Abstract
Critical criminology is one of the least intuitive criminological theories for many students. Rather than explaining criminality as the product of the choices or characteristics of individual actors, crime is attributed to macro-level social structural factors. This chapter focuses specifically on the four most common dimensions of state crime: (1) Illegal Domestic Surveillance, (2) Human Rights Violations; (3) State-Corporate Crime, and (4) State Violence. The Hunger Games film series gives numerous illustrations of each of these elements of state crime. The popularity of the novels, as well as the films, and the cultural penetration of the characters of Katniss, Peeta, and Gale allow for clips or excerpts to be shown without spending an excessive amount of class-time setting the scene for the students. The examples from the film are compelling and provide concrete illustrations to students of many of the more abstract concepts of critical criminology and state crime.
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Hanneman, J.M. (2021). Critical Criminology and Hunger Games. In: Daly, S.E. (eds) Theories of Crime Through Popular Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54434-8_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54434-8_15
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