Critical legal spectatorship and the affect of violence: a cultural legal reading of Netflix's The Punisher

Jordan Belor; Timothy Peters

doi:10.1080/17521483.2020.1821987

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Critical legal spectatorship and the affect of violence: a cultural legal reading of Netflix's The Punisher

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Critical legal spectatorship and the affect of violence: a cultural legal reading of Netflix's The Punisher

Jordan Belor and Timothy Peters

Law and Humanities, Vol.14(2), pp.160-186

2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17521483.2020.1821987

Appears in UniSC Diversity and Inclusion Research Collection

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Abstract

law and death

affect of violence

superheroes

Cultural legal studies

spectatorship

sovereignty and the exception

UniSC Diversity Area - Cultural and Linguistic Diversity

This paper engages in a cultural legal reading of the character Frank Castle (a.k.a 'the Punisher') as rendered in Netflix's Daredevil (2015-2018) and The Punisher (2017-2019). Situated within the superhero genre, Castle is an extreme vigilante who instead of simply capturing criminals, kills them, presenting a critical interrogation of law and justice. The paper focuses on the explicit and implicit justifications presented for the Punisher's death-dealing violence, examining not only the way he goes beyond the law but aligns to and represents modern legality. Contributing to the literature on law, superheroes and sovereignty, it argues that Castle's malleable relationship to the law challenges the presentation of the superhero as a figure of exceptional justice. By analysing both the narrative production of death-worthiness alongside the visceral and affective responses elicited from the viewer, the paper considers the ability of a critical legal spectatorship to judge cinematic images of violence.

Details

Title: Critical legal spectatorship and the affect of violence: a cultural legal reading of Netflix's The Punisher
Authors: Jordan Belor (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Criminology - Legacy
Timothy Peters (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Criminology - Legacy
Publication details: Law and Humanities, Vol.14(2), pp.160-186
Publisher: Routledge
Date published: 2020
DOI: 10.1080/17521483.2020.1821987
ISSN: 1752-1491
Organisation Unit: School of Law and Society; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Law and Criminology - Legacy
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99479307302621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Law