One of the hyped releases from Netflix is another show about Jeffrey Dahmer, the infamous serial killer who murdered men when he was still active. The miniseries is called DAHMER – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and is created by Ryan Murphy. If you’re a fan of true crime, you may be on your way to adding this to your list of shows to binge this weekend. But we’re here to give you reasons to think twice before you do watch Netflix’s new series about Jeffrey Dahmer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVHHs-xllqo
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of Ryan Murphy and Evan Peters. I think Murphy does an amazing job of creating all these shows. It’s really a step up for him from Glee to American Horror Story to Scream Queens and now, this Dahmer show. Then we have Evan Peters, arguably one of the most talented actors right now. The problem is, I can’t help but feel like something’s off with how Netflix keeps putting out shows like this.
Reasons why you should think twice before watching the new Netflix show, DAHMER
As I said, Ryan Murphy has an amazing and creative brain when it comes to creating shows like this. When the show was first released last September 22, people online were hyped, to say the least. Not to be a hater but you should definitely think it over before supporting this show. Here are a couple of reasons why.
1. These serial killers are becoming romanticized
Yep, I just had to start there. While I understand the whole point of Netflix doing this is to “give the victims a voice”, they’re also giving these serial killers a platform. With the way social media works nowadays, I won’t be surprised to see clips of Evan Peters’ performance as Jeffrey Dahmer on TikTok.
And no, I don’t mean short clips from the movies.
- The clips I’m talking about are just parts of him either looking dreamy, tense, or sinister.
- Then, they put appropriate music over the edit.
- When this happens, netizens usually react positively and find him to be attractive.
- Yes, Evan Peters is attractive but Jeffrey Dahmer? Seriously?
Although it may or may not be the creator’s intention to make the character of Jeffrey Dahmer appear attractive, it’s bound to happen. And when that happens, the whole point of giving the victims a voice goes out the window.
2. Netflix romanticizes the acts of Jeffrey Dahmer
When it came out, there was a mix of good and bad reviews from the people who had the chance to watch it. Just one episode in and you’re already squirming in your seat with how gruesome all of it is. I’m not saying Netflix should have filmed a watered-down version of what Dahmer did, but geez.
- The first episode was already brutal, what more can we expect in the other nine episodes of the series?
- So far, there are already people getting angry at Netflix for how they are romanticizing the murders committed by Dahmer.
- Although it aims to tell the story of Dahmer and how he terrorized these young men, the unnecessary violence really puts us off from watching the show.
3. The victims have to relive the trauma all over again
One of the top reasons why you should think twice before watching the new Dahmer series on Netflix is this. After it dropped on the streaming service giant, a side-by-side comparison of Dahmer’s trial went viral on Twitter. In the clips, we see the real Rita Isbell and the actress playing her give an emotional and angry statement in court.
- For those who don’t know Rita Isbell is the sister of Errol Lindsey, a 19-year-old boy who became one of Dahmer’s twisted experiments.
- In an attempt to try and make him a “zombie”, Dahmer drilled holes into Lindsey’s head and poured hydrochloric acid into it.
- When this experiment of his failed, Dahmer then resorted to strangling Lindsey until he died.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDf3XH-iOqU
Since the video of the side-by-side comparison blew up on Twitter, a member of the Isbell family reposted it and shared their thoughts. “My family are pissed about this show,” the Twitter user states.
Like recreating my cousin having an emotional breakdown in court in the face of the man who tortured and murdered her brother is WILD. WIIIIIILD.
— corbin bleu’s tether (@ericthulhu) September 22, 2022
They then proceed to share that it is “retraumatizing over and over again, and for what? How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?” The relative said in a follow-up tweet that it was “wild” for Netflix to recreate the breakdown their cousin had while in court.
4. It might inspire another Jeffrey Dahmer
The series is beyond gruesome, to say the least. If you make the wrong person watch this, they might get ideas and become a copycat of Dahmer. It’s scary to think that although it sounds ridiculous, there’s still the possibility of this happening, especially with how dependent people are on the media they consume nowadays.
It sounds silly, but it’s really not impossible for a child or anyone easily influenced by what they watch to copy what they watched from the Dahmer series. It’s scary to think about that.
5. It introduces the possibility of humanizing Dahmer to the viewers
In the series, we get to take a closer look at Jeffrey Dahmer’s personal life. Although this isn’t really something new to shows like this, there’s also a chance someone out there might sympathize with him considering what he’s gone through in life.
From how depressing his life is as an antisocial boy to his rough relationships with his relatives, that might have been what made Dahmer become the monster he was. Sure, you may be thinking that you’d never sympathize with a serial killer but as we said, there’s still a possibility for something like that to happen while you watch the show.
- We really can’t deny the possibility of things like this happening once you make the choice to watch Dahmer on Netflix.
- I won’t be surprised if someone on TikTok suddenly recorded a video of themselves and say they understood Dahmer.
No, no, no. There is no justifying his acts and there shouldn’t be anyone trying to sympathize with this monster. Hopefully, we don’t get to that point like what happened when Zac Efron played Ted Bundy.
Since Dahmer is already taking off as one of the top shows on Netflix right now, I can only hope that the voices of his victims don’t get lost in translation. True crime is definitely one of the top genres nowadays, but when will it be enough?
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