Our fascination with true crime
Navigating the fine line between curiosity and exploitation.
People are obsessed with true crime, and more and more podcasts, documentaries, and streaming series are being created to meet this demand. True crime has gone from being an odd side hobby for people to a mainstream entertainment that has given rise to movies and TV series on the gory details of their murders. But why are we interested in serial killers and their psychologies? What social impact does this perversion have? And why is this happening now in a more extreme way than before?
First, true crime media accessibility has increased significantly so that almost anyone with a smartphone can consume true crime anytime, anywhere. Televised and online streaming service providers have seized this opportunity to air compelling, easily digestible, top-shelf content series, with only a skippable content warning standing between the gory details of Ted Bundy’s murders and the audience.
However, there’s also social media, which has short clips of shocking stories that millions watch, discuss, and analyze as crime content. True crime offers something strangely comforting in an era of uncertainty and anxiety: a story with a beginning, middle and end. There is often a sense of justice at the end, giving some form of order in a world of confusion.
But can this truly be explained by mere curiosity? I think it might be rooted in something more nefarious. At the heart of our fascination is an age-old human instinct: an interest in the forbidden, especially when dealing with matters of morality. Most significantly, serial killers embody flagrant disregard for the most basic norms of existing as human beings. Those stories interest us because they let us face all our worst sides while being relatively safe. Psychologists also believe that true crime might give a sense of associative control over the uncontrollable. We feel safer when encountering a killer like Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer in a crime show or a newspaper.
However, this area is where so many people express remarkable interest that might not be as innocent as it appears. Nothing is as disempowering to the victims of these crimes as endowing the perpetrators with a cult-like fascination bordering on fame. Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and John Wayne Gacy’s sick and twisted violence have been heavily commercialized, with several documentaries, books, TV shows, and movies dedicated to understanding their stories.
Ironically, although these portrayals depict the terror of these killers’ acts, they can also make them legends in the eyes of the public. In the process, the countless victims are erased from public memory. We know the names of the murderers but not the names of the individuals they murdered. This imbalance raises serious ethical questions: when we focus on the killer’s psychology through fictional detective work, are we inspiring more killers?
Exposure to such content in excess also has the detrimental effect of numbing the viewers. In commercializing violence through an emphasis on shock value and sensationalism, we forget that these stories are rooted in real pain and loss. How do we consume true crime in a more mindful and less parasitic way? First, one must remember that this is not an arbitrary collection of fiction; it constitutes real-life occurrences involving real people.
Documentaries and podcasts should not undermine the victims’ importance by focusing exclusively on their pain, but should also commemorate the lives they led before they were victimized. In addition, true crime media should emphasize the context of the crime and what led to such killers being on the loose for so long, instead of the gruesomeness of the crime or details of the killer.
In true crime, if the main aim is education, then even the format of the true crime content can be altered drastically. For example, the series Unbelievable on Netflix has done what many have failed to do: centering the victim’s experience. Media, instead of focusing on the act of violence, can humanize victims and make the audience more empathetic while watching accurate crime content. On the self-level, consumers must also step away from proper crime waves to avoid desensitization.
On the daily, it can help to engage with true crime more critically. Though this can be said with any media, I think it applies most aptly with true crime. To consciously consume true crime means to ask ourselves what stories are being told, with what tone, and who’s telling them. True crime is not slowing down anytime soon. And because of this, true crime must be appreciated with the respect and consciousness it deserves, something that the most profitable brands of true crime are not very good at. If true crime changes the tone from celebration to illumination and focuses on victims over perpetrators, we can safely consume it as more than just ratings fodder.
Staff Writer (Volume 50) — Vanessa is a fourth-year student double majoring in Psychology and English with a minor in Education. When she’s not working or studying, she enjoys picking up a good novel and escaping into the world of reading or playing some of her favourite songs on her record player. She also loves writing. You can often find her journaling throughout her day.