Madison Meeks – Opinion Editor

mvm7037@psu.edu

Photo Credit: Netflix

In recent years, true crime documentaries have been becoming popular in culture. But do true crime documentaries glorify crimes or even worse serial killers? 

All the major streaming platforms are releasing true crime documentaries like Peacock’s documentary series “Casey Anthony: Where the Truth Lies” or tv shows that remake serial killer’s crimes like the latest Netflix show “Monster: DAHMER: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.” All the crime documentaries being released leads to the question: Do true crime documentaries glorify horrific crimes?

As a person who has seen their fair share of true crime documentaries, I have noticed that some documentaries try to glorify the crimes of killers. The Netflix docu-series “Conversation with a Killer” features famous serial killers including John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, and Jeffery Dahmer. 

The show features interviews, audio recordings, and archived footage. During the series, the criminals each seem like they are trying to glorify their actions. There is no way a person should try to glorify the actions of a serial killer. But this show is the only one that I have personally seen that has tried to glorify those horrific actions. I do not think that true crime documentaries glorify the crimes but are made to get justice for victims and remember the victims. 

A documentary on Netflix called “The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann” which talks about a 3-year-old named Madeleine McCann who disappears from her family’s hotel room in Portugal. The documentary talks about trying to find her and get justice for her disappearance. All the evidence and suspects are discussed throughout the documentary. Even though the police still have not found Madeleine, this documentary shows that not all true crime documentaries glorify crimes but are trying to inform and seek justice for crimes. 

Furthermore, there are a ton of other true crime shows that are about seeking justice for victims of crimes. For example, “NBC’s Dateline” also is a show that seeks justice for victims. Each episode is about a different crime that took place and how justice would be given to the victim and the victim’s family. The show does not focus on who the killer is, but instead focuses on what happened to the victim and what can be done to get justice. 

But a downfall to true crime documentaries, or even shows that are recreations of real crimes that have happened, is that the families of these victims have to go through the pain of losing their loved ones all over again. “Monster: DAHMER: A Jeffrey Dahmer Story” was one of those shows that recreated the horrifying crimes of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. 

The families who had lost someone they loved during those horrific killings had to relive it over again because nobody bothered to tell them that the show was being made. Even shows or documentaries that family members of the victims are involved in bring the memories and pain back to the time where the family lost their loved one. 

But all of the pain that these true crime documentaries can carry leads to the question: does true crime documentaries glorify crimes? I believe that in a way, even though these documentaries bring painful memories back to the family, these documentaries do not glorify the crimes of the killers, but focus on the victims and getting justice for the victims and their families.