The cinematic universe of copaganda: world-building and the enchantments of policing

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Standard

The cinematic universe of copaganda : world-building and the enchantments of policing. / Denman, Derek S.

In: Culture, Theory and Critique, 10.11.2023.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Denman, DS 2023, 'The cinematic universe of copaganda: world-building and the enchantments of policing', Culture, Theory and Critique. https://doi.org/10.1080/14735784.2023.2265086

APA

Denman, D. S. (2023). The cinematic universe of copaganda: world-building and the enchantments of policing. Culture, Theory and Critique. https://doi.org/10.1080/14735784.2023.2265086

Vancouver

Denman DS. The cinematic universe of copaganda: world-building and the enchantments of policing. Culture, Theory and Critique. 2023 Nov 10. https://doi.org/10.1080/14735784.2023.2265086

Author

Denman, Derek S. / The cinematic universe of copaganda : world-building and the enchantments of policing. In: Culture, Theory and Critique. 2023.

Bibtex

@article{01990bc61a6446fcb8f35d5a6e309f2a,
title = "The cinematic universe of copaganda: world-building and the enchantments of policing",
abstract = "What happens if we interpret representations of policing as a shared cinematic universe. What continuities emerge between stories of the formal institution of the police, vigilantism, and settler and imperial force? What contradictions become evident within logics of policing, and how are these contradictions resolved, cementing the role of police in political order? A cinematic universe suggests a different aesthetic relation than the idea of a genre. The aim is not to establish a common narrative structure, but to detail a condition of order that holds together despite its tangents and tensions. Police films hold together in much the same way, attempting to reconcile the production of racial capitalism with liberal imaginaries. By framing police films as a cinematic universe, I demonstrate how attachments to policing work not only through ideology but also through enchantment. Appeals to police as guarantors of safety, despite mounting evidence to the contrary, rely on immersion in a world in which force and pacification are subsumed by police stories of dramatic tension, humor, and moral triumph. The ideology that sustains policing today works through a process of world-building, whereby sprawling elements of a cinematic universe reveal new details and intrigues of enforcing imperial, capitalist order.",
keywords = "abolition, affect, copaganda, media, Police",
author = "Denman, {Derek S.}",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.",
year = "2023",
month = nov,
day = "10",
doi = "10.1080/14735784.2023.2265086",
language = "English",
journal = "Culture, Theory and Critique",
issn = "1473-5784",
publisher = "Routledge",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - The cinematic universe of copaganda

T2 - world-building and the enchantments of policing

AU - Denman, Derek S.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

PY - 2023/11/10

Y1 - 2023/11/10

N2 - What happens if we interpret representations of policing as a shared cinematic universe. What continuities emerge between stories of the formal institution of the police, vigilantism, and settler and imperial force? What contradictions become evident within logics of policing, and how are these contradictions resolved, cementing the role of police in political order? A cinematic universe suggests a different aesthetic relation than the idea of a genre. The aim is not to establish a common narrative structure, but to detail a condition of order that holds together despite its tangents and tensions. Police films hold together in much the same way, attempting to reconcile the production of racial capitalism with liberal imaginaries. By framing police films as a cinematic universe, I demonstrate how attachments to policing work not only through ideology but also through enchantment. Appeals to police as guarantors of safety, despite mounting evidence to the contrary, rely on immersion in a world in which force and pacification are subsumed by police stories of dramatic tension, humor, and moral triumph. The ideology that sustains policing today works through a process of world-building, whereby sprawling elements of a cinematic universe reveal new details and intrigues of enforcing imperial, capitalist order.

AB - What happens if we interpret representations of policing as a shared cinematic universe. What continuities emerge between stories of the formal institution of the police, vigilantism, and settler and imperial force? What contradictions become evident within logics of policing, and how are these contradictions resolved, cementing the role of police in political order? A cinematic universe suggests a different aesthetic relation than the idea of a genre. The aim is not to establish a common narrative structure, but to detail a condition of order that holds together despite its tangents and tensions. Police films hold together in much the same way, attempting to reconcile the production of racial capitalism with liberal imaginaries. By framing police films as a cinematic universe, I demonstrate how attachments to policing work not only through ideology but also through enchantment. Appeals to police as guarantors of safety, despite mounting evidence to the contrary, rely on immersion in a world in which force and pacification are subsumed by police stories of dramatic tension, humor, and moral triumph. The ideology that sustains policing today works through a process of world-building, whereby sprawling elements of a cinematic universe reveal new details and intrigues of enforcing imperial, capitalist order.

KW - abolition

KW - affect

KW - copaganda

KW - media

KW - Police

U2 - 10.1080/14735784.2023.2265086

DO - 10.1080/14735784.2023.2265086

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85176616769

JO - Culture, Theory and Critique

JF - Culture, Theory and Critique

SN - 1473-5784

ER -

ID: 387335732