Vathanakul: How the media portrayed murder as entertainment

always BuzzFeed Unsolved: True Crime– A comedy web series exploring unsolved crime and supernatural horror stories – Since 2016, I’ve taken the next step and joined the craze of many crime TV shows and documentaries.

But after watching the new Netflix limited series Dahmer – The Monster: The Geoffrey Dahmer StoryI’m starting to question the factual accuracy or lack of factual accuracy of the popular media genre.

Dahmer has become the second largest viewership programme It has been in English since its release on September 21. The show is rooted in Dahmer’s past trauma and childhood, creating a sense of legitimacy for his actions.

The series celebrates the notorious serial killer, cannibal and necrophile Dahmer (Evan Peters).

By seeing Dahmer’s humanity, viewers may be inclined to sympathize with the killer, while others begin to sympathize with the victim’s family and be outraged by the direction of the series.

The media has severely criticized DahmerThe portrayal of the victims, given the lack of consultation with the families of the victims before the series’ release and how it leveraged their stories.

Episode 8 follows the emotional and intricate story of one of Dahmer’s victims, Tony Hughes, but according to his mother, it’s not true to real-life events and is about privacy violated.

“I don’t understand how they could use our name and put something like this out there,” Shirley Hughes said in a statement. an interview and protector.

Likewise, Ted Bundy’s biographical film is titled Extremely evil, shockingly evil and vile Cast former Disney heartthrob Zac Efron as the infamous killer. The cast played a role in the romanticization of serial killers like Bundy, drawing huge audiences with the star power of numerous crime series.

After finishing DAHMER, I had to question the representation of killers and victims in the real crime media. I wonder how the entertainment industry continues to captivate audiences while portraying romantic images of murderers and their crimes while distorting the stories of victims.

Watching the show for pure entertainment is not appropriate when I know the victim’s family is reliving their trauma.

Of course, I’m not against all movies and shows about serial killers.Movie Zodiac signsFor example, Zodiac Killer, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr., has a fun and informative spin. Part of its success and shocking commentary is that the case remains unsolved.

The lack of specific identities for the Zodiac killer makes his or her crimes less personal and intimate. This could give the producer more freedom to reproduce his crimes without moral pressure.

Watching true crime documentaries is more appealing to me when they promise the truth.

Three documentaries on Netflix Conversation with the Killer Delve into the lives of three serial killers: Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, and Ted Bundy. The series shares unheard tapes of their interrogations and thorough interviews with the perpetrators’ close associates, making it feel closer to the truth than many series of its kind.

One of the most famous serial killer documentaries is Nightcrawler: Finding Serial Killers, A gripping limited series about the Richard Ramirez case.it follows a similar structure Conversation with the Killerbut the audience travels with the case’s two detectives.

I prefer the documentary format of the detective’s step-by-step analysis and investigation to the dramatic retelling of the legacy of brutal murder. Looking at it, I became intrigued by the finer details of the Ramirez case, which I found myself trying to solve all the time.

I believe that stories of serial killers and true crime events should not be put on hold to prevent the unheard stories of their victims from being forgotten by history. But such TV shows and movies are often made to manipulate their stories, which hinders the moral path of sharing victims’ stories.

So instead of half-heartedly watching romanticized versions of true crime shows, I wear a detective hat and interrogate every show I watch.

I’d say that commitment to precision and accuracy is what makes true crime such a complete and powerful form of entertainment.

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