Serial Killers: The Desensitization Of Violence In The Media

In the book, “Media, Crime, and Criminal Justice” by Ray Surette he defines the predatory criminality portrait by the media who construct them as “criminals who are animalistic, irrational, and innately evil and who commit violent, sensational and senseless crimes-as the dominant crime problem in the nation”. Research shows that predators or serial killers are few compared to homicides or domestic violence but because of the media and its coverages when a serial killer is uncovered they imply that the serial killer is something other than a human and is everywhere, and in every town.

Serial murders are considered to be one of the most heinous and formidable crimes that can be committed, even though serial murders account for less than one percent of all crimes committed in a given year. Serial murders further appalls society in that these killers do not possess any of the basic human emotions such as, empathy, conscious, or remorse. Throughout the decades, the fascination of serial killers have consumed mainstream society, with numerous television shows being produced including, Dexter, Hannibal, and the Following. However, an exaggerated depiction of these killers within the mass media still continues to blur fact and fiction together. As a result, real-life serial killers such as the infamous Gary Ridgway, also known as “The Green River Killer” and fictional ones like Norman Bates have become tremendously interchangeable in the mind of many individuals.

❖ Leadership: When doing a high profile investigation many problems arise in leadership. They are faces with pressures from victims’ families, media as well as political executives. The main goal is to catch the offender and arrest and prosecute them. They all agree that the cases should be handled by homicide investigators who know how to work the case and that supervisor need to intervene with higher up personnel.

Serial killers represent a social problem in many ways. Many innocent lives are taken away by these serial killers. We as a society should care if serial killers or spree killers operate within our culture because we never know that we or a family member could be next on the list. People’s lives are taken away by these criminals; people who have a whole life ahead

"Blood Loss, the decline of the serial killer" by Christopher Beam was published in 2011 on January 5th. The story was published in a magazine that is usually directed towards the general public. In his article, Beam discusses how the medias intrest in serial killers has decresed thoughout the years. He explains how the medias facination with serial killers has fluctuated since the 1920 's to now. Beam talks about some of the more famous killers and why the media found them so interesting and then explains how the number of serial killers has decreased since the media changed its fasinations from serial killers to terrorism. The main point that Beam is trying to make is that the population is only interested in what 's "trending". As stated in his article, "What child abductors were to the 20 's and serial killers were to the 70 's and 80 's, terrorists are to the early 21st century.", the trend that the media follows is always changing.

Hollywood scripts and television programming are filled with storylines of crime and criminal justice. The viewing public consumes crime

American Psycho is an incredible film with an even more brilliant cast; Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, and Reese Witherspoon, to name a few. When the scene opens, you see Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) going about a normal healthy life as a wealthy investment banker. But then you start to see the secret life he is leading as a serial killer. When he and his friends flaunt their business cards to each other, he gets jealous of coworker Paul Allen’s (Jarod Leto) card, he murders a homeless man and his dog out of rage. Bateman went to a Christmas party and was mistaken by Allen for another

The American public's fascination with serial murders has not only continuously kept these violent men and women in the public eye, but has also inspired the creation of films that demonstrate and dramatize the heinous crimes committed by these people. One such film program that adapts crimes committed by serial murderers, and the murderers themselves, is The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Through a combination of criminology, psychology, and sociology, The Silence of the Lambs is able to not only inform audiences of the dangerous types of people that currently inhabit society, but also of the individuals who study serial murderers with the intent of apprehending them before they commit any more crimes and to help identify these murderers victims.

Personality disorders are pervasive in nature, and are depicted in various mediums from film to novels. Narcissism will be discussed as it pertains to American Psycho; a film made in the early 2000’s to describe a man who lives a double life as a business man and serial killer. The main character in particular, Patrick Bateman displays with themes of Narcissistic Personality Disorder and his case along with the factors that are congruent with Narcissistic Personality Disorder will be discussed throughout.

American Psycho is a movie adaptation directed by Marry Harron released in the year 2000 that was based off of the 1991 novel of the same name authored by Bret Easton Ellis. The movie focuses on the main character Patrick Bateman who is an investment banker in New York in the era of the early 1980’s. Patrick is a perfectionist whose life by day seemingly rotates between his picture-perfect job, his superficial relationship with his fiancée Evelyn, and his shallow interaction with his co-workers and peers. By night, Patrick is a textbook Psychopath and a serial killer.

“I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy. I think my mask of sanity is about to slip" (Harron) thought Patrick Bateman as he contemplated his growing feelings of emptiness and need for bloodlust. American psycho is the story of a greedy, materialistic, self obsessed businessman who transforms into an unstable and violent sociopath. Abnormal behavior can be defined by four patterns deviance, distress, dysfunction, and danger (Comer 2). Deviance is exhibited as unusual, or extreme behavior. Throughout the movie, Bateman was very blunt and would casually say violent, graphic comments. The only time Bateman experienced distress was towards the end of the movie when he couldn’t stop killing. He began to panic, called his lawyer to confess, and didn’t go into work. However, most of the time Bateman said he enjoyed the rush of a kill. Typically, abnormal behavior interferes with the person's ability to conduct daily activities (Comer 2). As a result of Bateman’s abnormalities he could not sustain a healthy relationship. The most extreme characteristic of Batemans abnormal behavior was that it caused him to put others in danger.

Television has become a vital aspect of daily life, within modern society; every aspect of television exhibits, to a certain extent, a reliance on genre (Mittell, 2001). Industries rely on genre to produce programs, and audiences use genres as a means of organizing fan practices (Mittell, 2001). According to a 2006 Nelson Media Research study, ratings confirm that aside from prime time shows such as American Idol and Survivor, part-time crime drama’s have been classified as one of the most favoured genre (DeTardo-Bora, pg. 154, 2009). The relationship between the media and criminal justice system is delicate, where more often than not, crimes are portrayed in a false light (Graveline, pg. 1, 2015). These misconceptions lead to

In the novel "American Psycho" written by Bret Easton Ellis, Patrick Bateman 's use of violence and his wealth are exemplified in scenes involving the murder of his ex-girlfriend Bethany. As well as appealing to the idea to maintain an upscale image by any means such as purchasing expensive merchandise and taking the initiative to attend upscale restaurants. His actions with the implications of those elements reveal the consumptions of status and privilege. The detailed narration of Bateman 's intense violent acts and purchases of expensive products creates imaginary and conflict for readers to accept the appearance he is trying to come across to his associates and the general public. This may result in readers rejecting his character and

American Psycho (2000) is a film by Mary Harron that stars Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, a wealthy investment banker that strives to keep up appearances for the sake of success while having murderous tendencies. Bateman, the protagonist, represents American society to the extreme as a selfish and greedy consumerist who will stop at nothing and nobody to get exactly what he wants. The movie follows his egocentric life as he tries to portray perfection through his various accoutrements will while concealing the murder of those who he perceives to have slighted him. It must be noted that the ending of the film is left up to interpretation because he confesses to the murders and no one believes him, offering the question of if he actually

In American Psycho I can honestly agree with Patrick Bateman being a villain in this film. He killed mostly all the women that he ever encountered not counting his secretary and fiancée. There was also Paul Allen who he killed as well as the homeless man and his dog, the policemen, the old woman at the atm, and the lobby man and night janitor towards the end of the movie. Even though he was going to kill his secretary but the phone saved her life. He kills people because he is a psycho, plain and simple. But he is also a psycho because of the way he plans on killing them and drawing it out in a journal. This makes the viewer wonder; did he actually kill these people? Or did he just imagine it all because he is that much of a psychotic person