The culture of production behind the (re)production of football hooligan culture

Abstract

This article explores the construction and dissemination of media representations of violent crime in popular culture through a case study of Cass (2008), a film adaptation of the autobiography of Cass Pennant, a former football hooligan. Personal biographical research interviews with the film's scriptwriter/director and Pennant himself provided a rare insight into the culture of production underpinning the (re)production of the violent football hooligan culture. The interviews explored the film-makers' preferred meanings, their target audience and distribution strategy, their understanding of the consumption of ‘true crime’ and their responses to reviewers and regulators. While caution is needed when using ‘true crime’ autobiographical accounts and cinematic representations as an academic resource due to their potentially self-serving nature, their analysis can nevertheless inform the study of violent or criminal subcultures – such as football hooliganism – as well as our understanding of the culture of production and production of culture underpinning the mediated celebration of crime and deviance more broadly. As such, the findings usefully contribute to academic and populist debates concerned with the aesthetics and effects of violent media content in popular culture and whether ‘underworld exhibitionists’ should financially benefit from their criminal pasts.

Notes

^1. While Pennant uses the term ‘soccer’ here, this is unusual. Given that the phenomenon is usually referred to by participants, police and academics as ‘football’ hooliganism, this is the term that will be used.

^2. Pennant was a consultant for the hooligan films: The Firm (Dir. Alan Clarke, 1988), The Football Factory and Green Street, as well as several television documentaries (see Poulton 2006, 2007). He has written eight books to date (including Pennant 2000, 2002) and has run his own publishing company, as well as Cass Pennant Media Ltd. He made his debut as a film producer with the documentary Casuals in 2011.

^3. See Penfold-Mounce (2009) for an insightful examination of celebrity culture and its relationship with transgression, whereby criminals and deviants can become celebrated and achieve celebrity status.

^4. Mark Brandon ‘Chopper’ Read – with convictions for armed robbery, assault, kidnapping and firearms offences – has had a successful career as an author of numerous semi-autobiographical books and crime novels, a stage show and a rap album, and has been the subject of a biopic, Chopper (Dir. Andrew Dominik, 2000).

^5. Baird has since gone on to other film projects, including as screenwriter and director of Filth (based on Irvine Welsh's novel), due for release in 2013.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Emma Poulton

Emma Poulton is a Sociologist of Sport within the School of Applied Social Sciences at Durham University, England. Her research interests centre upon media representations of football fan cultures, especially football-related violence. She is co-editor (with Martin Roderick) of Sport in Films (2009, Routledge).