Stop Romanticizing Serial Killers.
no you're not quirky goth or impressive if you were unbothered by the Dahmer series and no it isn't cute if you only wished it showed more gory detail seriously it isn't some Flex to lack empathy for people being brutally murdered it's just wildly concerning so to all the women out there raising their hands in solidarity of being unbothered cut the I'm so special crap today Dahmer primarily killed black gay men so he would have to kill white women for you to care how many until you get bothered huh how about get some help this isn't about you thankfully I'm not the only one infuriated by this Tick-Tock trends of primarily young white women saying they wish that Netflix's Dahmer series had been more graphic or morbid have been circulating and sparking conversations about the way we treat victims in the True Crime genre one creator has referred to the groups of people hanging on to gruesome details as vultures and ghouls of the True Crime community that by and large is made up of people that are fascinated as to why people behave so inhumanely towards one another and I agree with him there is something so beyond off-putting to me to see a woman wearing Dahmer earrings begging for more morbid details about his murders but the sensationalist crass commercial and disturbingly casual attitude we have about True Crime as a whole is one thing the way that people become fans and groupies of serial killers is another and expectedly we've seen plenty of this behavior on Tick Tock there are creators claiming they love Jeffrey Dahmer and though many commenters call them out for it other commenters state that they feel the same way too some have used clips from various Netflix series to make thirst traps of the most notorious Killers out there to include Dahmer Bundy and Ramirez AKA The Night Stalker sure there is a chance that these creators are doing this for attention and I would absolutely love to believe that the tiktok creators making shorts of themselves pretending to be little anime girls spelling out Ramirez's name for them to spell daddy or whatever are joking around I hope beyond all hopes that whoever is behind this account that claims poor Richard Ramirez had been through so much in their comment section is a troll and I really pray that people agreeing with him following them whatever calling Richard cute that they're being sarcastic but I'm not going to hold my breath now even if these Tech talkers are joking it's not funny clearly they don't realize how serious this topic is or more than likely some of them just don't care but hey the reason so many people like True Crime is to get behind the mind of someone that seems so distant and so removed from how we as a general Society think so then let's do that today with those who romanticize serial killers why does this happen in the first place now words can't really Express the posts I found and how upsetting they are to start with I found and don't you just this was shocking to me so this is going to be shocking to you I assume I found a Robert Picton fan account on Tumblr called picton's babe where one of the posts reads as follows Robert Willie Picton is so underrated in the TCC in my opinion he is very handsome to me I want to write letters to him with a little heart emoji TCC I assume stands for True Crime Community now Robert Picton has actually been mentioned on this channel before where I've discussed the highway of Tears in Canada he killed over 26 women on his pig farm when he's a brutal disgusting monster and this Tumblr user wants to send him little love letters that was one of the first accounts I found but there are many many more where that came from and it gets more disturbing and violent very quickly another account that goes by Nishi they claim to be an 18 year old woman and she has consistently posted about Eric Harris one of the participants of Columbine and though he's a mass shooter and not a serial killer though I think the two can be correlated quite easily a lot of the fangirling and affection is quite similar in this domain too while a lot of this Tumblr account is dedicated to him his bio calling him cute there's also straight up disturbing imagery related to killers and murderers too there are photos of characters hanging themselves anime girls saying they want to write letters in blood wounds violence all of that crap other accounts in this community this next one seemingly obsessed with Richard Ramirez also have similar themes in their violent posts a lot of them might seem like cringy I'm 14 and this is deep content on the surface with edgy black and white aesthetic gifts but it's the continuous love for such a dangerous murder that pushes this into concerning territory seal cotton candy though you might not guess what that username is a Jeffrey Dahmer fan account that even gives followers tips on how to can shift or mentally connect with Dahmer they literally tell Their audience that since you can't eat human flesh to connect with him you should try to eat raw meat instead the bloodier the better while this person is interested in being close to Dahmer others act like they're interested in worshiping Killers praising what they've done an account called free The Maniacs has fan art of murderer Igor sunrupyak a Ukrainian serial killer and says that the only religion they're interested in is worshiping him and as you can tell there are obviously levels of extremes here from calling serial killers cute adorable and pretty to sexualizing and even wanting to worship them there are some Tumblr users that seem self-aware they have a problem and claim that their interest in criminals has bled into real life with them dating people who have threatened their lives but a lot of the accounts I came across and it's a disturbing amount really don't really see this as an issue I'm sure that at a glance it might be easy to look at the posts and say oh these are just angsty emotional teenagers venting and to some extent yeah it does seem that way on the