The Romanticization Of Serial Killers On Social Media

n upsetting tendency in modern culture, specifically the 21st century, is the romanticization of serial killers on social media sites. Serial killers are those who have murdered several people, within one or more ethnic, social, religious, etc. groups, over a period of time. Most use a recognizable pattern that pertains only to them when doing so. For example, Ted Bundy, a notorious serial killer, strangled and bludgeoned his victims (who were all women ages 12-26). Additionally, Bundy committed necrophilia, sexual intercourse with a corpse, through his victims. Unfortunately, despite his actions, when Netflix released Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes and Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile in 2019, most viewers were

The viewer’s minds are twisted in how they perceive these serial killers because of they see portrayed on screen. For example, there was this post surging the Internet about how young girls would not get into random stranger cars, but if it was Ted Bundy, that was a different story. Young girls would say how attractive Ted Bundy was and that they saw the appeal in following or entering his car. They fail to realize the seriousness of Bundy’s crimes because Bundy is portrayed as a charismatic, attractive guy. It seems as if these girls fail to understand what Ted Bundy had committed. Ella Johnson explains it as if though, “Women’s broader fascination with serial killers may be related to gendered romantic projections of fascination, fear, and anger, but also an attempt to understand what cannot be understood in a rational or statistical way”. Many wish to relive the times in which Bundy was alive to understand the passion and actions of his crimes. Yet the saying “curiosity kills the cat” pertains true. Because of the viewer’s, in this case young girls, fascination in understanding why Bundy did what he did, added on top of how “attractive” he is portrayed, it causes a twist in the story. Sayings of how Bundy was not all that bad resurfaces on media. They excuse his malice behavior and hide it with a façade they created for him. Viewers emphasize these serial killers because of their alleged attractiveness and allure while disregarding the fact that they perpetrated horrific acts of violence. This way of thinking is risky, for they might even begin to feel sympathy for the killers. When the entertainment industry romanticizes true crime stories, the meaning and what happened is lost. The story gets fabricated giving the impression that the serial killers had justification for their actions. This can result in a lack of responsibility and compassion for the