Society is constantly bombarded with media images on a daily basis. In the field of critical media and cultural studies, it is generally understood that these media images do not simply bounce off the individual without penetrating his or her psyche. Therefore, the media images we see have the power to influence our way of thinking, our view of society and to dictate our actions. Although critical media and cultural studies are deeply involved in the discussion of advertising and consumerism, the media is also known to educate. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Mass media and popular culture serve to educate us about social norms. The role of media is important and great as they also educate the society about complex topics like crime, forensics and law. Many scholars in the discipline of critical media and cultural studies have commented on the power of the media to educate and influence society's view and perception on these topics. These scholars have failed to address critical media and cultural studies in the prescribed manner. Critical Media and Cultural Studies recognizes that while various media delivery platforms may be busier or more popular, all forms of media essentially reinforce each other and fit into a cohesive paradigm. This article will pick up where these other scholars left off, in an attempt to locate the relationship between crime, forensics, law, and media representations, but across platforms. This article also hopes to build a theoretical framework for the implications of media representations of these topics in crime novels, news reports, and television shows. To complete such an analysis, multiple questions will need to be answered within the confines of this article. Each of the three chosen platforms – crime novels, news and television programs – will be analyzed to show what perceptions they are creating in relation to crime, forensics and the law. Secondly, this research will show how it affects social behavior. Finally, starting from the previous two questions, a framework will be built, using both textual examples and critical media theories, to build a more in-depth relationship between the media and complex systems of crime and law. As already mentioned, the connection between crime and law and the representations of these topics in the media cannot be overlooked. This article will show that crime novels, news reports, and television shows all play a vital role in conveying ideas about crime and the legal system. This fact is a fact. This article will also show that media representations of crime and the legal system, through these three modalities, serve three key functions: deterrent, authority and catharsis. Key theories within critical media and cultural studies, such as cultivation theory and hegemony theory will demonstrate that media images are not as sporadic as they seem. They will demonstrate that media images have a different purpose and agenda than advertising. Other theories such as media conglomeration will show that an analysis of cultural representations cannot isolate one form of media as a representative sample and a comprehensive analysis must include multiple media platforms as this article will attempt to do. Through these analyses, textual examples, and theories, it will be demonstrated that the media, regardless of their purposes and intentions, create cultural and social implications that should be addressed. Notonly media images influence our perception of crime, forensics, and the law, but the resulting implications, when examined as a whole, create a cyclical framework for the strategic and successful containment of society. Annotated bibliography Abramsky, Sasha. 2002. “Crime as American Pop Culture.” Chronicle of Higher Education 49, no. 12: B11. Premier of academic research, EBSCOhost. Accessed November 15,2014. Abramsky uses rising crime rates and high levels of incarceration, not only among racial minorities but in society as a whole, as the backbone of his argument. He portrays America as fixated on all crimes, from the heinous to the trivial. America's high incarceration rates are therefore a natural extension of our obsession with crime, particularly our obsession with "continuously covering crime." Abramsky's analysis of the ubiquity of crime in pop culture creates a social fear of criminals and an overwhelming, disproportionate sense of crime in surrounding neighborhoods. Therefore, society's high incarceration rates are not perceived as an inherent flaw in the system but rather the natural result of an evil, criminal-filled world, a fact that keeps society contained and obedient to the legal code. Collis, Christy and Jason Bainbridge. 2005. “Introduction: Popular Cultures and Law.” Continuum: Journal Of Media & Cultural Studies 19, no. 2: 159-164. Premier of academic research, EBSCOhost. Accessed November 16, 2014. doi: 10.1080/10304310500084335. The analysis of popular culture and law presented by Collis and Bainbridge provides both the foundational framework for this study and the importance of this study. Collins and Bainbridge state two key concepts in the article: 1) that “law is cultural” and 2) that the complexities of the intersection of law go beyond mere representation. Therefore, Collis and Bainbridge develop a methodology for analyzing law and legal frameworks through the lens of popular culture. This article also mentions the term “legal consciousness,” a term that connotes the memory of past legal proceedings, the conceptualization of current legal frameworks as influenced by the media, and the future implications of this influence. This source claims that law and popular culture are intertwined but does not go so far as to state how one influences the other, as this study will attempt to do.Dowler, Kenneth. 2003. “Media Consumption and Public Attitudes Toward Crime and Justice: The Relationship Between Fear of Crime, Punitive Attitudes, and Perceived Police Effectiveness.” Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture 10(2): 109-126. Accessed November 14, 2014. http://www.albany.edu/scj/jcjpc/vol10is2/dowler.pdf. Dowler's examination of the relationship between media consumption and public attitudes toward crime and justice exemplifies two key concepts with this article. Kenneth describes how the prevalence of crime in the media leads to an increased fear of crime and criminals. Sensationalization of crime generates fear and panic. This in turn causes people to become more vigilant in their daily attitudes and adopt more abrasive attitudes to protect themselves from these crimes and the criminals who commit them. This article clearly shows the link between media consumption and the adoption of fearful attitudes. What this article fails to investigate is the effects of other media platforms, such as television programs and mystery novels, platforms that are inexplicably linked and woven together to create a national consciousness about crime, forensics, and the legal system. Dowler, Kenneth, Thomas Fleming and Stephen L..