Stop Sexualizing Serial Killers
Image courtesy: Twitter @Netflix
When Netflix dropped the film “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile” in 2019, it encountered some backlash despite its popularity. Viewers found themselves uncomfortable as they battled their attraction to serial killer Ted Bundy while learning the vivid details of his gruesome murders. It’s no coincidence that People’s 2017 Sexiest Man Alive was cast to play Bundy in the movie, disturbing its viewers as they tried to replace their memory of basketball superstar Troy Bolton with their new conception of a notorious murderer and rapist. Despite the negative viewer responses, Netflix failed to learn their lesson.
This past fall, it casted the undoubtedly attractive Evan Peters to play the infamous killer Jeffrey Dahmer in the series “Dahmer” (following the 2017 movie My Friend Dahmer that featured Disney star Ross Lynch as Dahmer).
With these men as the face of true crime shows, viewership has transformed from interest and disdain to sheer fascination and awe. These men are painted as ingenious, charming individuals who were just heavily flawed. The shows dip into their past, humanizing them in order to provide some insight as to why they are the way they are. However, despite the subconscious attempt to forgive your favorite heartthrobs disguised as murderers, their charm and tragic past do not excuse any parts of their behavior. By rationalizing their actions, we thereby justify what they did, setting an alarming precedent for troubled young individuals watching the shows.
Image courtesy: Twitter @Fandango
When “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile” found popularity in 2017, memes and tweets came out demonstrating adoration for not just the show but its central figure; some women went as far to say they would’ve “gotten in the car with him too” if Bundy approached them. These fascinations unfortunately do not stretch too far from the truth; the real-life Bundy even had fans when he was on death row, according to an article by ABC news. Outside the courtroom during his trial, one woman even said "He just doesn't look like the type to kill somebody."
Women during the time of his trial became so obsessed with him that they would romanticize a life where he treated them well despite his horrific past, playing into the “he’s mean to everyone but me” trope a bit too much. Unfortunately, Netflix knows their market and feeds into this delusion.
Image courtesy: Twitter @yoyorobot
Some fans went as far as dressing up as Bundy for Halloween, accompanied by their unknowing girlfriends. Likewise, in 2019 a fan released a modified Funko Pop figure of Ted Bundy, with the label “Super Hot Murderers.” Twitter user Mikey Heller tweeted about the custom toy, captioning the image, “I think the sexualization of Ted Bundy has gone too far.”
Still, history repeats itself. The tag, “Jeffrey Dahmer costume” reached 8 billion views on TikTok only a month after the film was released, as fans of the show went about their Halloween night discourteous of the horrors they had witnessed while streaming.
The main issue at hand, however, is the message we put out when we let enticing men become the face of the serial killers responsible for the deaths of innocent men and women. When we think of Bundy and Dahmer, some think of troubled, handsome white men, rather than the evil reality. We shed light on the murderer instead of granting respect to the victims and their families.
These deaths happened in our parents’ lifetime, and the friends and families of the victims must relive the deaths of their loved ones while the murderer is painted as a charming sociopath with a troubled past. In an interview with the New York Times, Rita Isabell, the sister of one of Dahmer’s victims, said, “It brought back all the emotions I was feeling back then. I was never contacted about the show. I feel like Netflix should’ve asked if we mind or how we felt about making it. They didn’t ask me anything. They just did it.” While these pieces of media were created to demonstrate how serial killers can come in any form, their portrayals lean more toward glamorizing the men for entertainment.
Strike out,
Writer: Olivia Hansen
Editor: AJ Bafer
Graphic: Anabel Dent
Gainesville
