The rising fascination with true crime raises serious ethical concerns. Examine the moral responsibility of audiences in maintaining an accepted balance. 

True Crime Obsession Ethics: Entertainment From Tragedy

In the modern societal arrangement, most Canadians’ idea of unwinding after work involves doomscrolling through YouTube, sifting through endless “Recommended For You” videos until they fall asleep and repeat the same sequence daily. The algorithm of these social media channels is so creative, and it captures your interests with thumbnails that are so morbid that it’s almost impossible to look away. 

That’s how many of us in Canada, and indeed across the globe, have become exposed to true crime stories. People who are well acquainted with the genre of “entertainment” can relate to the feeling of curiosity that comes with watching these videos. For an iGaming enthusiast, it can feel like logging into a world-acclaimed online casino site like Spincity casino, an action that brings to the fore feelings of thrill that ultimately combine with an adrenaline rush. Behind the narration and stories, one is ardently aware of the stakes in place, only that with these criminal chronicles, the stakes aren’t money, as is the case with iGaming. The stakes in this case are people’s lives. 

The Dark Side of True Crime Entertainment

More recently, Netflix’s Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story was a hit among the masses who were acquainted with the American serial killer and sex offender who killed and dismembered seventeen men and boys between 1978 and 1991. While it was purely a source of entertainment for many, it sparked outrage when the victims’ families revealed that the production company never consulted with or compensated them, especially seeing that the content of this production was deeply traumatizing for them. As a matter of fact, Rita Isbell, one of the victims’ sisters, described watching a reenactment of her own testimony as deeply traumatizing. 

This example of tales of real-world crime should trigger an introspective thought process on the whole production of such a genre. It should ultimately trigger a conversation between the producers’ audiences and the victims’ families on whether such content should be churned out to the public. From the production houses’ perspective, these stories undoubtedly generate views and lots of ad revenue. As a viewer, it begs the question: at what point do we draw the line between awareness consumerism and exploitation? Do these tales serve to educate us about justice, or are they desensitizing us to genuine human suffering? 

To get an honest perspective, one needs to ask oneself: after watching these tales, do you find yourself empathizing with the victim? Or are you fixated with the killer’s methods? It has become clearer that this genre has a subtle way of glorifying these criminals, who are terrible human beings, and turning them into pop culture icons that can dangerously be emulated. But why are these films so popular? 

Exploring the Popularity of the Genre

Why is this genre so popular among many people? We’ve narrowed it down to three primary reasons:

• Mystery and suspense: These murder mysteries often offer real-world puzzles that the audiences feel compelled to solve. 

• The thrill of participating: The audiences view themselves as pseudo detectives, being handed clues to crimes they can solve, albeit from the comfort of their homes. 

• Psychological preparation: Different studies show that women are more likely to consume these types of content than men simply because they are more likely to face the types of threats portrayed in these stories. 

Arising Ethical Concerns

There’s no denying the outstanding appeal of this genre. Be that as it may, this doesn’t absolve it from the ethical scrutiny that is very much warranted. For example, there are many cases of selective storytelling when these criminal chronicles are told. The media has been known to disproportionately cover cases involving white, female victims, giving the impression that only certain lives matter. It often feels like cases involving marginalized communities are not given the same level of airplay as these. 

Secondly, the way these tales of real-world crime are set up feels like a general commodification of tragedy. Production houses often utilize catchphrases, merchandise, and social media trends to market these tales. This aspect of their work feels like they are reducing real human suffering to marketable content. 

On the audience’s part, as people watch these stories, they come up with theories that may ultimately be incorrect. As untrained people play detective, they may implicate people who are innocent of the crime, basing their findings on far-fetched stories. In other cases, people may absolve the criminals of their crimes based purely on inaccurate fan theories. It is a dangerous situation that may end badly if the professionals dare to listen to online chatter. 

Glorification of Criminals

One of the most disturbing effects of these chronicles is the romanticization of criminals. We’ve heard of cases where love letters were sent to killers like Chris Watts, and the general public’s fascination with Ted Bundy. It creates a shocking depiction of who we are as a society and the lack of regard for the victims’ families. 

Consuming With Conscience

While large aspects of these chronicles are unethical, there are true crime tales that often focus on the victims’ perspective. The ethical part of the genre exists. It just needs a mature audience that will ultimately make conscious decisions about the type of content they consume. While interest in these tales is natural, it should never overshadow the reality of the suffering that the victims endured. Our fascination should never come at the expense of our humanity.