Conference

Miranda House

The theme for the national conference organized by the Department of English, Miranda House in 2017 was ‘Of Murders, Mysteries, and Sensation: Interpreting Detective Fiction.’ It was as part of this conference that Shailee presented her paper, ‘“Murder, Mystery, and the Macabre”: Locating Castle within the genre of Crime and Detective Fiction.’

In this paper, Shailee examines how the television series Castle (2009-16) incorporates elements of feminist performance and representation within the crime and detective fiction genre and how this has contributed to its success. By analyzing the ‘whodunit’ and hard-boiled traditions, the paper argues that Stana Katic’s portrayal of Detective Kate Beckett subverts the patriarchal norms, hierarchies, and expectations governing police procedural dramas. Her performance actively challenges the male gaze that typically defines the world of crime and detective fiction in cinema.