Ashley Granquist

Professor Gardiakos

ENC 1102

7 April, 2023

Situated Inquiry Research Paper (make a cool title)

Introduction

Hollywood has been a staple presence in most Americans’ lives for over a century,

through children’s cartoons, romantic comedies, and classic thrillers. Film and television have

invaded every aspect of modern culture, becoming a fully developed and intricate discourse

community of artists, actors, and fans. No matter the genre, all films aim to attract their

audiences through various rhetorical methods like dialogue, music choice, and color-grading.

True-crime media, a niche sub-section of television, has grown in popularity over the

years and become one of the most popular genres of film today. Through both fictional stories

and films “inspired by true events”, these kinds of thrillers have established themselves firmly in

the Hollywood community and created their own network of experts and fans. More recently,

true-crime dramas have received criticism from audiences over their ethics in creating

entertainment from real crimes. The recent rise in true-crime television from streaming platforms

like Netflix and Hulu have called people to question the appeal of such shows and how they

impact the film community. Include importance to discourse community

 This research paper will focus on two different true-crime series, both inspired by real

serial killers. “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes”, a documentary-style mini-

series created by Joe Berlinger, focuses on the case of Ted Bundy, while “Dahmer – Monster:

The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” created by Ryan Murphy is a drama based on the murders committed

by Jeffrey Dahmer. Both Hollywood creations, being released in the last 4 years, have received

equal amounts praise and backlash for their adaptations, with Berlinger’s series earning a 56

percent on Rotten Tomatoes and Murphy’s a 57 percent.

Research Synthesis

Before discussing the primary research conducted, it is important to gain some context to

the debate of these films. “Serial killer media” in general has always maintained a firm grasp on

its targeted audience. Cult classics like “The Shining” and “Saw” top the list of many horror

fans’ favorite films. While films revolved around serial killers have been created since film itself

began, it has seen a sharp increase in production in the last 30 years. Brian Jarvis, author of

“Monster’s Inc.: Serial Killers and Consumer Culture”, states that “The Internet Movie Database

(imdb.com) lists over 1000 films featuring serial killers and most of the contributions to this sub-

genre have been made since 1990” (Jarvis 326). Films like these have historically revolved

themselves around fictional stories but have more recently turned to real-life serial killers for

entertainment. Add more sources about background information

 With the recent increase in films centering around serial killers, opposing arguments have

been made for their existence. Parties supporting these films have argued that they bring

awareness to the crimes committed and the victims affected. On the other hand, some argue that

they glorify the acts committed by the killers and trivialize the victims’ experiences. While the

purpose of this paper is not to argue whether or not serial killer films are ethical, it is important

to recognize how they have influenced the true-crime and film discourse community. Those who

have argued in favor of the creation of these films base their argument on the awareness they

bring to the victims of these crimes to bring them justice. In the modern era, films about serial

killers like Ted Bundy “explore the disastrous effects of white male privilege” and “effectively

illustrate the potentially horrifying results of the objectification of, or the investment in male

dominance over women” (McCabe 40). The argument of many who share the views of McCabe

is that films exposing the truth about such horrific cases like Bundy’s can be influential in

highlighting the dangers of allowing these types of crimes to go under the radar in the public eye.

On the other end of the spectrum, many members of the community feel that there is a certain

danger that comes with creating entertainment out of real-life crimes. Kevin D. Haggerty argued

against the media’s portrayal of serial killers as a whole in his article “Modern Serial Killers”

when he stated that “at [its] worst, the mass media feed[s] public appetites for the sensational,

cynically capitalize[s] on the horrific, and institutionalize[s] a culture of celebrity” (Haggerty

173). The basis of Haggerty’s argument echoes the sentiment of many in the film community,

who feel that the popularity of serial killer media speaks to society’s nonchalant attitude towards
crime. Overall, members of the film community have been divided in their opinions of the rise in

serial killer films.

