Apple Pie with a Side of Lies: Consuming Gender in TNT’s Animal Kingdom

Abstract

Using the theoretical framework of popular criminology, this paper examines the performance of gender and crime in the TNT television series Animal Kingdom. The purpose of this analysis is to identify how this unique fictional crime series depicts gender and crime in ways that both conform to and depart from traditional gendered roles, and to evaluate how the portrayal of these gendered roles may subvert and reinforce longstanding stereotypes about female criminality and violence. We report the results of a qualitative thematic analysis of the visual and narrative components of the first season of the series, with specific attention given to the representation of gendered roles and stereotypes among the main characters. To evaluate the social effects of the performance of female criminality and violence on Animal Kingdom, anecdotal audience data was collected from the website TV Fanatic. Our analysis found that the program often reproduced gendered stereotypes that were largely shared by viewers. However, Animal Kingdom also contained significant departures from traditional gendered roles, criminological discourse, and popular ideology about female criminality. While exploratory, this study contributes to the growing literature on popular criminology, viewing culture as an important site where popular ideas about crime and gender are both reinforced and occasionally subverted.