This book draws on a multi-method study of film and television narratives of global criminal networks to explore the links between audiovisual media, criminal networks and global audiences in the age of digital content distribution. Mapping out media representations of the ongoing war on drugs in Mexico and the United States, the author delves into the social, cultural and geopolitical impacts of distribution and consumption of these media. With a particular emphasis on the globalized Mexican cartels, this book investigates three areas - gender and racial representation in film and television, the digital distribution of content through the internet and streaming services such as Hulu and Netflix, and depictions of extreme violence in film, television and online spaces - to identify whether there are fundamental similarities and differences in how Hollywood productions reproduce stereotypes about race, gender and extreme violence. Some of the movies and television series analysed are Breaking Bad, Ozark, Weeds, Rambo: Last Blood, No Country for Old Men, Sicario and the Netflix series Narcos, Narcos: Mexico and El Chapo. Taking a unique interdisciplinary approach to the study of cartels in the media, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of media studies, film, television, security studies, Latin American and cultural studies.

This book draws on a multi-method study of film and television narratives of global criminal networks to explore the links between audiovisual media, criminal networks and global audiences in the age of digital content distribution. Mapping out media representations of the ongoing war on drugs in Mexico and the United States, the author delves into the social, cultural and geopolitical impacts of distribution and consumption of these media. With a particular emphasis on the globalized Mexican cartels, this book investigates three areas – gender and racial representation in film and television, the digital distribution of content through the internet and streaming services such as Hulu and Netflix, and depictions of extreme violence in film, television and online spaces – to identify whether there are fundamental similarities and differences in how Hollywood productions reproduce stereotypes about race, gender and extreme violence. Some of the movies and television series analysed are Breaking Bad, Ozark, Weeds, Rambo: Last Blood, No Country for Old Men, Sicario and the Netflix series Narcos, Narcos: Mexico and El Chapo. Taking a unique interdisciplinary approach to the study of cartels in the media, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of media studies, film, television, security studies, Latin American and cultural studies.

Human trafficking is not a new issue in the United States. However it was not until the year 2000 that the United States made human trafficking punishable by law with the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA). After the passing of the TVPA, media interest in human trafficking as a crime increased. Past research on human trafficking frames in print media revealed that portrayals of human trafficking were for the most part oversimplified and inaccurate in terms of human trafficking being portrayed as innocent White female victims needing to be rescued from evil human traffickers (Barnett, 2015; Charynsh, Lloyd, & Simmons, 2014; Farrell & Fahy, 2009; Gulati, 2010; Gulati, 2011; Johnston, Friedman, & Shafer, 2014; Johnston, Friedman, & Sobel, 2014; Kinney, 2015; Szörényi & Eate, 2014; Sobel, 2014). Even though research on human trafficking in the media provides an understanding about how human trafficking is framed in print media, human trafficking frames in other forms of media such as movies, documentaries, and television episodes have rarely been examined. The existing content analyses that do explore themes in films are qualitative assessments on only one or two select films. This study uses Entman (1993) and Snow and Benford's (1988) theoretical framework on the purposes and types of frames and Christie's (1989) theoretical framework on the ideal victim construction to analyze a larger sample of human trafficking videos across movies, documentaries, television episodes, and region. The results of the content analysis revealed that human trafficking frames in movies, television episodes, and media that took place in the United States also oversimplified human trafficking with the rescue narrative. This analysis also revealed that even though the rescue narrative was also present in documentaries, documentaries were still more likely to present the complexities of human trafficking such as human rights concerns, diverse victims, and coercive forms of victimization. Suggestions for future research on human trafficking in visual media and the implications for these findings are discussed.

This book explores how sex trafficking has been reported in the media. The book is set in the context of reportage of this human rights abuse in two varying political landscapes – the United States being a developed democracy and Thailand experiencing continued political turmoil including a May 2014 coup d’état and an accompanying crackdown on free expression by the ruling military junta. In doing so, the book shows how there are great similarities between the two countries in the way the issue is misrepresented. Drawing on content analysis of news coverage in the United States and Thailand as well as interviews with journalists, anti-trafficking advocates, survivors of sex trafficking and consensual sex workers, this book illuminates reasons why coverage is framed in the way(s) that it is, how anti-trafficking advocates can act as media advocates to push coverage in new directions, and how journalistic functions are similar and different in the two countries.

This volume addresses contemporary debates and trends regarding the production and distribution, content, and audience engagement with the television streaming industry. The book interrogates the economics and structure of the industry, questions the types and diversity of content perpetuated on streaming services, and addresses how audiences engage with content from US and global perspectives and within various research paradigms. Chapters address television streaming wars, including the debates and trends in terms of its production and competition, diversity and growth of programming, and audience consumption, focusing on multiple platforms, content, and users. This timely and creative volume will interest students and scholars working in television studies, media industry studies, popular culture studies, audience studies, media psychology, critical cultural studies and media economics.

This book examines film and media representations of the social, political, and economic issue of human trafficking, one of the most dramatic challenges of today's globalized world. Productively combining field work at NGOs in South Eastern Europe, social science data discussion, and analysis of Western and East European anti-trafficking film and media and their reception in the United States and in the Balkans, Hashamova uncovers the tension between the global flow of trafficking images and their local comprehension. The detailed critical analysis of documentaries, feature films, video clips, and NGOs' media materials and their varied spectators' responses explores the flaws of these products and the ideological structures that define them and their audiences. Acknowledging the uneven quality and potential impact of all films and media products, the book, guided by trauma theory, concludes with an analysis of their effectiveness and ability to shock the viewer and create a citizen who is ready to take action against trafficking. The book seeks to explain why, despite the attention to the problem, communities continue to grapple with indifference, denial, and turning a blind eye to the existence of trafficking. Screening Trafficking: Prudent and Perilous offers fresh insights to readers interested in human trafficking and its representations as well as policymakers who are invested in well-informed decisions.

The collection of case studies maps the corporate and financial structures of global gambling companies, the tactics that these companies employ to secure profits, the impact they exert on other industry sectors, as well as perspectives on regulation. The articles in the book cover different geographical areas, gambling formats and perspectives into how the global gambling industry has emerged, expanded, and how it is maintained and regulated, in order to form a picture of the global political economy of gambling. The chapters are written by leading scholars on gambling law, social sciences and economy.Chapters [Chapter-No 3.] and [Chapter-No 6] are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.