Television Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (on Netflix)

[RexHamilton]

Most stories about real life serial killers don't attempt to have this kind of intimacy and depth - they might be seen as a porn of sort, focusing on the killer and his 'count' whilst making the victims almost faceless; forgettable unless really "out there" in line with other victims. It's not right, sickening, even, but it's "better" that than personalisation which brings these victims/families right into the spotlight without their consent especially so when Netflix are profiting from it.

Yeah, I don't disagree with you. Morally, the making of this show, is very questionable. But, my point is, where do you draw the line. There will be things that many people find morally questionable. The Making a Murderer series sought to suggest heavily that Steven Avery was wrongfully convicted. This can't have been easy for Teresa Halbach's family.

And there are many more shows that could be similarly upsetting for the families of other crimes and atrocities.

But the fact is, these shows are huge hits for the companies that make them, which means there is a market for them. So, we, the viewers are surely as much to blame?

 

[Berbaclass]

Felt the same at times as well.

Spoiler

Was actually a bit sad when he died I thought.

 

[Fortitude]

Yeah, I don't disagree with you. Morally, the making of this show, is very questionable. But, my point is, where do you draw the line. There will be things that many people find morally questionable. The Making a Murderer series sought to suggest heavily that Steven Avery was wrongfully convicted. This can't have been easy for Teresa Halbach's family.

And there are many more shows that could be similarly upsetting for the families of other crimes and atrocities.

But the fact is, these shows are huge hits for the companies that make them, which means there is a market for them. So, we, the viewers are surely as much to blame?

I honestly thought that the families had been consulted for this, and since finding out they hadn't, I've soured quite considerably to the exploitation.

My belief is if you're not going to get the blessing of the families, you keep it as impersonal as you can. A story that is public record can always be told, but it is crass to personalise it without consent.

Re. Apportioning blame, how can the audience be held to the same account as the makers who have actively gone out of their way to make the product? I've unwittingly watched this assuming it was all above board. One might argue I should have done my research before watching, but should I have to? I might start doing so before deciding to watch such things in future, but it hadn't occurred to me to do so prior to this, but that's because I can't quite recall such intimate storytelling for this kind of material before now, or certainly nothing I would naturally assume the families had been consulted on.

 

[Berbaclass]

The score for this I thought was brilliant. Really dark and fitting with the tone. Reminded me of Reznor & Ross on The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

 

[Coxy]

I think it was in this thread!

Ah!

Nope definitely happened:

https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/12/us/jury-hears-how-unruffled-dahmer-dodged-arrest.html

 

[wr8_utd]

Apparently the scene with him getting pulled over drunk and just being sent on his way with the bin bags of body parts in the back of the car didn’t happen. I’m not sure to what extent other scenes are accurate as I’m trying not to read too much until I finish the show.

Edit: this was seemingly inaccurate and it did happen - apologies!

The whole Glenda being a neighbor is exaggerated as well. Apparently, she lived in the next building and not the neighboring flat.

 

[Rado_N]

Ah!

Nope definitely happened:

https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/12/us/jury-hears-how-unruffled-dahmer-dodged-arrest.html

Feels wrong to say “good” about something like that, but I’m glad to be corrected and learn that the show didn’t invent it.

The whole Glenda being a neighbor is exaggerated as well. Apparently, she lived in the next building and not the neighboring flat.

Yea I think that character is a blend of two real people, and yes neither lived next door.

 

[Massive Spanner]

Whatever about having real life characters a bit different or moved around for dramatic purposes, having an actor recite their breakdown word-for-word is fecking tasteless.

But ultimately the biggest issue of the show is that it purposely makes Dahmer a quite sympathetic character at times, when in reality he was a fecking animal who deserved everything he got. Problem is if they didn't make him sympathetic then the show would be less enthralling.

 

[Sara125]

Spoiler

Was actually a bit sad when he died I thought.

 

[Berbaclass]

I don’t really know I just came out of it thinking he was hard done by in a way as crazy as it sounds

I think it’s partly due to you seeing his journey and where he went wrong, how people and the system failed him etc.

He obviously murdered people and that is wrong. I just don’t believe some guy murdering him out of ‘vengeance’ suddenly makes it right. That’s a complex discussion in itself though.

