reflect themes in the readings (and cite the readings).
Things to think about: How does the story support what you have learned in class? How does the media story differ from what you have learned in class? How is the female offender reflected in the media? How does the media wrongly (or correctly) portray female offending?
Be sure to note 5 similarities and 5 differences between the media source and the course material.
Helpful hints:
Be sure to draw examples from the film/movie/episode and connect it to other class material.
It is entirely okay to shape an article around your opinion, but be sure to support your opinions with evidence/examples and material from the class material and the documentary. You will NOT be graded on your opinion; you will be graded on your ability to shape an argument that is supported with class material and the approved sources, as well as your ability to include references from the documentary in your response paper.
Grading:
You will be graded on two components:
Your ability to adhere to the outline paper requirements
Your ability to connect material from class lectures and readings with the assigned questions
