Ideology and Cultural Criticism of Crime Fiction

Some of the most illuminating recent discussions of crime novels have analysed the ideological content of this sort of genre fiction – asking how class and gender interests are reflected, considering the implicit (or explicit) social values of texts produced in different socio-political contexts, and so on. Earlier ideological criticism was often Marxist in orientation – sometimes rather reductively Marxist, in the sense that it simply dismissed popular genres as products of mass consumerist culture (e.g., the Frankfurt School and Adorno). Later sociological studies, like that of Cawelti (Adventure, Mystery, Romance), put forward interpretations much more focused on understanding the ways in which popular fiction embodies the assumptions and preoccupations of a particular milieu.

The following summary of Marxist theory (from http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/subjects/public_policy/pce2070/secure/critcrime.html
- ‘Critical Approaches to Fiction’) might help to remind you of some of the main lines of argument. It is followed by a list of some of the questions it might be relevant to ask if you’re developing this sort of analysis.

‘Marx transformed western thinking by propounding the idea of historical materialism - that history is guided by resources and greed, not by clashes of ideas. Marx saw culture as repressive, a method of coercing the masses to obey. Later theorists developed this somewhat. Frankfurt School theorists despaired of popular culture, seeing it as part of the control apparatus of industrial capitalism. Gramsci coined the term 'hegemony', referring to the dominant worldview and the indirect way that culture can be used to control by shaming the hegemony. Althusser looks at culture as a site of class conflict where capital manipulates people by turning freedom into a commodity.

‘Signs of class and class struggle may appear in a work of fiction. It may be politicised either as a part of control or a subversive text. It is important to remember that all work is influenced by the process of production. Publishing houses and movie studios are owned by corporations and have a vested interest in representing society in particular ways. Sometimes this means stifling dissent but other times is means channeling dissent in a particular way or undermining it.’

Amongst the questions you might want to raise in developing an ideologically oriented line of analysis are:

· Is the work politicised and aimed at some action or change of opinion?
· What ideology does the work portray? Is it subversive or control based?
· How are institutions of state represented (police, courts, government)?
· How are corporations represented?
· Is there a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate wealth?
· What influence does the production process have on the work? (Is it a marketable genre piece, a first novel, etc.?)