Crime, Hooded Crusaders, and (Private) Justice: Arrow and the Exoneration of Vigilantism in Contemporary Popular Media

Jesús Jiménez-Varea; Antonio Pineda

doi:10.17231/comsoc.42(2022).4013

Authors

Jesús Jiménez-Varea Departamento de Comunicación Audiovisual, Facultad de Comunicación, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1456-2699
Antonio Pineda Departamento de Comunicación Audiovisual, Facultad de Comunicación, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0249-1881

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17231/comsoc.42(2022).4013

Keywords:

crime, justice, vigilantism, Arrow

Abstract

As a form of extralegal crimefighting, vigilantism involves relevant questions about crime, justice, and law enforcement, and it is a staple of popular media. In the 1980s, several popular culture products took a critical approach to vigilantism as a part of the deconstruction of the superhero genre, which included a critical reflection on the psychological and political implications of the motivations behind private justice enforcers’ behavior. In this context, this paper focuses on the representation of vigilantism within the popular television show Arrow, and analyzes how it depicts, rationalizes, and ultimately exonerates vigilantism as a response to criminal activity. The empirical analysis focuses on the various rhetorical strategies used by Arrow to justify vigilantism, such as the representation of legal and governmental institutions as corrupt and inefficient, the multiple rationales whereby vigilantism is practiced, and the sanctioning of private crimefighting by institutions. The analysis indicates that the show delivers an apology for the vigilante ethos: Arrow mirrors superheroes’ dark turn in the 1980s and their reflection of societal fears about crime. However, in the show’s worldview, these fears can only be appeased by private vigilantes. By portraying the state as inefficient and/or corrupt, the show boosts ideologies of individualism and anti-government neoliberalism.

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Author Biographies

Jesús Jiménez-Varea, Departamento de Comunicación Audiovisual, Facultad de Comunicación, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain

Jesús Jimenez-Varea is an associate professor in the Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising, University of Seville (Spain). He holds a master of science in theoretical physics and a PhD in media and communication. His area of expertise is the intersection of popular culture, narratives, and image theory, particularly comics, along with genres such as horror and superheroes. His texts on graphic storytelling, vigilantism, violence, and ideology have appeared in international journals and edited collections. He is co-main researcher of the research project Interacciones Entre Valores Cognitivos y Propiedades Estéticas en la Serialidad Contemporánea (Interactions Between Cognitive Values and Aesthetic Properties in Contemporary Seriality; RTI2018-096596-B-I00) and vice-chair of the COST Action iCOn-MICS (CA19119 - Investigation on comics and graphic novels in the Iberian cultural area). He also leads the Image and Visual Culture in Audiovisual Communication Research Group (EIKON).

Antonio Pineda, Departamento de Comunicación Audiovisual, Facultad de Comunicación, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain

Antonio Pineda is a full professor at the University of Seville (Spain). He teaches and researches at the Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising. His main research interests are the theoretical and empirical study of propaganda, the semiotics of advertising, and the relationships between political ideology and popular culture. His work has been published in journals like New Media & Society, The Journal of Popular Culture, and the International Journal of Communication, and he has contributed to edited books like The Routledge Companion to Global Popular Culture. He leads the IDECO research group on political communication, ideology, and propaganda.

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