“Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” becomes the second most viewed English series on Netflix
Directed by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, ‘Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer story’ is a Netflix original based on the true story of the serial killer and cannibal, Jeffrey Dahmer, who was responsible for 17 deaths, most of the victims being black gay men. Throughout the episodes, the series tells the story of one of the most infamous killers of the entire USA history. Exploring not only Dahmer’s monstrous side but also important aspects that built his personality, such as his childhood and relationship with his parents.
It’s undeniable that Jeff Dahmer was a twisted human being, but something that played a very big part in his killing spree was police misconduct. There are many investigations in which the police end up slipping but when it comes to Dahmer’s, the police were absolutely unacceptable. There were several complaints about Jeff’s behavior, including his neighbor who called the authorities multiple times about screams and weird smells coming from his apartment and was bluntly ignored.
Recently, almost 30 years after Dahmer’s arrest, the launch of the Netflix series emphasized the grotesque romanticization of the inhumane actions taken by the serial killer and others who also committed such crimes. According to Veja Magazine, after only three weeks of its premiere, Dahmer has had over 700 million hours watched. There were even public cases of people paying homage to the killer, dressing up as him, or getting tattoos dedicated to Jeffrey.
Dahmer’s history wasn’t the first one to captivate the audience. Unfortunately, other serial killers such as Ted Bundy, David Berkowitz, and Charles Manson are a few examples of cruelty turned into adoration. Even though Ted Bundy killed and raped about 30 women and one child, he was always treated as a charming and compelling guy. Something that proves the public’s fascination with Bundy is the number of young girls who kept showing up to his trial claiming they wanted to see his beauty in person.
We cannot escape the fact that these murderous acts should gain media attention, but it’s absolutely essential to be done correctly, avoiding any kind of romanticization. Going back to Dahmer’s case, a few victims’ families spoke up about the wrong portrait throughout the hit series. They claim the victims ended up being outshined by the horrendous behaviors of the cannibal.
Therefore, the most important fact to hold on to is to show the victim’s side even though that may not be completely possible. People who are killed are still people. They had lives, families, jobs, and dreams that should not be ignored by those who are fascinated by their killers’ ways of life. Any form of entertainment that deals with true crime should focus on the effects these offenses have on the victims’ life. The best way of approaching these stories is to deal with them in their most humane form, showing every side of the facts. After all, that’s the job of any respectable journalist.
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This article was written by Maria Fernanda Viana and edited by Marina Fornazieri.
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