It seems as though that, in today’s pop culture, many have continued to festishize serial killers. Of course, this has recently been ignited by the release of the Ted Bundy movie trailer starring Zac Efron. What’s most interesting is the choice to have an icon of the generation, aka Zac Efron, to star as Bundy. This choice, while some say it’s because they look similar, which isn’t exactly a compliment to Efron, considering Bundy killed over a hundred girls, is very telling of how we view serial killers.
Regardless of whether or not the two look similar, it’s the creative decision to have Efron portray a serial killer that is of interest. This choice is reflective of how our society glorifies serial killers.
Serial killers are obviously people of interest. We have the urge to know what is going through their heads and their psychological state of mind. We also wonder whether they feel any remorse for their crimes. However, it seems that with this movie we are instead romanticizing Ted Bundy and not looking down on him. We look up to him as this hot guy who seduced women. Oh, and he also killed a ton of them. But, he had a great personality!
There are different reasons people may go out to watch this movie, either for historical purposes, interest in psychology, or for Zac Efron. Nonetheless, this movie is continually reflective of society’s fetishizing of serial killers.
Check out the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v38MNmDcgrM