surface maybe this is just a phase they'll grow out of right but I think it's important not to dismiss this either after all the women that followed Charles Manson were young when they met him Susan Atkins was a vulnerable angry teenager when she claims Manson filled a void in her life plus many of The Killers being praised in these Tumblr posts prey on young women so if those same women or girls are actively seeking out dangerous relationships well then you might be able to connect the dots as to why this may not be a good thing to try and better understand what this is about and why anyone would actually put themselves in this position I did some digging into the disorder of many of these Tumblr users and what they claim to have it's something called hibristophilia it's a term used as a tag in these posts and it's a central connecting theme and it's also known as Bonnie and Clyde syndrome hibristophilia is defined as a quote sexual paraphernalia in which an individual derives sexual arousal and pleasure from having a sexual partner who is known to have committed an outrage or crime such as rape murder or armed robbery but why why would anyone behave this way it sounds so ridiculous to us on the outside looking in but there are a few commonalities for the most part yeah teenagers and young women with low self-esteem or a history of abuse are more vulnerable to becoming a hibristophile Corey vitello an author on the topic says that this isn't always the case many women may want to sublimate their violent tendencies by collaborating with a partner there are plenty of other elements psychologists have speculated on maybe it's biological and based on a desire to have something forbidden or the biggest loudest partner it's possible that all these things play a role really though in my personal opinion it does feel like insecure teens and young adults make up a majority of these posts so maybe that says something too plus as we've seen there are different levels to this condition some women send letters to a serial killer believing that they can fix them While others with an aggressive form of hibristophilia may want to join in and participate in the crimes themselves a lot more research on this disorder is obviously needed but it's clear that this has existed long before the internet in different forms it's not as if Tumblr created it even if it's become a popular Corner online for people to talk about these fantasies but is this disorder an excuse for the disturbing romanticization of serial killers and what real harm is being done here thank you let's talk about the fans of one of the most infamous serial killers Ted Bundy a few years back when Zac Efron played him in the Netflix series extremely Wicked shockingly evil and vile people felt uncomfortable his winking and upbeat rock music made the film feel like a rom-com at times instead of you know a film about a murderer vanity Fair's Chief critic Richard Lawson wrote that ephron's magnetism was quote a Triumph of sorts for Ephron but it's also a bit of a problem a further indictment of our serial killer sick culture that the film directed by documentarian Joe Berlinger doesn't reckon with enough director Berlinger insists that this is because Ted Bundy was charismatic that's how he lured so many to their deaths he was simply trying to portray that in the documentary and I've heard this line of reasoning and we will hear it again today and I don't buy it there's a line between playing a killer that was supposedly Charming versus being flirty and these shows seem to thrive off of blurring that line according to palatinate the 2019 movie about Bundy was sexually charged a tone that juxtaposes the horrific nature of his crimes shortly after the film's release girls filmed themselves role-playing as a Bundy victim to post on Tick Tock glorifying normalizing and romanticizing him why bother working so hard to paint a monster as charismatic anyway it seems like a pretty odd priority to have and aside from that the idea of Bundy being some handsome charming serial killer that used those qualities to his Advantage has become a point of contention in recent years too instead articles argue that it wasn't his looks that Bundy exploited but how he acted as a chameleon Bundy seemed to make those around him feel at ease like he was one of them in order to get what he wanted rather than paint him his Charming or charismatic let's use a word less romantic manipulative however Ted Bundy isn't a recent serial killer his crimes took place primarily in the 1970s so is it possible that this romantization has simply gotten worse in recent years because of the documentaries and miniseries or has it always been this way personally I'd go with the latter even when these cases were new and the internet did not exist the language around Bundy was concerning check out this article from The New York Times called All American Boy on trial the first paragraph is praising his looks making it seem as if due to his appearance people believed Bundy simply couldn't have committed these heinous murders this is a long quote but I guarantee that it is absolutely necessary to hear the entire thing from the beginning there was a basic contradiction in The Strange Case of Ted Bundy the moment he stepped into the courtroom in Utah three years ago to answer a charge of kidnapping those who saw him for the first time agreed with those who had known him for all of his 28 years there must have been some terrible mistake here was a young man who represented the best in America not its worst some say that Ted Bundy is the most prolific mass murderer in American history Bundy claims he is the tragic victim of a tangling web of circumstances here was this terrific looking man with light brown hair and blue eyes looking rather kennedy-esque dressed in a beige turtleneck and dark blue blazer a smile turning the corners of his lean All-American face walking almost jauntly towards the judge but free of any extravagant motion that could lead one to think