Vigilantes

Extralegal Justice, Social Control, and Violence

Taimi Castle, Benjamin Meade (Autoren)

Buch | Hardcover

244 Seiten

2024
Rowman & Littlefield (Verlag)
978-1-5381-8744-9 (ISBN)

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Blending history, scholarly analysis, and pop culture, this book provides the necessary context to understand vigilantism in the US and globally.

Motivated by recent instances of vigilantism that have captured media attention, such as the murder of Ahmaud Arbery and the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, Drs. Castle and Meade examine vigilantism through historical contexts, popular culture, and modern technologies. From vigilantes’ presence in the frontier and early states, to their contemporary manifestations in Neighborhood Watch and digital cybersleuthing, Castle and Meade characterize the evolution of the vigilante narrative and vigilantes' purpose of social group control.
This book considers the impacts of vigilante mythology in American pop culture, with special emphasis on the early Western vigilante to the urban vigilante, like Dirty Harry and Death Wish, to comic book superheroes like Batman. How do these fictional characters who beat down and murder criminals on film impact cultural messages about crime, justice, and vengeance?
Castle and Meade further explore the impact of digital technologies and novel viruses on vigilantism. "Digilantes" administer their own brand of extralegal justice online by hunting pedophiles, and TikTok cybersleuths harass random strangers. The authors also coin a new term, "viralantes," to describe “virus vigilantes” who police and punish the frontiers of pandemic lockdowns and restrictions. This seminal work on vigilantism blends the scholarly and popular in characterizing the modern vigilante.

Taimi L. Castle, PhD, is professor of Justice Studies and director of the Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence at James Madison University. Benjamin D. Meade, PhD, is associate professor of Justice Studies at James Madison University.

Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Vigilantes!
Vigilantism: American as Apple Pie
Defining Vigilantism
Conclusion
Chapter 2: The Final Frontier: Theorizing Vigilantism, the State, and Identity
Frontier Theories
Vigilantes and the State
Disciplinary Power
Identity and Masculinity
Cultural Criminology
Conclusion
Chapter 3: It Takes a Village: Vigilantes on Patrol
Vigilance Committees in the United States
American Protective League
Anti-Black Vigilantes
Anti-Crime Patrols
Anti-Migrant Vigilantes
Conclusion
Chapter 4: Pop Culture Vigilantes: Dirt, Death, and Darkness
Every Dirty Job: Legal Vigilantism and Dirty Harry
Best Served Cold: Revenge Vigilante Films and Death Wish
Dexter: The Dark Defender
Conclusion
Chapter 5: Superhero Vigilantes: Watch Superman Fly Away
Are His Methods Supernatural? The Components of Superhero Vigilantism
Death’s Head: The Punisher
Who Watches Watchmen?
Conclusion
Chapter 6: Don’t F**k with Digilantes
Digilantism Defined
Name and Shame
Websleuthing
Scambaiting and Hacktivism
Webstings
Consequences of Digilantism
Conclusion
Chapter 7: Viralantes
HIV/AIDS
Pandemic Viralantes
Conspiracy Explanations and More
Chapter 8: Conclusion
Final Remarks
Bibliography
Index
About the Authors

Erscheinungsdatum	15.11.2024
Zusatzinfo	21 BW Photos
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Themenwelt	Recht / Steuern ► Strafrecht ► Kriminologie
ISBN-10	1-5381-8744-2 / 1538187442
ISBN-13	978-1-5381-8744-9 / 9781538187449
Zustand	Neuware