Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer has been all over social media lately: TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram – you name the platform; he got publicity for it. How Halloween getting closer, I feel more and more to buy a Dahmer costume. In other words, the Netflix show “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” has created a lot of excitement for a serial killer. To be exact, 196.2 million hours of streaming have been recorded since its release, according to Deadline.
The dramatization of these crimes is disappointingly discussed, despite the show’s popularity. Few question the impact this ultimately has on victims’ families and their trauma from real-life events. It was conveniently released before Halloween for a cash grab. Dahmer’s story may be captivating to a viewer, but his troubled fiction of a truly disturbing event is not worth watching.
Between the premiere date approaching Halloween and the story largely following Dahmer and his development, it’s clear this show was supposed to follow your typical serial murder story. But the line begins to fade away from misleading depiction and sheer disrespect once the series’ purpose becomes clear.
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The use of traditional horror themes like dark settings, jumpscare and pure blood shows the series as in no way created to tell the story of the victims, despite Netflix’s claims in its press release. .
– Lei Vail ’23
Claiming earlier that the show would follow victims ‘stories not only created disappointment after its actual release, it also proved that Netflix was profiting from victims’ stories to make money.
How rotten tomatoes says, “There are too many Dahmers in Dahmer.” While a victim perspective is offered, there isn’t enough to claim it as a humanizing plot. Netflix’s portrayal of Dahmer includes a character arc designed to win the viewer’s mercy. The facts are simply invalidated so that Dahmer has more fun by making him have a character arc. Their he says: “Like everyone true crime, plays on the human impulse to understand – perhaps find a semblance of empathy – even the most serious acts of violence. The first killing of him is described as an accident; family problems are highlighted to shift the blame from the killer himself to brain surgery which is mentioned to once again divert attention from Dahmer simply by having a malevolent instinct.
I can’t imagine a more disturbing outcome than having a traumatic event recreated on screen. The priority of money in the creation of this show is particularly evident with the lack of authorization from Netflix. Overall, Netflix entertainment is great for entertainment purposes, but fails to recognize the real events and traumas associated with them. Netflix disappoints by dramatizing another gory story to make people feel safe, leaving the real victims in the back of the creators’ mind.
