Talia Schwartz, Senior
Netflix recently released a new series, entitled Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, encompassing the horrific realities behind the murders of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Since being released, the series has remained on the number 10 most watched list, and is currently ranked first on that list. The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is creepy and gruesome, but also intriguing and therefore hard to stop watching. The lead actor Evan Peters did an amazing job with the characterization of Jeff Dahmer, studying his mannerisms and emotions to accurately portray his character. After watching the series, I looked up interviews with Jeffrey Dahmer and was shocked by how well Evan Peters portrayed this character, especially through his body language and quiet, yet tentative voice. Peters did an amazing job with this role, perfectly encapsulating Dahmer’s creepiness and terrifying nature.
This series, while only one season with 10 episodes, depicts the lifetime and history of notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer; the series is structured in a way that shifts back and forth from his childhood, to the sequence of murders, and finally to his life during trial and in jail. Specifically, the series focuses on a corrupt and racially biased police system that allowed Dahmer to get away with crimes time and time again with little consequences. Several of the killings could have even been prevented if the police had believed Dahmer’s neighbor, a middle-aged black woman, over him.
A gut-wrenching aspect of the story occurred when the police gave a 14 year old boy back to Dahmer despite protests from neighbors. This depicts the incompetence of the Milwaukee police department and brings attention to the systematic racism and homophobia that was and still is prevalent in police departments around the nation. This was brought to light in the Dahmer story,with the police putting little effort into investigating the disappearances and murders of many young, black, gay men.