The Controversy Over Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Jeffrey Dahmer is an infamous serial killer from the 1970s that killed 17 men and boys by, primarily, seeking them out in gay clubs, drugging them, strangling them, and sexually assaulting their dead bodies. Most of his victims were African American and, as mentioned, hom*osexuals.
On September 21, 2022, Netflix released a drama series surrounding the serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer. It became one of the most-watched series on Netflix, as it “topped the English TV List for two weeks straight with just shy of 300 million hours viewed. In its first week it was in the streamer’s Top 10 in 92 countries,” (TIME, 2022).
With the popularity of true crime on the rise, Netflix and other streaming platforms have released many different dramatized true crime stories, such as Zac Efron’s portrayal of serial killer Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, Vile.
The star of the Dahmer series is Evan Peters, an extremely popular actor, who primarily appeals to the younger generations. Despite his stark resemblance to the killer, he is also well-known for playing darker characters in the projects he is a part of.
The series follows the story of Jeffrey Dahmer, starting from a young age. It highlights almost all his victims and the stories of how their killings took place, in addition to Dahmer discovering religion as a “born again Christian” in prison, along with his death.
Admittedly, I did watch the series, and I can confirm it is extremely graphic and disturbing. As a true crime fan myself, I was even uncomfortable by the imagery within the episodes in the series. I will also admit, however, that cinematically and plot-wise, the series is very high quality and very interesting.
With this in mind, though, it is important to note that the series received a lot of kickback from people all over the nation. Specifically, the families of the victims were extremely disgusted with the series.
This is primarily because they revealed that “Netflix did not consult them while making the drama. ‘I was never contacted about the show,’ Rita Isbell, the sister of Errol Lindsey [one of Dahmer’s victims], told Insider. ‘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,’” (Dubey, 2022).
Rita Isbell, as mentioned above, made an impact statement at Dahmer’s 1992 sentencing. It was extremely emotional and heartbreaking. This impact statement was recreated in the show for dramatic effect.
Personally, finding out that she was not asked permission for her and her brother’s story to be in the series is very upsetting, especially with the recreation of her personal impact statement.
There is a difference between bringing an issue to light to “get justice for the victims,” and profiting off traumatic stories and crime. Although Netflix claims that the purpose of the series was to bring the victims’ stories to the audiences’ attention, it is quite prominent that this is certainly not the case, especially because the families of victims were not informed.
Additionally, choosing Evan Peters as the lead coincides with this. Currently, he is one of the most popular actors, as well as many people’s celebrity crush. Casting someone as popular as this to play such a dark role is not necessarily in the best taste if the purpose of the series was to raise awareness.
Another issue that was raised about the series was the portrayal of the LGBTQ+ community. Netflix tags shows under certain categories, and Monster was tagged under “horror,” “ominous,” “dark,” “vintage crime,” “psychological,” and finally… “LGBTQ.”
TIME notes that “it came as a shock to many Netflix users to see a show that highlights the brutal murders of queer men being touted as an “LGBTQ” show,” (TIME, 2022). Many members of the LGBTQ+ community spoke out, saying that although they want to be represented, the Dahmer series is not the way in which they want to be portrayed.
Overall, it is important to acknowledge that although true crime can be interesting and even entertaining, the dramatization of traumatic events and cases is not always in the best taste.
Especially if the families of victims are not consensual to the creation of a project, it should not be done.
As a society, it is important to move forward with empathy while creating shows and projects about such touchy subjects and traumatic events and move into a direction where we are not glorifying serial killers and their unspeakable crimes.
Works Cited:
Dubey, S. (2022, October 6). Netflix’s “Dahmer” backlash highlights ethical issues in the platform’s obsession with true crime. Mashable. https://mashable.com/article/jeffrey-dahmer-netflix-true-crime-ethics
Netflix’s dahmer series controversy. (2022, September 29). TIME. https://time.com/6218411/jeffrey-dahmer-netflix-controvesy/
