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The True Crime Community: Fascination or Unhealthy Obsession?

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Erin Deidre Olermo
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December 4, 2022

True crime has always existed in the media. In the last couple of years, true crime has gained more recognition on the internet. From books, YouTube videos, podcasts, documentaries, and public court documents, people found themselves interested in hearing about how other people got brutally murdered in detail or how the killer never got caught.

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People who enjoy true crime call themselves the "true crime community." These individuals may be casual fans of true crime or those who watch them for entertainment or as a conversation starter. But there are also those who are die-hard, obsessed fans of the killer themselves, overlooking the victims of the atrocities they’ve committed.

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Since the release of the show "Dahmer: Monster - The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" on Netflix, the community has grown and taken to social media to express their sympathy and even love for the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Dahmer was a notorious serial killer, necrophiliac, and cannibal who killed and dismembered 17 mostly black and brown young men from 1987 to 1991.

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SOURCE: Jeffrey Dahmer / Wikipedia

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Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer in "Monster.”

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​ It isn’t new for young fans to be obsessed with criminals. Despite the fact that they committed the worst crimes possible, Dahmer as well as other serial killers such as Ted Bundy and Richard Ramirez received fan mail from young women, or "groupies," when they were in prison. Some even showed up to the courtrooms to show their support. 

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SOURCE: Lucas (@lukebrb9) / Twitter

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SOURCE: Anthony (@stairw2heaven) / Twitter

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 In more recent times, fans of these serial killers have gone on social media to express their support for them. On Twitter, hundreds of accounts pop up when searching for "Jeffrey Dahmer fans.". There is a community of fans who talk about him as if he were a famous pop star. One user tweeted "God, I’m obsessed all the time I want to talk about Jeffrey," another captioned a photo of him in the courtroom with "I wanna kiss him on the nose," and some shamelessly just said "I love Jeffrey Dahmer!" and even go as far as calling him "daddy Jeff."

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SOURCE: skit (@dahmersonlyfans), 

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SOURCE: jeffreydahmer's wfe @jeffdahmergf / Twitter

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SOURCE: Dahmer (@Dahmer1978) / Twitter

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SOURCE: william (@gzymen) / Twitter

The same goes for other social media platforms, most notably TikTok. It’s one thing to edit clips of Evan Peters portraying Dahmer, but to use actual footage of the real Jeffrey Dahmer on fan edits is another. As of this writing, the tag #jeffreydahmeredits has 206.9 million views.

SOURCE: TikTok Search Bar

Ryan Murphy, the creator of the show, has always insisted that this show wants to "give Dahmer’s victims a voice." However, the victims’ families have openly voiced how Netflix and Murphy’s team have not reached out to them. In a personal essay written by Rita Isbell, Errol Lindsey’s sister, she mentions how she was bothered by the show, especially because they recreated her court statement in the show. She wrote, "I was never contacted about the show. 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." Isbell added, "But I’m not money hungry, and that’s what this show is about, Netflix trying to get paid."

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One of Lindsey’s cousins also spoke about how the show is re-traumatizing them. "I’m not telling anyone what to watch, I know true crime media is huge rn [right now], but if you’re actually curious about the victims, my family [the Isbell’s] are pissed about this show," In a now viral tweet, Lindsey’s cousin Eric Perry wrote, "It’s retraumatizing over and over again, and for what? How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?"

SOURCE: eric (@ericthuhu) / Twitter

Murphy, on the other hand, claims that his team has reached out to the families, but none of them have responded. Regardless, they still pushed through with the show. Now that Dahmer has regained popularity, Tony Hughes' mother, Shirley Hughes, has gone on record to say that Netflix is to blame for influencing a new generation of fans who are now glorifying him and his actions.

 

The portrayal of serial killers is common in Hollywood. However, people tend to forget that popularity does not make something acceptable. Curiosity is nothing to be ashamed of, but diving too deep into true crime culture and developing an unhealthy obsession with serial killers can be dangerous. The debate surrounding how and when to tell tragic stories will continue, but Isbell’s words are a reminder that these stories are so much more than TV shows—real people are affected by such projects.

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