OPINION: Dahmer– Another retelling of the same story that is as uncomfortable as the first

Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is the latest Netflix phenomenon, surpassing the likes of Squid Game and Money Heist in sudden popularity; people worldwide are tuning in to watch American Horror Story’s Evan Peter's attempt at portraying the infamous serial killer.

However, this is not the first adaptation of Dahmer’s story, in fact, it may be around the twentieth one which begs the question – when will it become too much?

In the past, there have been multiple retellings, including My Friend Dahmer (2017), Dahmer (2002), The Jeffrey Dahmer Files (2012) and The Secret Life: Jeffrey Dahmer (1993); all of the examples included tell the same story despite the victim’s families stating their fear that the stories of their family members may be being exploited by these adaptations.

Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story addresses the families' feelings towards books and stories being written on the situation, they reinstate throughout the series the hurt the families feel over having the world know every detail of the victim’s life, yet, ironically this is stated in a television series that’s sole purpose is to dramatise the actual events that took place.

Most members of these families are alive and well, they most likely still remember the death of their family member and are trying to move past this time of their life, however they are not being allowed to due to these adaptations forcing them to relive these moments along with millions of strangers who now know everything about the circumstance.

Dahmer’s arrest in 1991 led to mass protests from the African American community over the ignorance of the police force when dealing with complaints made about Dahmer, the police continuously ignored the black community who lived around Dahmer and set aside complaints made about him. The police would let Dahmer go on multiple occasions due to his victims mostly being gay people of colour, which the police refused to deal with. This has always been a huge underlying issue within the American police force. The severity of how much Dahmer’s case has to do with racism and the fetishisation of black men is overshadowed by brutal scenes displaying his victims' deaths.

A show displaying this much evil would always be a hard watch, but this series takes discomfort to a new level. As you make your way through, it becomes more uncomfortable with every episode; in a way watching it feels wrong, you can feel the victim’s pain and the family’s heartbreak – it's almost unwatchable.

The constant sick feeling is too much to handle and slowly the show becomes unbearable - the thought of forcing families to relive a feeling, you, yourself have never had, feels absolutely awful.

Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in custody. Picture source: savannah_griggs

While Dahmer’s story has very important topics that need to be discussed, it is not a chance at entertainment for Netflix watchers. There are many other stories that are not as well-known as Dahmer's that feature the same issues of race and fetishisation, that deserve to be discussed but can’t be because people insist on retelling the same story despite the consequences.

Enough is enough, there is a line of how many times you can force a family to go through such a traumatic feeling again. And, if you’re going to tell the story again, at least make sure to tell the truth and respect the people involved.