The demand for true crime podcasts, TV shows, and documentaries has dramatically increased in the past five years. According to YouGovAmerica, one in three Americans consume True Crime media per week and 13% of adults feel that it is their favorite genre. While it is completely healthy to enjoy a certain type of media, is the production of the true crime material truly moral? This question has surfaced recently as more true crime shows have come out in the past year, including the hit Netflix drama series, “Dahmer”. The genre of true crime can be captivating and instructive, but it needs to put more emphasis on the victims of the crimes, rather than the offender.

Jeffery Dahmer, a serial killer who became a household name, committed many heinous crimes throughout the time period 1978-1991. He spent the last years of his life in prison, serving 15 consecutive life sentences for his horrific crimes. Dahmer, although a vicious murderer, has six movies, twelve TV shows and countless podcasts about him. At what point does informative media become exploitative? The victims' families are asking, when will Jeffery Dahmer’s story finally be put to rest?

Backlash has arisen from the new TV show,”Dahmer”, starring Evan Peters. Families of the victims feel that the TV show went too far and re-traumatized them, forcing them to relive their experiences. According to family members of victims, Netflix never asked permission to portray them in the show. Rita Isbell, sister of Dahmer victim Errol Lindsey, spoke to Rolling Stone and said, “I was never contacted about the show…They didn't ask me anything. They just did it. But I’m not money hungry, and that's what this show is about, Netflix trying to get paid.” Many people agree with Isbell, that these shows are not about educating the public and honoring the victims, but just a money grab exploiting crimes of murderers.

Many felt that the TV show portrayed Dahmer as the victim, and that his actions were not fully his fault. While the show points out the misdoings of the Milwaukee police department and systematic racism victims faced during the time, Dahmer is still glorified. By having a young, attractive actor play Dahmer, more people are inclined to watch the show. This introduces another unfortunate issue, not differentiating the actor from the person they are playing. Even though Peters may have given an outstanding performance, there is a difference between appreciating the actor and worshiping Dahmer. Time and time again, “fandoms” are formed for serial killers that are portrayed as attractive in the media.

The true crime genre should be more focused on remembering victims and educating the public rather than making money. Unfortunately, Netflix, and other media outlets are not concerned with how it affects the families and/or victims but with the profit it makes. By sensationalizing the crimes they are covering, the media often omits or changes details that could make the show more “interesting” or dramatized. The hard fact is that True Crime can never truly capture the pain and emotion that victims go through. We, as a society, need to do better and really think about what we are consuming. While it is acceptable to be interested in criminal justice and crime in general, the media should not be profiting off of real people’s horrors.

With its popularity, it was hard not to watch “Dahmer.” Who would not be curious about what 56 million households across the United States were watching, especially with the raving reviews it received? While it is okay to be curious, I experience first hand how an obsession with a murderer can happen so quickly. By allowing yourself to get sucked in to the dramatization of one’s story, it is easier to sympathize and question whether someone actually meant what they did. In this case, Dahmer was depicted as a victim himself, due to his troubled upbringing. This dehumanizes the people he terrorized and allows unhealthy obsessions to begin.

Everyone that has watched “Dahmer” or any other true crime material, should put themselves in the shoes of the people who were involved. Would you want your sister’s, brother’s, mother’s or father’s murder to be a podcast that someone listens to on their daily jog or would you want to remember your family member for who they were, not who they were murdered by? I feel that there is a way to make TV shows, podcasts, movies that don't desensitize, dehumanize, and re-traumatize: Stop making them!