Add the different opinions from articles

While the more recent presence of films around real serial killers has been debated over

the years, less research has been done on why these films spark so much of a reaction in their

audiences. The cinematic choices made by film producers are intricately made to attract the

largest audience as possible and create the biggest reaction. In true-crime films in particular,

elements like “emotion, dialogue, use of footage, name-titles and production conflicts” as

mentioned by Phoebe Morton play a large part in making the subject more appealing to the

audience. “Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes” and “Dahmer – Monster: The

Jeffrey Dahmer Story” are no exception to this rule. This research paper will examine these to

films to determine what elements of film they utilize and how effectively they invoke emotion

from the audience. Both films have sparked news-worthy conflict over the ethics of creation.

“Dahmer – Monster”, released in September of 2022, received critique from the victims’

families. Rita Isbell, whose brother was murdered by Jeffrey Dahmer, commented in a statement.

“It's sad that they're just making money off of this tragedy. That's just greed.”

Methods

My primary research comes from analyzing “Conversations With a Killer: The Ted

Bundy Tapes” and “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”. When watching both mini-
series, I paid special attention to the soundtracks, dialogue, and overall accuracy to the real case

of both killers. I took notes of the genre of music used in significant scenes of both pieces, as

well as the language used to describe the killers in each film. For each film, I broke down which

portions of the stories took up the most screentime between the actual crimes and the past of the

killer. Lastly, I analyzed the facts of each case and compared it to the facts shown in each film.

This included the appearance of the crime scene, accuracy of the number and type of victims,

and law enforcement’s response to the case. I chose these films based on their recent releases and

the controversy surrounding them. In addition to analyzing each of the films themselves, I

looked at the top 50 comments on each series’ trailer and filtered the most used descriptions and

vocabulary from both positive and negative reviews.

The first series, “Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes”, is a four-part

docuseries with each episode rounding out to be around 60 minutes. It centers around interviews

journalists Stephen Michaud and Hugh Aynesworth conducted with Ted Bundy at the end of his

life. The second series, “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”, is a drama series with

10 episodes, each about 60 minutes, alternating between Jeffrey Dahmer’s crimes and his

childhood.

Results

“Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes”

 Episode one of the Ted Bundy docuseries, created by Joe Berlinger, begins with a quote

from journalist Stephen Michaud who stated that the Ted Bundy case “was a hell of a story.”

Each episode begins with a similar attention-catching quote. It jumps between interviews with

journalists, families and friends of Bundy, and detectives who helped to solve the case. The

footage seen in the series includes news reels and crime scene photos, but no recreations or

parodies.

The series does not include any notable music in the background but does use sound

effects in what seems like more “important moments,” like when switching between some of the

30 victims in episode two title “One of Us”.

While much of the screentime is taken up by the actual case and the solving of it, the

docuseries also highlights the culture surrounding the deaths. The series makes a point to

emphasize the “over 100 hours of recorded conversation” with Ted Bundy, but over the course of

the series, these conversations only make up an average of 10 minutes of screentime per episode.

Of the other 40 minutes of each episode, over half is taken up by interviews with detectives and

other officials. The last 15 minutes are occupied by friends and families of Bundy, and victims

and their families.

When analyzing the comment section of the series’ trailer on YouTube, there are

conflicting responses to its release. Overall, the comments praise the documentary, citing the real

footage, new information, and lack of dramatizations. Of the negative comments, many critiqued
the lack of information on the victims and the impacts of their families. When commenting on

the shows entertainment-value, the most used vocabulary in the comments are the words “sick”,

“scary”, and “chills”. One commentor in particular called Bundy “so disgusting” and a “sick evil

person.”

“Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”

The Jeffrey Dahmer series take a different approach to telling the story. As opposed to a

documentary, this film is very clearly meant to be a dramatic retelling. Episode one begins with a

scene of Glenda Cleveland, who is later explained to be Dahmer’s neighbor, watching a news

story involving the beating of a Black man by police. The theme of racism is a prevalent subject

throughout the rest of the series, representing the real racism that occurred in Dahmer’s case.

