What Role Does Criminal Justice Play In Film? Criminal Justice has always played a large role in Hollywood. In some of our best silver screen classics, we find portrayals of criminals, police, private detectives and psychopaths. From the earliest days of black and white film to the most recent ones you've seen, gangsters and cops go head to head. How many of these criminal justice films have you seen in which people are trying to prevent crime, or apprehend and reform criminals? The Public Enemy (1931) A young hoodlum, Jimmy Cagney, rises up through the ranks of the Chicago underworld. Cagney is portrayed as sexually magnetic, cocky, completely amoral and lethal. One of the earliest and best of the gangster films. What criminal justice degree would help apprehend a criminal like this? Scarface (1932) An ambitious and insanely violent gangster climbs the ladder of success in the mob, but his weaknesses prove to be his downfall. Remade with Al Pacino in 1983. An online criminal justice degree can help you become an FBI agent to find gangsters like Scarface. The Maltese Falcon (1941) With Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade, private eye. A film noir classic. Criminal justice degrees online can lead to careers as a detective.  Notorious (1946) One of Hitchcock's best, with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. Secret FBI agent Grant gets Bergman to go undercover in Brazil to catch a group of Nazis before they can realize their nuclear plot. Take The Money & Run (1969) Woody Allen's spoof on cop films. Allen plays an inept criminal obsessed with bank robberies. "He is always very depressed. I think that if he'd been a successful criminal, he would have felt better. You know, he never made the 'ten most wanted' list. It's very unfair voting; it's who you know." A Clockwork Orange (1971) Directed by Stanley Kubrick. The hedonistic, sadistic sociopath Alex is finally jailed for murder and is reformed using the new controversial Ludovico technique. Or is he? A truly disturbing film. Drugstore Cowboy (1989) Matt Dillon plays a young junkie who goes around breaking into pharmacies and stealing prescription drugs looking for his next high. The portrayal of the drug culture even while he undergoes treatment for his addictions is of particular interest. If you're interested in catching drug abusers, a criminal justice degree may be the first step toward your career in criminal justice. Silence of the Lambs (1991) The story of two psychopaths and the young female cop who pursues them. The incarceration scenes are chilling. With Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. Shawshank Redemption (1994) Two imprisoned men bond in jail, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency. One of the best prison escape capers you'll ever see. The Green Mile (1999) A story of the daily lives of death row guards leading up to the execution of a black man falsely accused of child rape & murder who has a mystical power to heal. Related Articles: Sources: http://www.criminology.fsu.edu/crimefilm/; imdb.com; http://www.filmsite.org Criminal Justice Home
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