Dahmer’s disturbing drama

“Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” a new series based on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer’s life, was released on Netflix on September 21, 2022. It quickly became very popular, leaving many different opinions circulating about the show and his life. 

The show covers everything from his childhood and upbringing to his time in prison. It also shows parts of the victims’ lives, so the audience truly understands that the people he killed had lives and loved ones of their own. 

Dahmer killed more than just his victims- he ruined the lives of their parents, siblings, and friends. The craziest part of the show for me was how easily he got away with his murders for so long.

Dahmer’s neighbor, a black woman, had to smell dead bodies and hear him murder his victims almost every night. She called the police multiple times, but since she was black and most of Dahmer’s victims were people of color, the white male officers did nothing because they didn’t find the situation important enough.

It was upsetting to see that Dahmer could have been stopped after his first few murders; his story was one of white privilege. I though the show did a good job of highlighting the issues with his while privilege and racism from the cops.

The police also ignored reports regarding Dahmer because he was gay. The series displays a real clip from an officer speaking with Dahmer’s neighbor, where the officer shows his fear of homosexuality and dismisses the neighbor’s concern.

I found it interesting how Dahmer would get his victims attracted to him first and build a connection with them before he killed them. I didn’t understand why he couldn’t love someone alive. It was sad to see his struggle with relationships, but it made more sense once the show tied his issues back to his childhood.

One part of Dahmer’s story that I felt was lacking in the series was the story of Dahmer’s brother. He had a younger brother, but the show never told us anything about him. Perhaps it was because Jeffrey and his brother were not close, but I think he was still an important part of the story.

Another part of the show that surprised me was how many fans Dahmer had once he was convicted. Throughout his time in prison, people would mail him fan letters and money. People even dressed up as him for Halloween. It was highly disturbing to see people glamorize cannibalism and murder like this. 

Multiple other shows and movies have been created to tell the story of Dahmer. So many that he has almost become like a “fictional” character in society’s eyes. Seeing how obsessed people have become with his story is incredibly disturbing. So much that they have gone as far as to cast teen heart-throb, Ross Lynch, to play Dahmer in the movie “My Friend Dahmer.”

eBay is one of the only companies that has taken the first step to end people’s obsession with him. eBay has officially banned all Dahmer-related costumes from being sold. This ban follows eBay’s strict policy that prohibits the glorification of violence. 

I think this completely makes sense. I don’t understand why people even want to dress up as pedophilic serial killers. All costume-selling companies should follow in eBay’s footsteps by banning Dahmer costumes and ending his glamorization.

A sadly unsurprising aspect of the show was that the officers who repeatedly found “nothing” in Dahmer’s home were later given officer of the year awards. 

I like how the series highlighted the officers’ ignorance and made clear that the police were at fault for letting Dahmer get away with so much.

Overall, the series was powerful and informative. The show covered many important topics like racism, homophobia and mental health. Although Dahmer’s story is tragic and horrific, it was interesting to learn about his life and how his mind worked.