How many Ted Bundy documentaries do we need? Seriously, it feels like every year Netflix picks a new serial killer or otherwise morally corrupt figure to create a docuseries about. We’ve seen “The Ted Bundy Tapes” “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,” “My Friend Dahmer” and “Dahmer" become huge hits, but their popularity wasn’t a good thing for everyone.
The families of Dahmer’s victims were upset by the Netflix show, claiming that they hadn’t been notified by Netflix or anyone on the production team that the series was being made. The cousin of Errol Lindsay, one of Dahmer’s victims, stated in an interview with Men’s Health that their cousins “wake up every few months… with a bunch of calls and messages and they know there’s another Dahmer show. It’s cruel.” Many true crime shows and movies have been criticized for how they handle sensitive content. Should heinous actions carried out by horrible people be dramatized and relived for entertainment? For victims' families specifically, everytime a documentary is made about the serial killer who ended the life of their loved one, it can dredge up some of their worst memories, and that does not seem fair. Not to mention that because court documents and police reports from many of these crimes are public domain, they receive no compensation and don’t have to be notified.
Another issue is the casting of actors to play serial killers. Casting attractive, well known actors to portray serial killers is odd in my opinion. Attractive actors with established fanbases, even without trying, will garner more sympathy for the characters they portray, in this case, serial killers. For example, in “My Friend Dahmer,” a young Jeffrey Dahmer is portrayed by Ross Lynch. This show is especially problematic as it focuses on Dahmer’s life as a teenager to young man and how difficult his life was. Essentially, it humanizes him in many regards to the viewer. I contemplate what it means to include these elements into the film and the impact empathizing with these individuals has on the audience. How is that fair to people whose lives have been permanently altered by Dahmer’s actions? I understand the need to examine the life of Dahmer, to perhaps notice patterns that could be warning signs for unhealthy behavior and to create a better idea of how we can prevent crimes like his in the future. With that said, I personally don’t believe there’s a need to dramatize his life and create a narrative where viewers empathize with him.
Perhaps my biggest issue with true crime content is that it’s gone commercial. While scrolling through TikTok one day I came across a video of a woman discussing the case of Ted Bundy over a video of her coloring his picture in a serial killer coloring book. The coloring book took me by surprise because something about it felt disrespectful. Not only does it immortalize these figures, it kind of idolizes them. There’s nothing wrong with morbid curiosity, it's very natural, however to place these figures in coloring books is strange. A YouTuber named Bailey Sarian has a series called “Mystery & Makeup” where she discusses true crime cases while doing her makeup. This is no hate to her, but it’s another way that true crime content feels disrespectful to me. Even those with the best intentions, like Bailey Sarian, can unintentionally cause harm.
In all my issues with true crime, my main concern is with the wellbeing of victims' families. I mean, how horrible is it to lose a loved one in such a tragic manner, and then have complete strangers make money from telling the story. And many fans tend to forget that while consuming true crime content, we’re talking about real people. Many fans tend to criticize the families of victims and the victims themselves, sometimes blaming the victim for entering into the situation that may have ended their life. We should be allowed to discuss these cases for sure, but it’s important to be as respectful as you can when discussing them, because at the end of the day, these are real people.
By: Liese Devine, Features Editor