a swaggering even dangerous personality existed beneath that casual cool exterior and I know that that is a lengthy quote believe me but to open your article by saying how a serial killer seems to represent the best in America because of his appearance because he's got brown hair and blue eyes I mean I had to read all of it so you could also hear this in this paragraph's entirety just how ridiculous it was to write something like this it's beyond disrespectful and tactless I'm not sure I've got words to really put together for it at least when we're talking about Ted Bundy's fans they're individuals that need some serious help in addressing their own issues when it comes to the New York Times I'm not so sure what their excuses but speaking of Ted Bundy's fans let's take a look at how they behaved when their love interest went to trial because it was an absolute train wreck during the trial not only did Bundy's groupies show up in support but some of them literally dressed up to take on the appearance of his victims as in they parted their hair down the middle wore hoop earrings dyed their hair brown to match the hair color of the women who he murdered and I wish I was [ __ ] joking but I'm not for those that couldn't make it in to support Bundy they sent fan mail and even nude photographs desperate to hear back from him and apparently it worked at least for Carol Ann Boone Carol one of his biggest fans took the stand during Bundy's trial Bundy representing himself asked her if she wanted to marry him she said yes and because of some old law that allows for this they were then married in the courthouse I'm obviously not a doctor and I cannot and will not diagnose Carol but I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if maybe she had hibristophilia either but frankly regardless of what disorder she may or may not have holy [ __ ] I would be pissed off if I was a family member of One of Bundy's victims in the courtroom that day it made an absolute mockery of so many tragic deaths the parents of Ted Bundy's victims have spoken out about his execution in the past saying that he paid for what he did and they viewed him as a cancer that had to be removed Dean Kent the father of seventeen-year-old Deborah Kent said that he believed he'd carry his bitterness with him to his grave many of these families lost loved ones way too soon I can't imagine the depths of their sorrow so for these groupies to [ __ ] dress as their daughters in some sick attempt to win over Bundy I mean I don't think they should have been allowed into the courtroom it shows their complete and utter disregard for anyone else's grieving at best that's for sure yet there are people to this day that are obsessed with the serial killer they've even put his name on panties and other merch and made fan accounts but Ted Bundy is by no means the only one receiving this level of attention [Music] Richard Ramirez has also received obnoxious amounts of support from fans you've seen the fan accounts I'm sure but this bled into real life too in court one reporter recalls the entire back row was filled with goth girls in black leather dresses and chains that were all there to support him some of these groupies even sent him photos of their feet as Ramirez claimed to have had a foot fetish and his defense attorney claims that one even went so far as to ask Ramirez for his semen so that she could have his baby if you're eating mice and serious apologies for that bit of information again I really really don't think they should have been allowed into the courtroom for the respect of the victims families unfortunately Richard's groupies went beyond observers one of the jurors in his trial claimed that she fell in love with him Ramirez even flirted with the juror Cindy and blew her kisses in return she baked him a cupcake topped with the words I love you and referred to killing as just his job apparently while Cindy knew that she could have caused a hung jury she she ultimately decided to convict him because he was without a doubt guilty it baffles me but at the same time proves that some of these fans and groupies know the subject of their affection as a killer they just don't really care about that fact it's not as if they're just falling for some pretty faced bad boy Cindy was a juror in this case she knew everything and it didn't deter her affection another woman Doreen Leo pursued Richard sending him about 75 letters in 11 years they eventually married though in the few years before Ramirez's death they stopped speaking it's not clear why this is but some speculate it's because she wanted children others say it was the evidence Ramirez killed a nine-year-old child apparently was a boundary for her or his health problems were the driving factors I have no idea why and frankly don't know don't care whatever the case may be he's had fans in life and death the same could also be said for those who fan girl over Jeffrey Dahmer in 1992 AP report that teenagers waited for admission into the courtroom fully aware that they may hear about necrophilia mutilation and cannibalism all for an autograph high school students literally skipped school to see the court case talking about it as if they were thrill seeking one of the teens told reporters we just want to see him we want to get his autograph if they will let us that would be cool to have Jeffrey Dahmer's autograph because he's a killer their tones and attitudes seem less loving and more as if they want to go poke a dangerous animal in a zoo though honestly neither is a good option for Dahmer his trial allegedly had the air of a movie premiere complete with those groupies with Dahmer himself being a celebrity movie star whatever to this day and to a different extent Dahmer is now a movie star some of you listening to this may even be aware of the recent controversies with the show Dahmer starring Evan Peters with a whole new slew of footage it's led to these thirst traps to hundreds of accounts saying they feel sorry for Dahmer and threads litter early