 

[horsechoker]

I don’t really know I just came out of it thinking he was hard done by in a way as crazy as it sounds

I think it’s partly due to you seeing his journey and where he went wrong, how people and the system failed him etc.

He obviously murdered people and that is wrong. I just don’t believe some guy murdering him out of ‘vengeance’ suddenly makes it right. That’s a complex discussion in itself though.

The system let him get away with murder too. (I don't know how much the events of the show differ from real life)

He was given a light sentence for molesting that boy then killed his brother because the cops wouldn't side with black people.

 

[Berbaclass]

The system let him get away with murder too. (I don't know how much the events of the show differ from real life)

He was given a light sentence for molesting that boy then killed his brother because the cops wouldn't side with black people.

Absolutely. I just think the actual show itself goes to a lot of effort to flesh out his character and backstory, his family etc so you do have some sort of emotional investment into that.

It absolutely does present him in a sympathetic light at times. Suggesting at times that he didn’t want to do what he did or it was at times accidental.

 

[Sara125]

I don’t really know I just came out of it thinking he was hard done by in a way as crazy as it sounds

I think it’s partly due to you seeing his journey and where he went wrong, how people and the system failed him etc.

He obviously murdered people and that is wrong. I just don’t believe some guy murdering him out of ‘vengeance’ suddenly makes it right. That’s a complex discussion in itself though.

Tbf he had a very easy upbringing compared to other serial killers and perpetuators of heinous crimes. The only thing that he ‘went through’ was his parents’ divorce…which loads of people experience.

 

[Berbaclass]

Tbf he had a very easy upbringing compared to other serial killers and perpetuators of heinous crimes. The only thing that he ‘went through’ was his parents’ divorce…which loads of people experience.

I know haha, I’m not saying it’s at all justification for what he became.

 

[SirAF]

Gotta be honest, I'm quite surprised anyone hasn't heard of Dahmer or the fact that he was obviously caught! He's probably the name I'd come up with next after Ted Bundy when thinking of a serial killer.

This Feels a bit weird to need spoilers when discussing a tv show based on such a well known and famous history.

 

[pocco]

The whole Glenda being a neighbor is exaggerated as well. Apparently, she lived in the next building and not the neighboring flat.

Really? That's strange. I've seen her quoted a lot since this came out and you'd think she was a neighbor the way she talks exactly like the show portrays. If she's in the next building then how was she even aware of any of this?

I've just read about it and she obviously became involved when the 14 year old was outside his apartment. But how did she know about the smells and noise? Interestingly I saw in the article that she phoned the police about the boy when missing posters are up with his photo and the police still didn't listen!

 

[Rado_N]

Is the bit about the asshole cops prank calling the family of the young boy, true?

I’ve had a brief Google and can’t find anything one way or the other.

 

[Revaulx]

Dennis Nilsen was far more interesting, but because British audiences aren’t as big as American ones he hasn’t got as big a fanbase

 

[Massive Spanner]

Dennis Nilsen was far more interesting, but because British audiences aren’t as big as American ones he hasn’t got as big a fanbase

ITV made a tv show about him with David Tennant two years ago

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11656892/

Also, weird fecking thing to complain about a serial killer not getting as much attention as another one, but whatever.

 

[Rado_N]

ITV made a tv show about him with David Tennant two years ago

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11656892/

Also, weird fecking thing to complain about a serial killer not getting as much attention as another one, but whatever.

Who’s got the better xK stats?

 

[Brwned]

Dennis Nilsen was far more interesting, but because British audiences aren’t as big as American ones he hasn’t got as big a fanbase

Are you one of his fans?

 

[Massive Spanner]

Who’s got the better xK stats?

Neither of them are a patch on Shipman. He was far more efficient too. Got way more in a calendar ye… ok no I need to stop.

 

[VP89]

Dennis Nilsen was far more interesting, but because British audiences aren’t as big as American ones he hasn’t got as big a fanbase

I watched the nilson tapes on Netflix. Very chilling but as a TV show I did not find it as interesting

 

[sullydnl]

Neither of them are a patch on Shipman. He was far more efficient too. Got way more in a calendar ye… ok no I need to stop.

This is in bad taste. And also ignores the fact that Shipman only got those numbers because he was playing in a farmer's league targeting elderly women. For shame.

 

[Hugh Jass]

New tapes about Dahmer on netflix today as well. Must watch them sometime.

