‘A suitable job for a woman’: women, work and the television crime drama

Abstract

The first series of the Channel Nine crime drama series, Underbelly, is the starting point for a reflection on the relationship between women, work, crime and feminism. Following a brief description of the episode ‘Wise Monkeys’ written by Felicity \Packard which features three of the ‘real’ women involved in Melbourne's gangland murders, the essay considers the significant role women have played in the depiction of crime on television as creators, writers and actors. In the end, it all comes down to power and control, who wins and who loses in what Gregg and Wilson (2010) have identified as the ‘cultural economy of infamy’ where the playing field is still far from level, either in the television industry or on the ‘mean streets’ of crime.

Notes

The title of this essay subverts that of the P.D. James crime novel, An Unsuitable Job For A Woman. A Suitable Job for a Woman is also the title of a book by former journalist and now crime writer, Val McDermid (^a1994), about the work of ‘real’ female private investigators.

^1. ‘Underbelly Razor – The Razor Gang Girls Soon on Channel 9’, Memorable TV, August 13, 2011, http://www.memorabletv.com/news/underbelly-razor-the-razor-gang-girls-soon-on-channel-9/ (accessed 11 April 2013).

^2. Claire Harvey, ‘Underbelly Razor Myth Hides the Ugly Truth’, The Telegraph, August 28, 2011, http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/underbelly-razors-myth-hides-the-ugly-truth/story-e6frezz0-1226123524269 (accessed 12 April 2013).

^3. ‘Underbelly: Razor Sets New Ratings Records’, Throng, August 30, 2011, http://www.throng.com.au/2011/08/underbelly-razor-sets-new-ratings-records/ (accessed 11 April 2013).

^4. Kylie Williams, ‘Underbelly: Razor Goes Out on a High’, Sydney Morning Herald, November 7, 2013, http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/tv-radio/underbelly-razor-goes-out-on-a-high/story-e6frf9ho-1226187559002 (accessed 11 April 2013).

^5. World Intellectual Property Organization, http://www.wipo.int/copyright/en/faq/faqs.htm (accessed 15 August 2012).

^6. ‘Tony Mokbel's ex’, http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/true-crime-scene/tony-mokbels-ex-calls-for-help-as-thug-lays-into-her-at-cafe/story-fnat7jnn-1226314432861 (accessed 11 April 2013).

^7. Michelle Henderson, ‘Accused Murderer Identified by Witnesses’, Sydney Morning Herald, December 13, 2011 http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/accused-murderer-identified-by-witnesses-20111213-1orv9.html (accessed 16 August 2012).

^8. ‘Power Fails, Underbelly Thrives’, http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/power-fails-underbelly-thrives/story-fna7dq6e-1111116006891 (accessed 17 August 2012).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sue Turnbull

Sue Turnbull is Professor of Communication and Media Studies at the University of Wollongong. Her most recent book is The Television Crime Drama to be published by Edinburgh University Press in December 2013. She is the editor of the journal Media International Australia and co-editor with Distinguished Professor Stuart Cunningham of the Allen and Unwin textbook, The Media and Communication in Australia, the fourth edition of which will also appear in late 2013.