Why are we fascinated by stories of crime?
True Crime was initially popularised in the 1960s by the book In Cold Blood, along with its movie adaptation, based on the trial of Randall Dale Adams and has gone on to become a fascinating pop-culture phenomenon. It is a genre of media in all fields from podcasts to books and even movies. It explores terrifying real-life stories of crimes that have been committed in the past. They tend to be immensely entertaining in a disconcerting, squirm-in-your-seat type of way. These stories are most popular in podcast form, as one can say almost anything without having to worry about censoring any dark content or skipping any details to avoid demonetisation on certain platforms. They often tell the stories in gruesome detail — including those of murder. At this point, it is safe to say that it would be close to impossible to find a truly macabre murder case that has never been covered by a show or podcast somewhere on the internet.
There is such a wide range of crime shows as well, comedic ones for those who don’t cope well with disturbing details, and gruesome ones for those who do. One of the most popular True Crime shows out there is Buzzfeed: Unsolved. If you’re one to be very interested in the inner workings and investigations that go into these cases but struggle with too many disturbing details, this show might be for you. The hosts handle the cases objectively without exaggerating the details for shock value, but also make it light with their charming senses of humour. If you’re the type to be more interested in the gruelling details of terrifying murder cases with no filter, you should consider a podcast like Morbid. Essentially, there’s something for everyone looking for a little thrill from the safety and comfort of their own home.
The massive audience that the true crime genre has garnered in the past few years brings about several questions. To start off, what is it about these disturbing stories that pique our interest? What is it that keeps us craving for more details? Some studies say that it’s a self-preservation instinct. Murder, theft, and other related crimes have been part of our society for as long as anyone can remember. Listening to these stories makes audiences feel as if understanding the motivations and thought processes behind the crimes can make them better equipped to protect themselves if the need arises. Tragically, a study even showed that women are especially interested in true crime stories that go in-depth into how female victims escaped life-threatening situations.
Secondly, has the true crime genre had an impact on the legal system and how its community of listeners perceive it? It has now become a concern for lawyers how much the jurors’ perception of a particular case could be affected by such content online. This means lawyers have to be prepared with any solid information provided by police and law enforcement, as well as any conspiracy theories that might be circulating the internet.
Overall, this obsession with true crime — that only seems to be growing with time, has its positives and negatives. For starters, it could be great for us to voluntarily sit through and process information that is discomforting to us. It could even be therapeutic for some and be seen as a way to work through and confront past trauma in a safe environment. This rise in the popularity of true crime media has even inspired several to take up careers in law enforcement.
There are a few problems that may arise as a result of the overconsumption of true crime media. In some cases, people might give in to victim-blaming beliefs by consuming so much true crime drama that they start to believe the victim “asked for it” by putting themselves in a dangerous situation. This is part of a phenomenon where people convince themselves they could have predicted how a certain situation might have taken place after becoming aware of the outcome. This can simply be avoided if the listener/watcher simply puts themselves in the shoes of the victim and asks basic questions like — would I have made the same choices as the victim without being aware of potential danger? Have parts of the story been cut out as they often are in media? Listeners and watchers might run the risk of becoming so obsessed with the stories of these serial killers and murderers that they start to romanticise their appearance and personalities, similar to how they might with celebrities. For example, Richard Ramirez, also known as the night stalker, had a massive fan following of young girls who ignored the fact that he was a known murderer. This can mostly be boiled down to his good looks. On the other hand, Zac Efron’s movie role as Ted Bundy was so overly sexualised that it became difficult for audiences to even view him as a serial killer.
It is of great importance that media is more responsible with its depiction of heinous figures in our society and considers how much influence it has over its audience. We must treat true crime as an educational genre and ensure that there is no room for tolerance toward these gruesome crimes.
Writer: Diya Ponnappa
Editor: Arushi R.V