While the main story centers around Dahmer’s life, the culture surrounding his case plays a

heavy part in the series. Multiple mentions of both Dahmer’s and the victims’ sexualities are

made throughout the series, including episode 3 when an officer comments how he “doesn’t

want to catch anything” by entering Dahmer’s apartment.

“Dahmer” relies heavily on a suspenseful soundtrack and camera angles through the

series, often providing an intense build up to the victims’ deaths. More cinematic elements are

present in the series, like foreshadowing. The first 5 to 10 minutes of each episode offers a

glance at the crime Dahmer is planning to commit before switching to a separate narrative.
Although recreations, the crime scenes shown are gruesome and relatively accurate (include

side-by-side comparison of scenes).

When looking at the breakdown of the screentime of the episodes, most of each episode

is spent retelling Jeffrey Dahmer’s childhood and early adulthood. On average, the first 65 to 70

percent of the each episode centers around Dahmer’s past, while the remaining time focuses on

his life at the time of the murders. The first 7 episodes revolve around the murders, while the

remaining 3 are centered around Dahmer’s trial and verdict. Although most of the 17 victims are

given screentime, the past and story are only explored fully in 2 of the victims.

Looking into the comment section for the trailer of the series, there is a large divide in

opinions. Of those who felt positively about the release, the words “creepy”, “exposure”, and

“thrilling” were the most used vocabulary. One viewer commented, “I’m glad this is getting

world wide recognition of the racism many black individuals faced when TRYING to stop

Dahmer.” Many others echoed their opinion, praising the show for its representation of the

racism involved in the case. On the other hand, negative comments most used the words

“glorifying”, “tragedy”, and “dramatized” when describing the show, criticizing the series for

“creating the most dramatised take on a “true” crime case the world has ever seen.” Overall, the

release of “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” saw both very positive and ver

negative reviews.

Discussion and Implications

 From the primary research presented, it is clear that these films relied on two

different methods to attract their audiences. “Conversations With a Killer” relied heavily on

ethos to craft their narrative of Ted Bundy’s life. With real footage and experts in the field, the

film developed a sense of trust with the audience, giving them the necessary kind of credibility

to be influential in the community. Montages of real crime scene photos provided a gruesome

shock that appealed to the audience’s fear in order to keep their attention, but the creators

continuously referenced the facts of the case to make their credibility clear. From the comments

left in the trailer, viewers took notice of the series’ credibility and applauded their authenticity.

Unlike “Conversations With a Killer”, “Dahmer – Monster” heavily appealed to the

emotional side of the audience. Through the use of suspense and shock, the creators established

pathos to convince the audience of their narrative. Despite the series’ lack of ethos, they were

able to influence the community through an emotional response by using more cinematic

elements like suspense and foreshadowing. The descriptions of “thrilling” and “creepy” make

reference to the show’s entertainment value rather than their credibility as story-tellers.

Although the two films utilized different methods to gain an audience, they effectively

created a narrative that sparked a debate in the community. A separate argument can be made as

to whether each of these adaptations is ethical, but based on the responses they created and the

overall success of their releases, they succeeded in hitting their target audience.
 This primary research expands on the idea that true-crime documentaries and shows may

alter the truth of the story to create their own narrative that appeals to an audience. Although the

choices made in both of these films were made to attract the most viewers, the creators took

different approaches. My research highlights the different methods used by two creators of the

same community to generate very similar responses.

In retrospect, I would have liked to go back to these films and discuss the ethics of their

creations. I would have changed some of my methods to conduct a survey of my peers rather

than analyze the comment sections to get a more personal response. Overall, I am happy with the

direction my primary research took me, but if given more time I would have liked to do more

research on the accuracy of each film’s portrayal by looking at the court documents of the trials.