Pop Justice Archives – Scalawag

Elena Kiejliches, featured on 'Snapped' in 2004, reveals how her story was twisted to perpetuate harmful stereotypes about women's violence.

'It's not a story—it's a life:' A look at Snapped, from the inside

by Elena Kiejliches and Molly Hagan November 21, 2023November 21, 2023

"True crime" relies on the manipulation and simplification of facts to create entertaining narratives. Elena Kiejliches, who was featured on Snapped in 2004, reveals how her story was twisted to perpetuate harmful stereotypes about women's violence.

Review: The Barbie movie punts meaningful concepts into the void and leaves us with nothing. But maybe that’s the point.

Come on Barbie, give us nothing!

by Virginia Walcott July 27, 2023July 27, 2023

An abolitionist review of the Barbie movie's imaginative universe serves as a reminder that systemic oppression can indeed be destroyed.

Barbie: Pretty Police

by Eteng Ettah July 27, 2023July 27, 2023

"Pull up your pants or go to jail!"

by Justin A. Davis June 30, 2023June 30, 2023

Another kind of Memphis Blues

by Justin A. Davis June 15, 2023June 15, 2023

Tina Turner performs onstage at the United Center, October 1, 2000. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images) How Tina Turner's abuse and trauma remains a hip-hop trope.

How Tina Turner's trauma remains a hip-hop trope—and why we need to abolish it

by Justin A. Davis May 25, 2023November 13, 2023

Unlike the NBC show, real life night court "is a place you can go to see that as a society we don't care about poor people. You’re in this microcosm of all the institutions that failed our clients."

Night Court: New(ish) Sitcom, Same Copaganda

by Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg April 20, 2023November 21, 2023

We're Here: Florida's Queer Resistance. Exploring themes of LGBTQ+ activism and resilience in the face of adversity in drag.

We're Queer, 'We're Here,' and We're Fighting Back

by Sezin Koehler March 23, 2023November 21, 2023

Everything (Queer) Everywhere All At Once

by mónica teresa ortiz March 10, 2023March 9, 2023

Abolishing the Black Superhero Complex: From Black Panther to MLK

by Bria Massey March 2, 2023April 28, 2023

The romantic comedies convincing you to fall in love with the police

by Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg February 14, 2023February 14, 2023

Contradictions and Convictions: Megan Thee Stallion and why abolition can't wait

by Da'Shaun Harrison February 14, 2023May 25, 2023

How 'the shadow of state abandonment' fostered then foiled Young Thug's YSL

by Justin A. Davis February 9, 2023September 27, 2023

Cop City, Gentrification, and Young Thug: Atlanta's uneven war over greenspace in 'The City of the Forest'

by Justin A. Davis February 9, 2023September 27, 2023

Abolition on TV

Abolition on TV: Pop Justice Wrapped

by Eteng Ettah January 19, 2023January 20, 2023

There are 'Stranger Things' than abolition, but the show won't go there.

by Endria Isa Richardson December 22, 2022December 22, 2022

pop justice: the 'chicken salad' pipeline

by Ko Bragg December 9, 2022December 9, 2022

How to do away with copaganda: Three Emmy-nominated shows to watch with an abolitionist lens

by Kaitlin Fontana, Rebecca Bodenheimer and Naa Djama Attoh-Okine September 16, 2022September 16, 2022

Only Murders in the Building exemplifies the lies in 'true' crime

by Adedoyin "Ade" Adeniji and Bria Massey September 16, 2022September 16, 2022

SOUTHERN POLITICS

The Dropout dramatizes Elizabeth Holmes' fraudulent rise. Endless military funding is also a scam.

by Bria Massey September 13, 2022September 13, 2022

Yellowjackets shows a world without police as disorderly. Abolitionists aren't buying it.

by Molly Lipson September 13, 2022November 13, 2023

RuPaul's Drag Race visibilizes queerness—and the police state

by Sezin Koehler September 12, 2022September 16, 2022

The White Lotus is supposed to be satire. Hawaiians deserve the last laugh.

by Mariah Rigg September 12, 2022September 27, 2023

Abbott Elementary and the promise of schools without cops

by Eteng Ettah September 12, 2022November 13, 2023

Netflix's 'Spiderhead' forgets that the truth about prisons is stranger than sci-fi

by Siona Peterous September 2, 2022September 2, 2022

Longtime Memphis rapper Princess Loko died in obscurity. Will a Beyoncé feature grant her the 'Renaissance' she's overdue?

by Justin A. Davis August 11, 2022August 11, 2022

SOUTHERN POLITICS

Contrary to popular belief, healthcare in prison is far from free. Sometimes, it can cost your life.

by Luci Harrell June 24, 2022November 14, 2023

What the history books won't tell you about abolition

by Gabrielle A. Perry June 24, 2022June 24, 2022

The abolitionist podcast that reveals how little you know about prison

by Alysia Nicole Harris June 23, 2022November 30, 2022

SCALAWAG UPDATES

Read, Watch, Listen, Do: An Abolitionist Media Guide

by Scalawag Editors June 23, 2022June 26, 2022