Netflix’s ‘Dahmer’: True crime content done right?
Netflix's "Monster: The Jeffery Dahmer Story" has been making waves across the internet, after many viewers were not even able to make it past the first episode, even resulting in the streaming platform warning viewers that the show might be 'too disturbing'.
While the pilot episode of the series follows the story of the night when the notorious serial killer was arrested, its barebone portrayal of the gruesome nature of Dahmer's killings—from a first-person perspective—proved too much for many viewers to handle.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The 10 episode-long biographical series, is essentially divided into two parts, with the first revolving around Jeffrey Dahmer's early life and the horrendous crimes he committed, and latter focusing on the aftermath of his arrest and conviction.
After episode six, we are offered a glimpse into the lives of one of Dahmer's victims. However, this is where the shortcomings of the series begin to show. It is around this time that the show, instead of focusing on the stories of the victims—a majority of whom were minorities—and their suffering, chose to focus on Dahmer's perspective, and how he went about plotting and carrying out his murders. There are bits and pieces of victims' side, but it pales in comparison to how focused the show is on Dahmer.
The failure of the series to showcase the racial discrimination and corruption that, to this day, plague the white supremacist law enforcement in the US—and how it was integral in enabling Dahmer to continue carrying out his crimes—is appalling.
Admittedly, the indifference of the police towards Dahmer's neighbours, despite their persistent suspicions, and their utter irresponsibility in handing over a 14-year-old child—who almost escaped from the killer—back to Jeffrey Dahmer, without even conducting a basic background check, is shown.
The creators were also able to highlight the disregard from the police towards first-hand witnesses, simply because they were people of colours. However, these were also portrayed in short bits, rather than in depth.
While it is understandable that the series wanted to probe deeper into the serial killers origins, at times it felt as if the show continually veered more towards becoming a source of humanisation.
It was incredibly disappointing to see the limelight turned to the families of the victims, only after Jeffrey Dahmer's arrest and during his trial. Because, in doing so, it majorly overlooked the omnipresent agony and uncertainty these people endured throughout the duration of their loved ones' unsolved disappearances. Their crisis was almost presented as secondary to Dahmer's side of the case.
Most importantly, the show's short attempt to explore one of the victims' prior life—though captivating while it lasted—felt more like a last minute shot at a performative facade meant to side-line the others before them.
It's important for us to remember that these are real stories about real people, and how they were forced to lose their live because of not just one man, but because of the prejudice from a system that continues to diminish the value of their lives.
While it is a valid argument, that their personal lives should not be exploited for entertainment, but finally being able to give them a voice, would allow for the world to learn their stories too.
Netflix's "Monster: The Jeffery Dahmer Story" takes a step in the right direction by actively avoiding the kind of romanticisation that is prevalent in true crime content. Unfortunately, it missed out telling the tale of how so many of the lives taken by Dahmer could have been prevented multiple times if the authorities had valued the life of a black person the same way they do a white one.
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