quote lusting after Dahmer's mugshot there are plenty of other things wrong with this docu-series like how none of the victims families were contacted but we'll focus on the romanticization problems instead of the True Crime ones the thing is I'm not against Netflix making series about serial killers as a whole Bundy Ramirez and Dahmer have all had their own shows in some attempt to dive into the mind of a murderer and understand why they committed such horrific crimes plenty of people do have a morbid curiosity and I wouldn't say that that's inherently a bad thing however casting handsome Hollywood stars making trailers reminiscent of rom-coms and not talking to the victims families at all well that's when we start Crossing some lines collider argues that casting Evan Peters was a calculatedly creepy decision on part of the Dahmer series Peters as a handsome and Charming actor was perfect for the role as he can portray the way that Dahmer won over his victims and to some extent yeah you do want an actor to be able to play the part of a manipulator yes absolutely but why take so much time to humanize the serial killer to make him appear attractive and especially after all the horrible things that they've done Bundy Dahmer Ramirez plenty would argue that they simply don't deserve to be humanized and I kind of agree as Hello magazine quotes we don't need to humanize a disgusting man and we don't need to re-traumatize those affected by his actions maybe filmmakers and documentarians should focus Less on the serial Killer's Charisma and more on the lives that were lost romanticizing may exist with or without these Netflix shows but when casting attractive actors and instructing them to be alluring directors are only exacerbating the problem one article from the platinate argues that these decisions are made to consciously exploit hybristophilia itself and that Hollywood is more than aware of that when they're doing these movies they say actors such as Matt Damon Jamie Dorian and Leonardo DiCaprio have all been cast to fulfill go roles that are part of the hot serial killer Trope that is so popular their performances are powerful and provocative but they should be making our skin crawl rather than ignite some sadistic sexual spark too bad it feels like this hot Charming serial killer mindset has become ingrained in so many of us but aside from minimizing victims pain and giving a not so subtle wink to hybristophilia what's the real problem here with the way individuals and Hollywood romanticized serial killers who gets hurt in the end well everyone does regular exposure to violence makes it less likely to provoke an emotional response according to writer Alice standen and no I don't mean in the way that oh violent video games turn kids violent or anything this is specifically related to True Crime not fantasy but when you focus on giving a serial killer empathy portraying them as just a bad boy or someone who's just had a tough life it's normalizing the horrific crimes they've committed and this is really one of the last things someone with hybristophilia probably needs I don't want to paint everyone with the same brush here and I am aware that more research is needed but if self-consciousness and abuse are common factors among those that glorify and romanticize serial killers then they don't need more reason to dismiss abusive Behavior around them when we minimize and romanticize horrific acts and make the murderers so attractive and appealing it's potentially telling people in this dark place that they just need to change the person they're with that the abuse they're suffering isn't that bad we've seen the same thing in fictitious programs like you where the serial killer is just trying to find love and appears as an empathetic figure the audience can relate to like I'm sorry but if you find yourself relating to and wanting to be with an actual serial killer then please look Inward and seek help raise your own standards for God's sake it's normal to be empathetic to want to help someone who is so clearly hurting and lost but empathy for Killers can lead to justifying their actions and to explaining them away and frankly it's not anyone's place to try and justify what a serial killer has done that robs victims and their families of their voices of their grief and when a fan says oh Bundy didn't mean to kill or he just couldn't help it it's wrong and it takes away the voices that were taken away by those serial killers what about those people they don't have lives anymore they can't speak anymore more they can't have a future they can't have a family they can't have a fulfilling career or life because it was taken from them and then to romanticize these people to the point of going well they just didn't mean it that's wrong wrong wrong wrong seriously serial killers should not be relatable and yes I understand that many in True Crime are fascinated by how and why extremely violent people act the way they do that's one thing but let's not humanize these inhuman monsters to the point where they're making [ __ ] thirst traps either like I can't believe that's a sentence I had to say can we not make thirst traps about serial killers is that an okay thing Society wise that we can agree on stop doing this [ __ ] but with all of that being said that is where I'm going to end today's episode of dark Dives I hope you learned something new here today and if you did make sure that you're liking following and subscribing to stay up to date on all the latest episodes and to everyone who made it towards the end sorry if I'm a little opinionated at the end it just is something that absolutely drives me mad to see this happening I just I just wonder how disconnected someone has to be to make thirst traps for Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy or whoever the hell like it's just it blows my mind in all the wrong ways so thanks so much for making it to the end of the episode I appreciate it and I'll see you in the next one bye [Music]
2022-10-28 06:06
