Murder of Reena Virk - The Case in Popular Culture

The Case in Popular Culture

The murder case has been the subject of an award-winning and bestselling book, Under the Bridge (2005) by Rebecca Godfrey, which is currently being developed into a feature film, and partly inspired a monologue play, The Shape of a Girl (2001), by Joan MacLeod, and The Beckoners by Carrie Mac. The film rights for the book Under the Bridge have been purchased by Type A Productions, a film production company, for adaptation into a movie.

The murder of Reena Virk was also the subject of a thesis published in a book edited by Christine Alder and Anne Worrell titled "Girls' Violence; Myths and Realities. The Author of the thesis, "Racism, 'Girl Violence' and the Murder of Reena Virk", Sheila Batacharya, discusses the murder of Reena Virk from feminist perspective and looks at why the argument from media and police that the murder was not racially motivated may not have been entirely accurate. Batacharya also argues that the narrative of 'girl violence' which academics policy makers and journalists have asserted is evidenced by Virk's murder, obscures other investigations and explanations surrounding this murder. Reena’s father, Mr. Manjit Virk, has written a book about the murder of his daughter: Reena: A Father’s Story (2008), which is highly critical of the B.C. Ministry of Children and Families and the B.C. justice system; Reena was murdered under the voluntary care of the Ministry, yet no apology was given or responsibility taken.

In December 2010 and 2012, students from Walkerville High School in Windsor, Ontario performed a play based on the death of Reena Virk for members of the community, as well as the Virk parents.

In May 2011, Meghan Gallagher from The Bush School in Seattle self-directed and performed "The Shape of a Girl".