For years and generations, pop-culture has glamorized the horrendous acts of serial killers by sensationalizing their violent crime. Society has become insensitive to gruesome murder and intrigued by violence to a point where its misrepresented as entertainment.
Bestseller crime author Ian Rankin stated, “Humans are fascinated by evil. We wonder where it comes from and whether we ourselves could ever carry out such an act. Some readers turn to crime fiction for answers, while others prefer true crime.”
Like Rankin mentioned, human fascination of evil sparks self-examination and makes us question if we are capable of doing evil things. The entertainment industry uses the horrific crimes of famous serial killers like Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Charles Manson as narrative devices we see in show biz. Crime films, documentaries, and television allows its viewers to feed into their curiosity and escape their ordinary life into a world that revolves around pain, suffering, and murder. So, when pop-culture depicts serial killers in a thrilling-exciting manner, it removes them from their crime and portrays them as antiheros.
The fascination starts at attempting to understand these killers and their motive to violently kill numerous people. Charmed by attractive actors who add to the romanization, viewers are fed half-truths and stretched facts. The need to know about details, evidence, witness statements, etc., regarding sadistic crimes easily slips into obsessive indulging. How was their childhood? Were they socially awkward? Were they friendly? What triggered their first kill? How did they (almost) get away with killing so many people?
In the grand scheme of things, the public’s interest in serial killers are more sensational than sensible. The horrid legacies of human predators are remembered in a glamorized fashion that overshadows their victims. Which in some cases, is exactly what the killer wanted – publicity. For example, serial killers like Ted Bundy, Richard Ramirez, and the Zodiac Killer used their sociopath charisma and relished in the public’s fascination with them. Keeping their reign of terror alive with star-studded tv/film productions downplays the actual brutality these men inflicted on human beings and the fear they perpetrated across the nation.
It’s important to remember: Actual people were murdered by psychopaths.
Society should think about the families of the victims who have to relive the brutal murder of their loved ones on the big screen. Instead of gawking at the latest true crime film, we should remember the lives that were stolen and question how entertainment distorts monsters into superstars.