Introduction

Vigilantism is often associated with a very negative connotation and images of terrible murderers taking the law into their own hands are called to mind. However, in pop culture, the opposite is often represented. We see countless superhero movies each year glorifying people who disregard human law in order to save lives and punish the wrongdoers trying to take over the world. On top of that, there are shows and movies that center around a protagonist who seeks revenge and dispenses justice as he or she sees fit. Most of the times this is a response to some terrible event that has happened to them, making it appear as if vigilante justice is a reasonable option for those who have been wronged. Other times, a characters path into the world of personal justice is sparked by seeing killers and rapists let free due to the flaws with the American court system, yet another 'reasonable' justification. While these characters often face many problems associated with their lives as vigilantes, the media often portrays it as a burden being bared by a saint who is just trying to do good in the world. Pop culture glorifies vigilantism in numerous ways, making it appear to be ethically justifiable in a world that is riddled with evil.

 This blog is devoted to detailing pop culture's view on vigilantism and will use video clips and pictures from artifacts to illustrate that point. Intermittently there will also be text posts that discuss these artifacts and bring in real world examples from scholarly articles. Mostly the media will speak for itself but brief summaries will be given along with each clip and picture in order to place it in context for those unfamiliar with the show or movie.



*Disclaimer: This is for a school project, I am using all content for educational purposes under the fair use act. I do not own any of the content and all credit will be given to those who do.