By Reem Benadada
Soon after release, the Netflix documentary series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story was in the headlines with millions of streams worldwide. The film tells the story of the life and numerous gut-wrenching crimes of serial killer Jeffery Dahmer. Despite the film's backlash and controversy, Netflix made the decision to release Conversations With a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes.
Media outlets have received loads of credit for true crime increasingly so as society becomes more intrigued in learning the horrors of real life. By portraying the guilty party in a diabolical light while being seen as defenders of the victims, they've gained popularity and millions in revenue. This all raises the question: does Netflix really care?
“Media is like the weather, only it’s man-made weather.” (Stone, Natural Born Killers) Like the quote implies, media changes by the second, adjusting to the constantly altering trends, all to bring people what they want to hear. They'd go against morals just to achieve this. After the release of the documentary, complaints went out from victims' families and friends. Netflix never asked for consent or even told them they'd be releasing such confidential information. Mother of Tony Hughes (a victim) said in an interview, “I don’t see how they can use our names and put stuff out like that out there.” Despite all the criticism, Netflix hasn't made any move to apologize and certainly didn't turn back on their decision to release another motion picture.
From Bonnie and Clyde, Richard Ramirez to Ted Bundy and now Jeffery Dhamer, Netflix has encouraged the romanticization of yet another killer provoking such inspired Halloween costumes, themed pizza, Tik Tok trends and more, mostly targeted to teens. So next time you hear the glorification of someone or even something, look into it, and to your surprise it might be more sugar-coated than you think.