By Madeline Sidgwick – Editor-In-Chief
Immediately climbing to the top of Netflix’s streaming charts, the second instalment of Ryan Murphy’s ‘Monsters’ focused on ‘The Eric and Lyle Menendez story’. Upon watching the series, I began to question the morality behind creating entertainment out of a disturbing case of events. The rise of the true crime genre is not sudden; the popularity of ‘America’s Most Wanted’ beginning in the 1980s and the global phenomenon that was ‘Tiger King’ in 2020, gripped audiences globally. However, I begin to seriously question true crime more when actors, directors, and social media promoters become involved in the sub-genre that is the ‘recreation’ of such crimes.
Specifically, Netflix’s ‘Monsters’ series has presented audiences with the intricacies of the cases of both Jeffery Dahmer and the Menendez brothers. I do not aim to discuss the content within both of these cases, as both stories have been perpetuated in popular media discourse enough since the release of the ‘Monsters’ series. However, upon watching both seasons it must be questioned as to when did the humanity of indulging in the trauma of others become acceptable? Both releases have received criticism from those involved within the cases in real life. Eric Menendez himself made a statement in September 2024 stating, “how demoralising to know that one man with power can undermine decades of progress in shedding light on childhood trauma”. Arguably, even more tragic is the New York Times report in 2022 regarding the series’ initial season. The neighbours and families affected by the disturbing and horrific crimes of Jeffery Dahmer simply stated, “we don’t want to relive it”. Such statements emphasise the paradoxical combination of red-carpet premieres and crime. The series has minimised traumatic experiences in order to boost careers and break streaming records.
It is more than evident that Netflix has failed to recognise that the victim status goes beyond those who lost their lives in such tragedies. Making money on the back of the trauma of others is, I’m sure, not something we as audiences would like to perpetuate. So why is it that such shows entice us so much?
Casting. The choice to cast Evan Peters as Jeffery Dahmer and Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Lyle Menendez was no mistake. Through involving both popular and conventionally attractive actors with a large female fanbase, Netflix has perpetuated both the normalisation and fetishisation of true crime. TikTok edits of such actors when playing murderers fill the ‘for you pages’ of audiences. Thus, allowing for the desensitisation of very real and disturbing events.
If we choose to indulge in this new aspect of modern television, then I hope that this article has emphasised that the stories exploited in ‘Monsters’ are far from fictional. The themes, atrocities and, most importantly, the people on your screen are all real. Real feelings, real trauma and real families.
October 2024 has seen the start of filming for the third instalment of the ‘Monsters’ series, which will centre on the Ed Gein case. As we witness the glamorisation of serial killers and the further exploitation of victims, I urge audiences to question who are the true ‘monsters’ in Netflix’s latest true crime endeavour.
Image: Oscar Vargas, via Unsplash