Boston Marathon Bombings and Predatory Criminality in Media
This paper explores how the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings were framed by news and social media through the lens of "predatory criminality" — a concept drawn from Ray Surette's work on media, crime, and criminal justice. The paper argues that media coverage portrayed the Tsarnaev brothers as inherently evil deviants driven by irrational urges, consistent with the psychological theory of criminality. This framing entertained and absolved the public of responsibility, used victims instrumentally for sensationalism, and cast law enforcement as heroic figures. The conclusion reinforces how predatory criminality narratives serve commercial, emotional, and social functions for media outlets and their audiences.
- Introduction: Predatory Criminality in Media: Introduces predatory criminality theme in modern media
- Defining Predatory Criminality: Defines predatory criminality and its media appeal
- The Boston Marathon Bombings as a Case Study: Describes bombings and media frenzy that followed
- Psychological Theory of Criminality Applied: Applies psychological deviance theory to bombing coverage
- Conclusion: Summarizes predatory criminality framework and its social functions
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What makes this paper effective
- Consistently ties a concrete real-world event (the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings) back to the theoretical framework of predatory criminality, demonstrating applied critical analysis.
- Clearly identifies multiple stakeholders — media, public, victims, law enforcement — and explains how the predatory criminality narrative serves each group's interests differently.
- Uses direct, confident language that maintains an analytical tone while remaining accessible to a general academic audience.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates the technique of applying a theoretical framework (Surette's predatory criminality and psychological theory of criminality) to a specific empirical case. Rather than simply summarizing theory or summarizing the event, it uses each to illuminate the other — a standard and effective method in criminology and media studies essays.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a brief framing introduction, then defines predatory criminality using source material, applies the concept to the Boston Marathon Bombings, deepens the analysis through the psychological theory of criminality, and closes with a summary conclusion that restates all major claims. The structure is tight and well-suited to a short analytical essay format.
Introduction: Predatory Criminality in Media
"Predatory criminality" is a popular theme in modern news media and social media, rooted in the psychological theory of criminality. The inherently evil criminal is portrayed as deviant and separate from society. This framing entertains the public while absolving them of any guilt and encouraging them to cheer when the heroes defeat the villains. The Boston Marathon Bombings are a compelling example of both predatory criminality and the psychological theory of criminality as they play out in media coverage.
Defining Predatory Criminality
"Predatory criminality" involves criminals who are driven by animal urges and cravings, who are illogical and essentially evil, and who commit violent, dramatic, and irrational crimes (Surette, 2015, p. 60). The media tends to focus on this type of criminality because the public is fascinated by it and because it makes the crime appear to stem entirely from the individual criminal's deficiencies, absolving society of any responsibility (Surette, 2015, pp. 61–62). The individual and his or her terrible criminal acts seem to appear out of nowhere, with no connection to broader social behavior or conditions.
This framing allows the media to benefit from the public's intense interest while enabling the public and society to condemn and severely punish the criminal without sharing any responsibility for the situation or feeling guilt for that condemnation (Surette, 2015, p. 62). The victims of such crimes are used to illustrate victimization and are then largely ignored (Surette, 2015, p. 63). Media attention instead concentrates on the hero-villain contest in which the good guys — usually law enforcement — capture or, better yet, kill the villainous criminal.
The Boston Marathon Bombings as a Case Study
An excellent example of the media's treatment of crime as sensational predatory criminality is the Boston Marathon Bombings of April 15, 2013 (NBCUniversal Media, LLC, 2013). Briefly, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev detonated two bombs near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 260 (Surette, 2015, p. 61). There was a media frenzy across the world that repeatedly showed the bombings and the human suffering (NBCUniversal Media, LLC, 2013).
Law enforcement confronted the predatory criminals only a few days later when the Tsarnaev brothers shot an MIT police officer, hijacked a car, and engaged in a gun battle in the street with police, during which Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed. A day later, Dzhokhar was found hiding in a covered boat, was shot, and was captured. Throughout this sequence of events, media — including social media — heavily followed and continuously reported both the investigation and new developments, from the pursuit to the killing of one brother and the capture of the other.
Conclusion
"Predatory criminality" involves criminals who are driven by animal urges and cravings, who are illogical and essentially evil, and who commit violent, dramatic, and irrational crimes. News media and social media tend to focus on this type of criminality. The criminal is portrayed as inherently deficient and separate from a society that bears no blame for the crime. The media benefits by churning out stories; the victims are used to demonstrate victimization and then ignored; the public is entertained and gets to cheer the heroes who capture or kill the villain criminal.
The Boston Marathon Bombings of April 15, 2013 are a strong example of this "predatory criminality" narrative: the two brothers, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, were portrayed as inherently flawed and separate from society; the victims were paraded to illustrate victimization; society was cast as guilt-free; law enforcement was cast as heroic; and society cheered when one brother was killed in a gun battle and the other was hunted down, shot, and captured.
This is a powerful example of the psychological theory of criminality. Using this theory, the criminals are deviants with twisted psyches, society is absolved and gets to cheer when those twisted deviants are captured or killed. All of these elements were present in the Boston Marathon Bombings case. "Predatory criminality" was used to inform, entertain, anger, absolve, and satisfy the public by portraying and ultimately defeating the evildoers — while selling soap to the public.
References
NBCUniversal Media, LLC. (2013, April 15). Two bombs explode at Boston Marathon. Retrieved from highered.nbclearn.com.
Surette, R. (2015). Media, crime and criminal justice: Images, realities and policies (5th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.
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