The Negative Impact of Netflix’s Release of Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

Jeffrey Dahmer was a serial killer who took the lives of two boys and fifteen men. These killings were inhumane and involved drugging, dismemberment, cannibalism, necrophilia, and rape. One of the most chilling acts was when one of his victims, Konerak Sinthasomphone, escaped and found some of Dahmer’s neighbors who then contacted the police about the incident. Dahmer claimed that Sinthasomphone was his boyfriend who was nineteen years old and drunk. The officers responded by assisting Dahmer with transporting Sinthasomphone back to the apartment where he was later killed by Dahmer. In addition, the officers never ran Dahmer’s name through their record system; if they did they would have discovered that Dahmer was registered as a sex offender due to the molestation of Sinthasomphone’s brother. The officers also failed to submit a report of the incident, resulting in a lack of consequences for Dahmer. In reality, Sinthasomphone was fourteen years old and experiencing the effects of being drugged and abused by Dahmer (USA Today). The release of this TV show has sparked a lot of controversy in the realm of entertainment. Netflix released Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story on September 21, 2022, and in less than 2 weeks it reached 56 million households (Forbes). Even more recently, the show ranked as the 2nd most-watched series on Netflix (The Hollywood Reporter). Despite its wide popularity, producing a tv show series about the gruesome murders while making Dahmer the main character creates a dangerous narrative allowing people to be more focused on the character Dahmer instead of the victims. 

Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story was produced by Ryan Murphy, a major developer at Netflix. Murphy has also produced Glee, American Horror Story, American Crime Story, and a number of other popular TV shows. Jeffrey Dahmer is played by Evan Peters, an Emmy Award-winning actor, and frequent collaborator with Murphy. Dahmer’s neighbor Glenda Cleveland is played by Emmy-nominated actress Niecy Nash. Academy Award Nominee Richard Jenkins plays Dahmer’s father alongside Golden Globe Nominee Molly Ringwald who plays his wife in the show. The mini-series is available for viewing exclusively on Netflix. 

Netflix did not contact the families of the victims prior to the series being made. Dahmer killed seventeen people, meaning that there were seventeen immediate families (and even more extended families) that were horrendously impacted by Dahmer’s actions. Rita Isbell, sister of victim Errol Lindsey, revealed that the victim’s family did not consent for the TV show to be produced (Insider). Those who watched the series did so for entertainment, but for these victims’ families, the mini-series was a painful reminder. It makes the reality of what the victim’s families had to endure seem like it can be replicated for entertainment and therefore undermines the emotions they felt. In addition, the victim’s families were not financially compensated by Netflix. This large corporation, which earned around 29,515.5 million dollars globally in 2021, can make room in its budget to compensate those whose trauma was unconventionally turned into entertainment (Statistica).

Another substantial issue that many have with the new Netflix series is that it has led to the romanticization of Jeffrey Dahmer. With the airing of Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, social media platforms have shown interest in Dahmer. The hashtags “#dahmer”, “#dahmernetflix”, and “#dahmermovie” have billions of views, showing its popularity and translating to other media platforms. However, not all the interest has been an appropriate response to the sickening things that he has done and that was shown throughout the show. Jeffrey Dahmer is played by a popular and critically acclaimed actor, Evan Peters, who is known for being attractive. The casting of a conventionally attractive actor combined with the sensual interpretation of many scenes based on production lighting, directing, soundtrack, and cinematography. This dangerous fusion creates a terrible opportunity for people to confuse their enjoyment of the actor with the enjoyment of Dahmer. This exemplification can be seen on social media platforms such as Tik Tok. The hashtags “#dahmercosplay”, “#dahmeredit”, and “#dahmerdaddy” have millions of views, showing the gross romanticization that people have given Dahmer. 

Overall, Netflix releasing this series is incredibly insensitive. If the purpose of the launch Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, was to share and honor the victims, it should have centralized around the victims, instead of Dahmer. It made the trauma that the families endured seem like a form of entertainment that could make Netflix more money. The lack of moral empathy is shown through the actions of Netflix’s not communicating their intentions for the show and the lack of compensation given to the victim’s families. Jeffrey Dahmer was a killer, rapist, and cannibal, not a celebrity who should not be commemorated with a TV series.

The victims of Dahmer’s brutal rampage deserve to be honored, not exploited.