 

[Reapersoul20]

Great show. Bit weird that it was kind of seeking for you to feel sorry/understand it from his point of view.

Did the cops actually prank call the Laotian family or was that hyperbolic?

 

[Revaulx]

Are you one of his fans?

Not especially. I stayed with a university friend who had a flat on Cranley Gardens in the summer of 1981, just before Nilsen moved in a few doors down. He (my friend) got a job abroad a year or so later so wasn’t there when people started complaining of blocked drains.

 

[Buchan]

Having taken my time with this series (watching an episode every second night) and find it masterfully done. Everything about it is excellent: acting, production, score. It’s a brilliant piece of television.

I knew about Dahmer but didn’t know the ins and outs of his backstory nor a great deal about his M.O (I knew he killed gay men and cannibalised some, among other things) but, from his portrayal on screen, everything about him screams Asperger’s Syndrome (or at least some sort of neurodivergent condition). The ‘loner’ aspect to his personality and inability to make close social connections, his gait, his physical movements (his lack of rhythm when dancing), his monotonal speech, his social awkwardness, his obsession with things neurotypical or ‘normal folk’ would overlook, his desire to be in total control… all hallmarks of somebody who potentially has Asperger’s. Has this angle ever been explained/explored before with him?

 

[Hugh Jass]

Having taken my time with this series (watching an episode every second night) and find it masterfully done. Everything about it is excellent: acting, production, score. It’s a brilliant piece of television.

I knew about Dahmer but didn’t know the ins and outs of his backstory nor a great deal about his M.O (I knew he killed gay men and cannibalised some, among other things) but, from his portrayal on screen, everything about him screams Asperger’s Syndrome (or at least some sort of neurodivergent condition). The ‘loner’ aspect to his personality and inability to make close social connections, his gait, his physical movements (his lack of rhythm when dancing), his monotonal speech, his social awkwardness, his obsession with things neurotypical or ‘normal folk’ would overlook, his desire to be in total control… all hallmarks of somebody who potentially has Asperger’s. Has this angle ever been explained/explored before with him?

Schizotypal i read.

 

[HookedOnAPhelan]

This is in bad taste. And also ignores the fact that Shipman only got those numbers because he was playing in a farmer's league targeting elderly women. For shame.

 

[Fortitude]

So this is now the most watched show ever on Netflix, overtaking Squid Game and Bridgeton. Just disgusting that the families aren't seeing a penny of the ill-gotten gains.

 

[SuperiorXI]

So this is now the most watched show ever on Netflix, overtaking Squid Game and Bridgeton. Just disgusting that the families aren't seeing a penny of the ill-gotten gains.

But you could say that about any documentaries they make about serial killers

 

[Rado_N]

But you could say that about any documentaries they make about serial killers

There’s a pretty big difference between a documentary and a dramatisation.

 

[SuperiorXI]

There’s a pretty big difference between a documentary and a dramatisation.

Same with dramatisations, how many films and tv shows have been made about disasters/killers etc and the victims families get nothing.

 

[Rado_N]

Same with dramatisations, how many films and tv shows have been made about disasters/killers etc and the victims families get nothing.

I’ve no idea but I’d say anything profiting from such things should involve the victims families in some way.

 

[dumbo]

Emotionally manipulative, salacious, true crime porn. Fairly well made schlocky drama, good acting, good chills and thrills, but no genuine insight or decency. The duplicitous nature of the show, when placing the scenes involving the victims families right by the scenes detailing the sad boy growing pains of their family's butcher, is pretty disgusting.

To depict Dahmer as a sympathetic story of a misunderstood; a sorry tale of lonliness and sexual confusion, when we can't possibly know if any of this is the truth, is outrageously insensitive to the families.

If it was entirely fictional then have at it but if you want to use the real names and reference real events of such sensitivity then you have a responsibility to not turn in something so vacuous and tawdry.

Texas Chainsaw and Psycho are more dignified serial killer biographies than this thing.

 

[Globule]

Just started watching it and can't help reading up on the details as I go along. Obviously I was familiar with the name and the general outline of his crimes, but seeing some of the specifics in the show were so crazy that I had to verify them.

The incident with the Laotian kid was heartbreakingly sad and really does show how the authorities failed the victims, but what's maddening is one of the officers involved later became the president of the Milwaukee police association. Crazy.