Looks like I’m not the only one

Watching the Dahmer series on Netflix.

I’ve seen quite a few documentaries of Dahmer and it seems as though they are portraying the events pretty accurately. Although it seems like they are portraying Dahmer as someone a little more awkward and less outgoing than he probably was.

They are really pushing the incompetence of the Milwaukee police.

Overall, I’d recommend it for those with a lot of morbid curiosity.

We Got to episode 3, pretty lame. The lady and decided it was overrated

I’m getting tired of seeing advertisements for this show. Nothing like glorifying the life of a monster and prolonging the pain of his existence and his actions by creating a @#$%^& TV show for him.

Sharon wrote:

I’m getting tired of seeing advertisements for this show. Nothing like glorifying the life of a monster and prolonging the pain of his existence and his actions by creating a @#$%^& TV show for him.

Agreed. That is the problem these days. Someone does something absolutely horrific and then its glamorized with a movie or hours of tv coverage. These people are seriously messed up and need lots of help if even possible, but they see all these others get glamorized and it triggers them to seek attention too. Sickening.
Having said all that I have been watching this series. I got to the point of where he was arrested. I had to fast forward through parts as its terribly troubling to watch. “Dahmer” is played by a MN born actor so we have local ties.

I tried watching it, but not for me.

Plus I don’t think I could listen to 10 hours of his over-the-top eastern Wisconsin accent (this coming from a guy from Wisconsin lol)

I don’t see how portraying real events glorifies the monster. Between actual documentaries and this series, they all stress the total incompetence of the Milwaukee police and the corrections system. The number of red flags that were apparent in this case were utterly ridiculous. It’s a common theme amongst serial killers in the past 50 years.

The series isn’t intended to be disturbing for the sake of being disturbing. It’s pretty accurately portraying real events and stressing the lessons that should’ve been learned by it. It’s not for everyone and it is definitely incredibly disturbing. Between trying to get views and overall quality of the show, I think Netflix did a god job on this series. Are they trying to get views and make money? No doubt but I think the overall message it sends has far more value than some fantasy or nonfiction type of series.

Dahmer himself said many times he should be executed for what he did. There’s no glorification in that. He wanted to be erased from history but what he didn’t understand is how the system enabled him.

One of the things I’ve always found fascinating is that these people always lack the ability to feel any empathy at all. It’s another common theme amongst serial killers. If you watched documentaries about serial killers where they show footage from their trials, they never show emotion even when the most disturbing details are covered in court. They never show emotion when families give impact statements. The ones that were sociopaths always claim innocence at every turn. They claim ignorance that what they did caused their victim’s death. I think they bring up the argument whether serial killers are born or if they are made. I think it leans toward them being born and not made.

I do think they went a little overboard on how they portrayed him. In my opinion too awkward and dark. I don’t see how anyone wouldn’t be be immediately creeped out by the way they portray him.

Ep 2 or 3. I’m done and back to my childrens shows.

By “glorifies” I don’t mean the literal definition of representing him as admirable or worthy of praise. I mean the show unjustly puts him in the spotlight. He doesn’t deserve to be on TV, to be a household name. If people want to know about him or the case, read the case files. TV is just the wrong media for this kind of thing.

biggill wrote:

I don’t see how portraying real events glorifies the monster.

I have never met you, but that is probably because you are not a deranged person. Someone who has lots of issues would certainly see this as attention seeking. They say the same thing about mass shooters. How many times have you heard after an mass shooting that the person was fascinated with Columbine or some other mass shooter?

There’s a fundamental difference between mass shooters and serial killers. The overwhelming majority of mass shooters are under 21 and it’s likely because these kids don’t have a fully developed brain and are less able to control reasoning and rationing. While serial killers and mass shooters have serious mental issues, the cause isn’t likely the same. Does glorification of mass shooters result in more or more significant mass shooters? Maybe, we don’t know. I don’t necessarily think that a fascination leads to action.

I think it’s logical not to watch if you think that, but I don’t think it’s logical to associate the series with enabling the behavior. It’s not for everyone, as those that have said they stopped watching have told us, it seems Netflix may have overestimated the number of people who would be actually interested in watching something this disturbing knowing these were real events.

biggill wrote:

I don’t think it’s logical to associate the series with enabling the behavior.

I agree, I don’t think the series enables his behavior either and I don’t think watching a TV show about a serial killer will “turn you into” a serial killer. I just don’t think they deserve the spotlight, fame, attention, or what have you. Imagine having known one of his victims personally, and then turning on Netflix to see the series advertised among the general promotions and other shows. That’s gotta be a horrible feeling.

It’s an understandable opinion, mine is different. I think the value of the story reaching more people outweighs the potential morality issues of glorifying a serial killer and potentially causing pain for the surviving families. I don’t know any of the families but I do know a few were hugely outspoken about the incompetence of the police that still seems to exist today.

biggill wrote:

I think the value of the story reaching more people outweighs the potential morality issues of glorifying a serial killer and potentially causing pain for the surviving families.

The idea definitely has merit. Thanks for discussing this so nicely with me Biggill. The series has actually been on my mind lately and it’s good to get some different perspectives on it. I would personally be more comfortable reading news reports/case files than watching a documentary, but I realize not everyone likes to read as much as I do.

Finished episode 9 and started episode 10 last night. Episode 9 was solely focused around the families of the victims and what they went through after he was arrested and convicted. I won’t say it was all that interesting but it does absolutely give some respect to the families by telling their stories from their perspective.