Does the Filming Industry Glamorise Serial Killers?
By Johannes Blenke via Unsplash
By Megan Anderson
TV and Film adaptations of serial killers’ stories are extremely popular in the media; some people’s curiosity spikes at the chance to have an insight into what brought someone to such horrific crimes. But we must consider the consequences these adaptations have on society.
Consequences ranging from desensitisation to people finding these killers “attractive”. Depending on if an adaptation glamorises a serial killer/murderer largely depends on how the director/writer chooses to portray these killers.
Yet we still must question why these adaptations interest so many people. Why is something so dark and twisted so interesting towards some? Not only must we question this, but we must also ask if it is morally right for people to profit from making adaptations based on such horrific real-life stories, especially when it’s dramatised to an unrealistic extent.
Many of the victims' families can be deeply affected by these adaptations, especially when the killer is portrayed in a way to try to garner sympathy. Someone you know is brutally killed and people think it’s okay to create a portrayal that almost discards the crimes the killer committed. Imagine the immense level of disrespect some of these loved ones of victims must feel.
An example of this situation is the Jeffrey Dahmer Netflix adaptation by Ryan Murphy starring Evan Peters. Rita Isbell, whose brother was murdered by Jeffrey Dahmer, spoke out about the Netflix show.
Isbell reported that she wasn’t contacted by Netflix and was offended that they recreated her victim impact statement without informing her that this scene was going to be made.
Isbell found it disrespectful and said it was “greed” that they are profiting from this tragedy. She believes that they should’ve donated money to the victims’ families.
Isbell said: “The episode with me was the only part I saw. I didn’t watch the whole show. I don’t need to watch it. I know exactly what happened”.
Eric Perry, reporter for National Broadcasting Company, posted on X: “I’m not telling anyone what to watch, I know true crime media is huge right now, but if you’re actually curious about the victims, my family (the Isbells), are pissed about this show.”
Perry also posted: “It’s retraumatizing over and over again, and for what? How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?”
There is also the problem of people seeing adaptations and romanticising these horrible killers. There have been many incidents of people talking about how they find the serial killers attractive. Especially after the adaptations of these stories.
For example, the Ted Bundy documentary on Netflix, ‘Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes’, portrays Ted Bundy as someone who you wouldn’t expect to be a serial killer because he could be considered “handsome” by some.
Why should physical appearance be mentioned and why does it discredit the fact that Bundy was a serial killer?
It’s disrespectful to the victims and their loved ones. Bundy doesn’t deserve to be seen in any form of light. Yet people still choose to see him as a ‘charming’ guy, as if he didn’t commit some of the most disgusting and unforgivable crimes.
There are many dark communities online that come together and talk about their ‘crushes’ on these awful human beings. It genuinely baffles me that there are people in the world who can have such sickening thoughts, never mind actually admit to them.
Even if people find these adaptations interesting, it’s clear that it’s important how they portray these awful people. Because it can be seen in the media how things can be twisted and how not only the adaptations can be disrespectful, but so can the fans.
There are millions of people in the world who don’t realise how offensive it can be. Or they just simply don’t care because they have been so desensitised. It’s important to remember these are real stories based on real incidents.
These adaptations must stay respectful and remain true to the real story. Without these concerns, the adaptations are a disgrace, using these terrible stories to gain profit.