Allusion & Allure: The Dahmer Debacle

Ryan Murphy’s new Netflix series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has sparked tons of controversy from viewers. Many are livid at the depiction and exploitation of real life tragedies, and more so how these tragedies have become yet another source of income and entertainment. Sure, the series is a great money grab for Netflix, Murphy, and his cast and crew. Sure the series is a ghoulish, thought-provoking show to watch with friends or by yourself to pass the time by. However, at what cost? Dahmer killed, mutilated, dismembered, and ate body parts from his 17 victims. The families of those unfortunate individuals are still alive and well—as Dahmer’s reign of terror ended not even 30 years ago—so a Netflix show that relives these horrific events open a wound for those associated with them. The day after the series premiered, a cousin to Errol Lindsey–one of Dahmer’s victims–took to Twitter to express his outrage towards the show: “If you’re actually curious about the victims, my family and I are pissed about this show. It’s retraumatizing over and over again, and for what? How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?” (Tweet) This series and Lindsey’s sentiment transcend to a bigger ideal, one that has recently taken off in Hollywood: the rise of true crime. Documentaries, podcasts, and stories retold with a star-studded cast, a script, and well-known Hollywood producers behind it, either through film or television, have become the average consumer’s new media of choice. But while the popularization and inevitable outrage of real past tragedies being retold on a silver screen or through an expensive microphone has become the norm in today’s society, the cautionary tale of Jeffrey Dahmer has been retold for profit since its genesis, so why is the finger only being pointed now?

Many songs have alluded to Jeffrey Dahmer and his crimes; some would go as far to say that they made fun of the matter. In “Cannibal” by singer-songwriter, Kesha, she sings: “Yeah, I’ll pull a Jeffrey Dahmer…I eat boys up, breakfast and lunch. Then when I’m thirsty, I’ll drink their blood.” In “Dark Horse” by Katy Perry, featured rapper in the single, Juicy J raps: “She eat yo heart out like Jeffrey Dahmer.” Artists casually slipping in gruesome details like these into their lyrics is not uncommon; in fact, this is precisely how the media we consume desensitizes us to real life tragedies.  We can even use another devastating tale as an example.The movie Till about the death and aftermath of Emmett Till comes out this fall. Many have shared their collective outrage, criticizing  Till for capitalizing on the tragic event and questioning the need for yet another movie about the sad, scary tale of the racially-charged death of a little black boy. “There’s absolutely no reason for an Emmett Till movie to be made,” says Colb, social media producer at SBNation. “Leave the Black trauma porn alone.” (Tweet)

Of course a mere, easy-to-look-over line about Jeffrey Dahmer is harder to catch and cast stones upon than an entire series dedicated to the killer, but past films and shows have been made about Dahmer that also dodged heavy backlash. In total, five films, seven books, and twelve television series and specials have been made about Dahmer. One of the films was My Friend Dahmer, released in 2017 starring Ross Lynch that showed Dahmer in a very humane light through the lens of John "Derf" Backderf, someone who claimed to be his friend in high school before his “killing spree.” This doesn’t take into account the plethora of podcasts, songs, and other sources of media that have mentioned Dahmer in some way. The popular podcast series, Morbid did a three-part special on Dahmer in November 2019 depicting his life and murders with explicit detail. None of these podcasts or films were met with the same fury as the netflix series, Monster. The sudden disapproval for using Dahmer as a common subject in film and television seems odd, as Monster is one of many. It may have to do with the oversaturation of true crime. This series and many others referencing prior serial killers, scandals, and psychopaths have been in high demand and supply recently. Monster might have just been the straw that broke the camel’s back. 

The latest movies and series about Dahmer arguably give an insight into his mind and all the harm he caused that past mediums have not. Older mediums about Dahmer, such as the independent documentary The Jeffrey Dahmer Files that interviewed Dahmer's former neighbor, Pamela Bass illustrate his life and the many lives he ended in an informational way. The latest media about Dahmer such as My Friend Dahmer and this latest Netflix series embellish Dahmer’s upbringing and crimes through some story arch as if Dahmer is a fictional character like Freddy Kruger, not the real-life person he actually was who murdered actual people. These films and series give a happy ending to those tragedies that only exist on screen, not in the real lives and families of those that Dahmer destroyed. Monster depicted Dahmer’s life and at times tried to justify his sick mind and actions by conveying the mistreatment he experienced by his parents and how he never fit in. Social commentary on various platforms show users expressing their sympathy towards Dahmer. One TikTok user posted a video stating she “felt bad for Jeffrey Dahmer” after watching the series. On the contrary, Ryan Murphy’s intention for this might have been to show the “so what” of it all. Parental neglect and bullying in school has plagued many victims who didn’t grow up to murder and eat people. Another highlight of this series has less to do with Dahmer and more with the erasure of the concerns of black and brown people. Many viewers have expressed their epiphanies when they found out that Dahmer mostly killed gay men of color. Not because he was racist, but because it was easier to cover his tracks because the police in his area regarded the life and safety of gay black men much less that anyone else’s. Dahmer is yet more evidence of how corrupt the police system is. More proof that almost every bad thing that happens inadvertently affects oppressed communities more than anyone else. More proof that the prejudice and racism that exists in the police force leads to disproportionate and unnecessary killings of black and brown people with consequences to assailants being inadequate, delayed, or nonexistent. For that reason alone, the Dahmer series has a sliver of necessity in that it provides insight on how the media tried to cover up the fact that Dahmer mostly targeted minorities; things got as gruesome and carried away as they did because the police ignored calls and complaints from several witnesses of color until severed body parts were practically shoved in their face. 

The Dahmer series is a cog in two different machines. It serves as yet another piece in the myriad pile of proof that a blind eye gets turned to the pain and suffering of queer BIPOC significantly more than others. The outrage from the show also contributes to the interesting revelation of people’s obsession and source of entertainment from others’ gory adversities. On one hand, the public anger towards the series almost seems performative. On the other, it’s proof that while social commentary, film, TV, and other forms of media can be used for the wrong reasons, they offer a chance to force people to be accountable. As the media continue to capitalize off crime, now with more avenues than ever to do so, those same mediums can be used as an avenue to express disdain, highlight injustice, and offer a platform to those who have been wronged and never had a platform to share in the past. Family members of the victims haven’t had much opportunity until now to share their piece or express how they feel about Dahmer becoming a sort of nonfictional folk character. The series is out, and there’s no going back on that, the platform this series and social media offer to Dahmer’s victims could give them a chance to be heard, or at least prevent more Dahmer content from coming out without their say-so. Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and its reaction from the public seems to highlight both the blessing of having more of a level playing field within media and the curse that true crime in media has brought upon us.