Dahmer: A Monster Made Light Of

Jeffrey Dahmer has never looked sillier portrayed by the media, I think, and I struggle even now, as a cPTSD patient to see how this show would be even remotely triggering to any audience because of its blatant inaccuracy. Call me insensitive as you see fit, but as someone who studies this type of thing purely out of interest, I feel I have a bit of room to step up onto my soap box.

This short, probably project-intended film portrays an event that happened in Wisconsin in the late 1970's where which one Jeffrey Dahmer, a closeted gay and nervous wreck has apparently been committing murders and sectioning in his shabby apartment - to his neighbor's shady concern. This series starts off around the time when Dahmer has lured a young, gay black man to his apartment, offering him money in exchange for photos.

The issue with this already is that Dahmer is depicted as someone who stammers, is awkward, has issues with socializing - I'll go out on a limb and say they've portrayed Dahmer as someone displaying lots of signs of autism. Before we flip out, no I do not think having autism is bad, I feel that portraying a non-autistic as autistic is what's bad, it's just unnerving. Yes, Dahmer was unnerving, but he was not socially awkward.

Dahmer was charismatic and rather attractive for the time, wearing aviator style frames, the comb-over, and the dad-bod rockin' the denim. He was not at all socially awkward; Dahmer could lure someone into a drink easily, drugging his victims before defiling them - even in public places like clubs, where he met this victim the show picks up on. The show names him Tracey. With charisma and charm, the not-awkward Jeffrey would lure the young man to his apartment, where dancing, flirting, and handcuffing would ensue.

What should truly upset people about Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is the incorrect portrayal of this serial murderer. I don't believe the hype about it being offensive to the survivors of the Dahmer trauma, because the movie that more accurately portrays Jeffrey's character, again, charismatic, calm, friendly, charming. In fact, you can compare the films - Monster can be viewed on Netflix and PrimeWire... and Dahmer can be viewed on PrimeWire. Simply search "Dahmer" and both films will appear.

This is not to say that I don't sympathize with people who are triggered by traumatic things. I, myself still get triggered over what I would call a mundane thing. My sympathy goes out to those who are honest about this film traumatizing them in some way, but for the entire population to decide what is and is not triggering or traumatizing for someone, it is uncouth, disgusting, and highly uneducated of you. Dahmer was not socially awkward nor was he a shy little "uwu" boy. He was an adult man with a motive who claimed his crimes were out of love. His childhood was fine. He was not a strange boy growing up.

The lack of research before making such a film is appalling to say the least - to say the most would be that it was still well-shot, the vibe was right, and even the acting was incredible. If only the research had been done. It is important to get historical facts straight, no matter how near or distant the events are.

In short... what did I think of the series? Honestly, I'm not sure, as I've only seen it once. I will be watching it a second time to analyze a bit closer, but it's safe to say that while it was cinematic and artistic... it was a good try. I say "it was a good try" with all sincerity. When creating a film of any kind about a real-world event, research is highly necessary otherwise you can't really label the film as "true events". It would have to be labelled "parody" or "inspired by real events"... because my only real nitpick is that Dahmer was not portrayed correctly. Was I there when it all happened? Nope, but I do know how to research and research is always free, so even I can afford that. So can you and so can film makers. Try again, but with a little more thought behind it. Lord knows what they would do to an Adolf Hitler movie or a Charles Manson movie like Monster - Dahmer.