Taking an interest in individuals – who they are, what drives them, their feelings and motivations, etc. – seems to be human nature, whether we like to admit it or not. This is especially true when it comes to the real crime genre. Considering the massive following the genre has, there’s no denying it – darn it, even some of us are guilty here. When you hear exactly what a person might be capable of, from serial murders to corporate scams, it’s natural to be curious about how someone might ultimately decide to hurt not only their victims, but those around them as well. Especially when it comes to murderers, the idea of such horrific actions feels alien to most of us, which is why we feel the need to explore it in depth through media stories.
Naturally, the question becomes: how do we deal with media that constantly put criminals at the top of our news stories and social feeds? Just look at the most recent example: Netflix’s Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has become one of the most talked about true crime series and has since become the streamer’s top debut Weird stuff. At the same time, concerns about the treatment of the surviving families of Dahmer’s victims — from re-traumatizing them to their lack of prior knowledge of the series — have sparked a lengthy debate about the genre’s ethics. How do we draw the line between educating people and glorifying criminals? What impact does it have on the families of the victims who are forced to relive the tragedy, especially when a series becomes as popular as Dahmer has on Netflix? Do we also blame us for constantly writing articles about it?
What is the True Crime Genre?
You may be surprised to learn that the true crime genre dates back to the 16th century, when the people of the Ming Dynasty collected stories of real criminal cases of fraud. Now we can safely say that we have come a long way from something as seemingly harmless as fraud. The true crime we know today is a non-fiction medium that explores details of a true crime, with a major focus on the brutal murders by serial killers. The genre spans the entire entertainment medium, from magazines and books to film, television, and podcasts. The cases covered and retold range from big cartel bosses like Pablo Escobar in the infiltrator to corporate crime as in the outage to small town crime in Netflix’s The Innocent Man. More than that, these cases are either told in documentary form, with real interviews with those involved (investigators, witnesses, etc.), or as dramatizations of the crime(s), often with protagonists for greater appeal.
The allure of true crime
So, where does the allure of true crime come from? Why are we as a society so preoccupied with the idea that someone is acting outside of what is morally acceptable? First, there is nothing inherently wrong with consuming true crime media. After all, evil fascinates us, and tuning in to these stories offers an opportunity for catharsis. For example, we watch Netflix’s true crime miniseries, such as unbelievablewhich tells the horrific true story of a series of rapes that took place in Washington State and Colorado, in order to avoid such situations and know what happens when such situations arise.
Another question to ask is, how do we, as empathetic individuals, ignore the impossible amount of media news that is rife with crime? We do not. It finds us somehow. Women are generally more attracted to true crime than men because they need to feel prepared and increase their chances of survival. People are glad they are not the victims. It allows them to feel for those affected by keeping distance between their respective realities.
As happy as we are that we are not the victims, we also raise ourselves above the perpetrators: they are disturbed, and we are fine, which gives us a twisted sense of complacency. Our lives get too repetitive and sometimes the only adrenaline rush we get is when we see someone else commit crimes. More importantly, we feel safe watching individuals get caught and punished for their crimes. We watch documentaries like Don’t f**k with cats not only to panic, but also to have control over when to stop the fear.
Risks of Glorification
Yes, on the one hand we want to inform ourselves about the atrocities that a person has caused and possibly learn how to prevent it from happening again. But then again, is that really what we’re doing by casting Hollywood’s sweethearts like Zac Efron, Ross Lynch and Evan Peters in the roles of brutal serial killers? Some people already have paraphilia from being attracted to (mostly) men who have committed crimes. What happens when a handsome actor like Efron, who regularly ranks among the top most desirable men in Hollywood, plays Ted Bundy who has confessed to 30 brutal murders?
Most of these visual media try to get to the heart of why these individuals behave the way they do, often examining their troubled childhoods, which are expected to serve as a pathology for why they are the way they are and do what they do. Most of these killers crave attention and fame. By creating various retellings of their horrific actions, we keep them alive long after their deaths. Moreover, when it comes to dramatizations that cast beloved actors, there is an inherent conflict between “appreciating” the actor’s performance as the character and rebuking the crimes they ultimately committed. This increases the risk of glorification.
Negative impact on the victim’s families
The biggest criticism of the true crime genre is – quite rightly – the effect it has on the families of its victims. While there are many examples we could refer to, let’s focus on the most recent: Netflix’s Dahmer. The show decided to take a different approach to creating a true crime series by not focusing their full attention on the serial killer, but telling the stories from the points of view of some of the victims, such as Glenda Cleveland, Tony Hughes and Konerak Sinthasomphone. After the show was released, Rita Isbell (Errol Lindsey’s sister) expressed her dissatisfaction with the show. She said (via Insider): “I was never contacted about the show. I feel like Netflix should have asked if we mind or how we felt about making it. They didn’t ask me anything. They just did it.”
It seems that the good intentions were there, but not very well executed. If you claim that the victims and their famines matter by making the show, but you don’t get their permission to tell their side of the story, thus condemning them to relive the tragedy, does that really count? Jeffrey Dahmer’s story has been on the quieter side in recent years, but now the victims’ families must be traumatized once again.
True Crime’s True Intentions
Ultimately, what really matters to the producers and creators is to release something that sells, and true crime is definitely at the top of the list. There may be deliberate intentions behind it, but it is ultimately overshadowed by the need to make a profit. Of course, if some of the profits were given to the grieving famines (though no amount can really take the pain away), those thoughtful intentions would be more believable. The debate about what is right or wrong remains unanswered in this case. As long as we are engaged, true crime will remain popular and we are all definitely guilty.