This chapter discusses the strengths and limitations of Prime Suspect as a work of progressive moral fiction. It identifies ways that the conventions of the crime genre and the strictures of television work against the transformative potential of the series. It elaborates apparent flaws in the character of Jane Tennison: incidents of personality issues and unethical behavior that appear in the series. It suggests that Tennison's flaws can actually enhance debates about gender and justice. The chapter draws on the work of feminist critical race scholar Patricia Hill Collins (2000) in her work Black Feminist Thought to describe a “both/and” perspective for understanding Tennison's character. It compares Prime Suspect with other contemporary police procedural dramas. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and pedagogical implications of Prime Suspect and the model of progressive moral fiction. It focuses on how the model can be used in the classroom to address the justice implications in Prime Suspect and media productions more generally.
Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment; de Patricia Hill Collins
