A arte do crime: Mise-en-scène, medo e violência no telejornalismo policial da revista eletrônica Domingo Espetacular

Abstract

This research investigates the relationships between performance, cinematic aesthetics, and the spectacularization of violence in Brazilian television crime journalism, focusing on the Sunday news magazine Domingo Espetacular, broadcast by Record TV. Its main objective is to analyze the construction of television images, particularly in crime reports, through the lens of cinematic language, based on the hypothesis that these narratives appropriate aesthetic and narrative procedures commonly associated with cinema. Methodologically, the study adopts film analysis grounded in the contributions of David Bordwell, combined with discussions on performance and television journalism, with particular attention to audiovisual elements such as lighting, framing, mise-en-scène, costume design, soundtrack, and editing. The analyses demonstrate that the program appropriates conventions traditionally associated with fiction cinema to create dramatic atmospheres, intensify emotional engagement, and enhance the affective impact of its narratives. The findings indicate that television crime journalism extends beyond its strictly informative function by employing aesthetic strategies that shape specific ways of seeing, feeling, and interpreting reality, thereby contributing to the construction of social imaginaries surrounding violence and to the legitimization of fear as a defining sensibility of contemporary society.