Jeffery Dahmer, Ted Bundy, The Menendez brothers, Charles Manson, and John Wayne Gacy. The most known killers in America. Their crimes have left thousands of people knowing their name, but people treat these murders like the next big pop star.
More kills equals a more compelling story. Is the person attractive? Let me completely forget about their crimes and wish I was married to a criminal. Twist and dement the stories of these victims in your favor because you can’t see past the line of what’s enjoyment and what’s obsession.
The appeal of crime, ranging from murder, theft, rape or missing persons cases are intertwined with human nature, but people should realize when it’s okay to indulge in cases versus when it’s not okay.
More and more true crime shows, movies, and podcasts trend yearly. A new documentary about a serial killer or a new season of “Dateline” seems to come out every month. On Netflix there is always a trending show that goes under the true crime category. Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video all make millions of dollars off people’s suffering yearly. Shows twist the stories of victims to appeal to the public and make them more entertaining rather than telling the true story.
The true crime genre has exploded over the past few years. Inside Radio explains how true crime podcasts have doubled in listeners in the past 5 years. There are an estimated 19.1 million listeners weekly compared to the 6.7 million in 2019.
With the release of “Monsters” documenting the case of the Menendez brothers, I’ve seen hundreds of people explore the true crime genre and take an interest in cases that involve gruesome murders. People have enjoyed the show because the justice system failed them, but people have also completely twisted the story and only thirsted over the actors, forgetting about the whole message of the show.
Although there is a curiosity factor, people can get too immersed in cases and their mental health sees the effects. People become obsessed with serial killers. They romanticize them. From making edits and Reddit pages that talk about how Ted Bundy is attractive and how they justify his murders, to even pretending they’re the victim. True crime TikTokers and YouTubers use crimes for clicks and views, and their content gets blurred between profiting off of their videos and the telling story behind the case.
True crime makes people hyper vigilant and increases their anxiety. People that watch true crime often always look for the bad in people. Every white van becomes the van of a killer or kidnapper. Anxiety that comes from watching true crime often leads to people developing trust issues within life-long friendships and causes isolation. Watching crime shows and listening to podcasts everyday shouldn’t be normal. It causes immense stress and harm to people’s mental well being.
Indulging in true crime is not always bad, but it gets concerning when people’s whole lives and personalities thrive off of discussing cases and romanticizing the murders. People thirst over these killers and write them love letters in prison, they contact the victims in violent cases and come after their families, all because they don’t acknowledge the severity of these crimes.
A personal favorite podcast that covers true crime is “Rotten Mango”. The podcast is hosted by Stephanie Soo and her “partner in crime,” aka her husband. What Soo does so well is that she doesn’t do it for the money, and it shows. She has a huge team of translators, researchers and sources that go into each episode. The money she makes gets donated to different charities and foundations that support victims of all types of crimes. She truly shows sympathy and cares about every person affected in each story.
The contrast between her and the people that do it for the money is evident. Lots of these creators don’t care, and don’t even think about spreading awareness on what topic they’re explaining. They don’t make an effort to even show an ounce of care or understanding for victims. They can’t think about how it affects the people who were close to the victims. It’s all money to them.
Murders, rapists, serial killers, kidnappers, and predators are not to be romanticized. They dehumanize their victims, brutally make families grieve their loved ones for years and years, and deserve every ounce of karma and pain they get.
Streaming services that make documentaries on cases exploit the families and make them relive the worst moments of their lives. Documentaries are a money grab for streaming companies that twist the story of victims. True crime doesn’t just give people an escape, it can be a harmful addiction that torments victims of crimes and gives horrible people the light they don’t deserve.
