By: Emory Waye, Contributing Writer

In the past few years, the true crime genre has taken off in popularity. Podcasts, YouTube channels, TikTok videos, and TV series can reveal the big, the bad, and the ugly stories about humanity. With many things that rise in fame, there are some concerning behaviors that have ensued in the genre, and I think there needs to be a clear line between what is ethical and what isn’t ethical about retelling true crime stories.

At the end of September 2022, Netflix released the show, “Dahmer-Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.” As an avid true crime enjoyer at the time, I decided to watch it. As I began to watch, I quickly realized that it was not a documentary like I originally thought. Rather, it was a dramatization of Jeffrey Dahmer’s life, and it almost seemed to encourage the audience to sympathize with Dahmer.

After some further investigation, I also discovered that the still-living family members of Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims were not made aware of the production of this show. In other words, actors were cast to graphically portray siblings, children, and friends being killed, dismembered, and cannibalized; and these people had no idea. The show was released in late September, leading up to the Halloween season, and exploited real people’s suffering for monetary gain. No argument could be made for this show providing any kind of educational insight. It was purely for entertainment. Jeffrey Dahmer was being marketed as another Michael Myers, except his victims were real.

After realizing the exploitative nature of the Dahmer show, I began to wonder about the genre as a whole. In some cases, family members of victims will choose to participate in documentaries in order to spread awareness, but how could full dramatizations of murderers’ lives be considered ethical? Is it okay for YouTubers and podcasters to profit off of murdered victims who could not consent to their stories being told?

Today, one of the most popular history and true crime YouTubers is Bailey Sarian, who has amassed 7.6 million subscribers. Often, a paid advertisement will make its way into the middle of a gruesome story. One advertisement was from the sponsor “Wicked Clothes,” featuring sweatshirts with the phrases “True Crime Club” and “Serial Killer Documentaries and Chill.” Aside from the fact that Sarian is being paid through advertisements featured in her videos, this also shows that people who are watching these videos and buying these products are participating in “fandom” behavior, casually supporting the non-consensual retelling of true, horrible crime stories.

Granted, not all true crime podcasts and videos are exploitative in nature, but there are enough bad seeds to cause concern. As it turns out, there are real effects that this genre has on individuals’ daily lives.

According to Chivonna Childs, a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic, consuming too much true crime can lead to increased anxiety, depression, and paranoia. Additionally, Betterhelp, an online mental health resource, shared more adverse effects that have been found in those who enjoy true crime, including panic attacks, obsessive thoughts about crime, disturbed sleep, and re-traumatization.

The same research done by Betterhelp also found that there are certain effects on families and communities that result from watching true crime. It was acknowledged that stories made about real families may be exploitative and dangerous, leading to safety breaches and false accusations.

The Betterhelp report went on to say that while increased attention can sometimes bring unsolved cases back to the public eye, it can also play a role in re-traumatizing victims’ families: “The sensationalism that sometimes accompanies true crime narratives can lead to a skewed portrayal of the victim of the circumstances of the crime, which can be distressing for families seeking to preserve the dignity and memory of their loved ones.”

According to an article by The Hollywood Reporter, the Isbell family has never been contacted when a documentary was made about their deceased family member and victim of Dahmer, Errol Lindsey. They just wake up to an influx of calls and messages, leading them to conclude that another Dahmer show or film has been released.

Evan Peters, who played Dahmer in the Netflix show, said it was “one of the hardest things” he ever had to do. Peters expressed the mental and emotional toll it took to play the role, and he chose to take a 2-year break after the show’s release. To me, the negative impact that true crime has on the victims’ families, media viewers, actors, and our society as a whole suggests it is doing more harm than good. When an entire genre is built upon the exploitation of those who can’t consent, we may need to reconsider our motivations for consuming and creating this content.