RT Article
T1 “He was Drugged up on Something...” Portrayals of Drugs and Violence on Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) as System Justification
JF Journal of drug issues
VO 51
IS 4
SP 690
OP 710
A1 Sohoni, Tracy
A2 Snell, Julie
A2 Harden, Elizabeth
LA English
YR 2021
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1770925295
AB We conducted a content analysis of the first two and last two seasons of the popular crime drama Crime Scene Investigation (CSI), to determine the extent to which depictions of the intersection of substance use and violence were consistent with research. Using the lens of system justification theory, we find that CSI focuses on aspects of crime that preserve the status quo, specifically it overemphasizes the negative impact of illicit substances as opposed to legal substances (such as alcohol), and it emphasizes the psychopharmacological role of drugs in violent crime compared to systemic violence related to the illegality of drug markets, even though research demonstrates that systemic violence makes up a large proportion of substance-related homicides. Despite significant changes in drug policy that occurred during the time that CSI was on the air, we find these portrayals are largely unchanged between episodes that were broadcast between 2000–2002 versus those that aired 2014–2015.
K1 crime dramas
K1 Media
K1 Crime
K1 Content Analysis
K1 system justification theory
DO 10.1177/00220426211034404