By the Editorial Board
Have we been too kind to criminals?
Within the past few years, Netflix has expanded from solely repurposing content to creating true crime originals of their own. Now one of the top genres on streaming services, the criminals in these stories have a claim to fame.
From Gypsy Rose Blanchard to Anna Delvey, their Netflix docuseries have flooded the web and gained insane amounts of popularity. Crime docuseries gained traction in 2022 with “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” starring Evan Peters. Some viewers of “Dahmer” began glamorizing his crimes because he was “hot.”
While documentaries about criminals are interesting to watch, we have slowly created a culture where murder and fraud can be accepted if they have entertainment value.
With the premiere of “Dancing With The Stars” on Sept. 17, fans of the show made “Anna Delvey’s Lackluster DWTS Debut” viral on X. They weren’t impressed, and neither were we. Why should a criminal fighting deportation from ICE be allowed to perform alongside Olympians and the newest Bachelorette?
Anna Delvey’s Netflix series, “Inventing Anna” poses an ethical issue. The series shouldn’t have glorified her crimes, but rather showed the damage of her actions. The victims of her crimes are sitting at home, missing thousands of dollars and seeing her sparkly ankle monitor flash on DWTS.
And it’s not just “fake heiress” Anna Delvey — Gypsy Rose Blanchard has become a total meme. And despite the abuse she went through, she assisted in the murder of her mother. The second she was released from prison, she became an overnight celebrity. There are now six movies and documentaries recounting her story.
It’s evident that we have a fascination with criminals. BBC Science Focus Magazine says our interest in crime deals with our innate human nature to protect ourselves from danger.
“Evolutionary psychologists say that we’re drawn to these tales because murder, rape and theft have played a significant part in human society since our hunter-gatherer days. It’s in our nature to be highly attuned to criminal misdemeanors, and we instinctively want to discover the ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’ and ‘where’ so we can find out what makes criminals tick, and to better protect ourselves and our kin.”
This only proves how human crime is. But although it is human, it’s still not right.
The biggest risk with glorifying criminals is the risk of copycat murders. Turning them into celebrities is only a breeding ground for someone with low self-esteem to gain some “street cred.” We know it’s fascinating to dive deep into the psychology of criminals and murderers, but just don’t put them on a pedestal.
Dahmer ate people — remember that.
