Anyone with a Netflix subscription has probably heard about the new limited series based on the crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer, which made its debut back in September. In the weeks since it was released, the series has received a fair amount of praise that applauds Evan Peters’ (Jeffery Dahmer) talent, the cinematography, and the shows handle on the genre of horror.
However, it’s also had some shockingly bad reviews about the ethics of a series of this nature. Twitter users, myself included, are wondering if this show is right to even consume. Here are some reasons I won’t be watching Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
While I’m not a true crime fan myself, I have a healthy respect for the community of those who learn about some. Whether it’s through a podcast or a documentary, I think there are some real benefits to understanding and learning about crime, regardless of the gore. However, Monster defers in that it is a dramatization of Dahmer’s crimes.
Fluffed out with fiction and with some details omitted, this show is anything but a factual retelling. While some might claim that a show like this is educational, I would argue a documentary would be much better at analyzing the impacts of Dahmer’s actions. Monster is pure entertainment, which leads me to question whether we should be consuming other people’s trauma purely for enjoyment. Dahmer’s crimes occurred between 1978 and 1991, meaning most of the families of his victims are still alive and well. How might they feel to watch the world react to the death of their loved ones?
This leads me to my next issue: it is fundamentally exploitative to watch and react to the trauma of his victims. Eric Perry, a family member of one of Dahmer’s victims, writes, “I’m not telling anyone what to watch […]But if you’re actually curious about the victims, my family (the Isbells) are pissed about this show. It’s retraumatizing [sic] over and over again, and for what? How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?”
Perry brings up an extremely relevant point: how many times do we need to learn about these killers before we know enough? Is it right to justify retraumatizing the families of Dahmer’s 17 victims because of fascination?
I think shows like this immortalize and humanize people in our society who deserve the exact opposite. I can appreciate the need to understand and prevent things like this from happening again, but is that really being done with a Netflix show? I don’t think it’s fair to consume content that calls our ethics into question. I’m not here to judge or belittle what anyone chooses to watch or consume, but I think it’s important to be introspective and understand the implications of our actions. Even if those actions are as small as watching a 10-episode limited series. It’s a tragic story that we continue to exploit and personally, I want no part in that.