The crime of true crime
The ethics of consuming true crime content are messy
From podcasts to documentaries to television shows, true crime is a genre that has been rising in popularity over the years. There are hundreds if not thousands of media featuring true crime content on the internet.
A medium that has risen to fame over the years is podcasts, and especially video podcasts in the form of creators doing their makeup whilst telling stories. While this content serves the purpose of entertainment for some viewers, it deserves a lot of criticism as well.
For starters, true crime content dehumanizes the victims. It uses them as a money-making gimmick. It uses victims for spooky stories that people listen to for fun and entertainment. We tend to forget that these are real people with real experiences who have gone through traumatic events.
Additionally, true crime content often glamourizes events and embellishes them. When we think of true crime, we often think of it as an aspect of modern content. After all, we see it as a form of new age content.
The reality is that even prior to its name, true crime content has always existed, but in different formats. Think back to the most infamous cases throughout time. The O.J. Simpson trial is one that brought many viewers to marvel at, and gossip over events that traumatized real people.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is a Netflix show that hit the platform last week. It was immediately hit with criticism from viewers. The interesting thing is that Erik Menendez released a statement through his wife, Tammi Menendez, on X shortly after.
“I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies rampant in the show,” he stated. “I can only believe they were done so on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.”
True crime content is often sensationalized by creators. However, an interesting thing occurs as a byproduct of that sensationalism. Viewers can start to fall into the habit of sensationalizing graphic details.
Furthermore, my entire issue with the entire true crime genre is that it leads to victims being hurt, as their stories are misrepresented. While it may serve as campfire stories for some, it is important to remember that for many people, they are forced to relive these gruesome events of their lives with every retelling, with every dramatization, and with every embellishment.
The most horrific aspect of true crime includes none other than the fans. You know who I’m referring to. If you were on Tumblr back when it was cool, you would know that Tumblr is a host for various fandoms across the board. The most disturbing fandom included the multitude of accounts from people who were fans of the perpetrators behind many cases.
Gather around in a circle my children, and let’s all pray that Tumblr dies the same way Myspace did.
In its earliest days, Tumblr was the platform where everything passed. From the best to the absolute worst. Whilst this might be considered as a good thing, it unfortunately platformed fans of serial killers and other deplorable people whom I refuse to mention.
