BU Research Blog

THE BOX SET MINDSET: THE FORENSICS OF POPULAR CULTURE

A day conference organised by

The International Association of Forensic Psychotherapy

and

Media and Inner World research network

in association with

Bournemouth University and the University of Roehampton

28 November 2015, 9.30am – 6pm

The Wesley Centre, London, 81-103 Euston Street, London NW1 2EZ

Representations of crime and criminal behaviour have long been central to the history of popular culture and now seem to dominate the landscape of the popular cultural imagination. From Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books through to Hollywood films such as The Silence of the Lambs and television shows such as Law and Order, and The Bridge, the forensic dilemmas underpinning dramatic fiction have regularly fascinated audiences. In recent years, there has been an explosion of interest in long-form television series that grapple with forensic dilemmas involving gangster and mafia groups, murderers, drug barons and corrupt political figures and organisations. Our fascination with these shows has been intensified by technological shifts that allow us to ‘binge-watch’ box sets so that aspects of the experience of addiction also arise in us as avid viewers and fans.

This one-day symposium brings together members of IAFP and the Media and the Inner World research network to explore the psycho-cultural appeal of well-known television dramas, in which the forensic themes of murder, violence, and revenge play a key narrative role. Focusing on highly successful television series such as Forbrydelsen/The Killing, Breaking Bad and House of Cards, this event will apply the expertise of eminent forensic psychotherapists and senior academic researchers to discuss why and how audiences relate to such programmes and their dark, compelling themes and characters. The production of such drama is now big business thanks to the box-set mindset it invokes, and it is significant that forensic ideas often lie at the heart of the storylines.

What fantasies are at play when engaging with the psychopathologies of crime on show in such programmes and what makes them such compulsive viewing? What do these forensic themes and their dominance in popular culture tell us about the psychodynamics of contemporary society and the fantasies that circulate within it? How can an understanding of these processes enhance the practice and theories of forensic psychotherapy and also create a dialogue with academic researchers in the field of media and cultural studies? We hope to address these questions throughout the course of the day through an exciting programme of panels and discussion groups.

THE BOX SET MINDSET

THE FORENSICS OF POPULAR CULTURE

Programme and Speakers

9.30 – 10.00 Registration and coffee

10.00 -11.00 The Killing and its Forensic Psychopathologies

Dr Sandra Grant, OBE (Consultant Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist)
Dr Andrea Esser (Principle Lecturer in Media and Communication, University of Roehampton)

11.00 – 11.15 Refreshments

11.15 – 12.15 The Forensic Dilemmas of Breaking Bad

Dr Estela Welldon (Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist in Forensic Psychotherapy at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust)
Bradley Hillier (Specialist Registrar in Forensic Psychiatry in the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation)

12.15 – 1.15 The Forensic Pleasures of House of Cards