The new Netflix series has the world disturbed, shocked, and questioning society. 

Between articles, documentaries, court tapes, and even song lyrics, the infamous name “Jefferey Dahmer” has been heard by billions around the world. The serial killer, known for killing, dismembering, and eating his victims, has been portrayed in many different lights amongst the media. 

With the new series depicting Dahmer’s life just being released onto Netflix, the writers have received a well even mix of support and backlash. 

Ryan Murphy, the head writer of the series, claims to attempt to show Dahmer’s story from an outside perspective, not from any particular point of view. “We had one rule going into this from Ryan Murphy,” lead actor Evan Peters states, “That it would never be told from Dahmer’s point of view.”

Ryan Murphy’s Portrayal and Artistic Choices 

Many viewers disagree with this, stating that the show humanizes the monster and causes the audience to feel sympathy for him, rather than for his victims. Some friends and family of Dahmer victims express their anger about the show and its portrayal of the case. Rita Isbell, sister of victim Errol Lindsey, states “I was never contacted about the show,” she says,  “I feel like Netflix should’ve asked if we mind or how we felt about making it. They didn’t ask me anything. They just did it.” Social media is also outraged, a viral twitter user posts “Let’s not romanticize Jeffery Dahmer just because he is played by Evan Peters.”

Writer Ryan Murphy also made some artistic choices, further enraging viewers. According to Glenda Cleveland, former neighbor of Dahmer, she did not live in the apartment directly next door like depicted on screen but actually in a separate building. Another artistic choice was having victim Tracy Edwards and Dahmer laying on a bed instead of on the floor as described in Edward’s actual testimony in court. Overall, I don’t believe these choices negatively impact the storyline or actively spread any false information about the case. If anything, the choices added more intensity to the situation and for the viewers, making them fear and sympathize for Glenda Cleveland  and Tracy Edwards even more. 

Having binge watched the entire series, I came to the conclusion that this show both humanizes Dahmer but manages to not glamorize any of his disturbing actions. I believe that the writers and producers were able to make artistic choices with the show without fabricating anything about the case. The ability to make the viewer feel sympathy for both a cold blooded killer such as Dahmer and his victims proves how well done the show truly was. However, it is understandable how this can be hurtful to the victims and their families, as the last thing they want is for such a monster to be humanized for billions of people.

The Contributions of Systematic Racism 

One thing the show does well is putting into perspective the systematic racism that allowed Dahmer to get away with his heinous crimes. The show gives us background to Dahmer’s neighbor, Glenda Cleveland, who repeatedly warned the police about Dahmer when she saw and heard suspicious activity but they would not listen to her: likely due to the fact that she was black in an underserved and high crime area. Not only that, but the police often took the word of Dahmer, a white man over the several accusations from black men and women. 

One of the major losses for the POC community during the time of this case was the ruling of Dahmer’s sexual assault conviction. After Dahmer drugged and assaulted a minor, who also happened to be Asian and a minority, the court sentenced Dahmer to just 1 year in a correctional facility and a $2,500 bail. The judge spoke to him not as a criminal, but as an individual who “made a mistake and could turn himself around.” Ryan Murphy could have left this dialogue out of the series, but his choice to include it added much more impact to the story. It adds a whole other layer of emotion and fear to the case, besides Dahmer’s disturbing crimes. The way the judge treated the family of this victim clearly shows personal bias and racism, and it is not surprising how the court ruled this case. Unfortunately, this ruling lead to Dahmer being able to continue his spree of horrendous murders and sexual assaults.

How Law Enforcement Failed 

How else did law enforcement fail these victims? The show does not glamorize the situation one bit. Many argue the worst part of the Dahmer case was the 14 year old boy who managed to escape – then was sent back to Dahmer’s house by law enforcement. This is despite the boy being clearly underage, intoxicated or on drugs, and having no proof of identification. Citizens testified they saw this boy in the street “catching worms” and hanging around other kids. The police failed to background check Dahmer, they failed to do an adequate search of the apartment, and they failed to fact check any other claims Dahmer made on the scene, eventually leading to this boy’s death.  In the show, they act out every part of this. They even visually show what Dahmer did to the boy. This is by no means glamorizing. 

Conclusion

Overall, the series does an excellent job of telling the story as truthfully as possible and not glamorizing any of the disturbing events. The artistic choices Ryan Murphy made in writing the series don’t affect the storyline in any way and don’t take away from the impact on the victims. Although many disagree, the series was very well done.