Dahmer. — Netflix

In September 2022, Netflix released Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story , a ten-part biographical crime drama created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. Starring Evan Peters in a chilling, transformative performance, the series quickly became a cultural phenomenon, amassing over a billion viewing hours in its first month. On the surface, the show is a grim retelling of the murders of 17 young men and boys between 1978 and 1991. However, beneath its polished cinematography and stellar performances lies a fraught debate: Does the series serve as a necessary indictment of systemic failure, or does it devolve into "trauma porn"—an exploitative spectacle that re-victimizes the families of Dahmer’s victims for entertainment?

However, this moral justification is severely undermined by the series’ execution and the public’s reaction to it. Ryan Murphy is known for a heightened, sometimes lurid aesthetic, and Dahmer is no exception. The graphic reenactments—the dismemberment, the preservation of body parts, the cannibalism—are rendered with meticulous, cinematic detail. While defenders argue this realism conveys the horror of the crimes, critics contend it crosses the line into voyeurism. The show’s success spawned a wave of TikTok fancams romanticizing Evan Peters’ portrayal, and merchandise featuring Dahmer’s haunting mugshot appeared on e-commerce sites. This phenomenon proves that no matter how well-intentioned the framing, a significant portion of the audience will consume the story as true crime entertainment, reducing real human suffering to aestheticized horror. The most damning response came from relatives of the victims, such as Eric Perry, cousin of Errol Lindsey, who tweeted that the series "retraumatizes" the families while profiting from their loss. Netflix did not consult the families, and many felt their loved ones were being exploited a second time—first by Dahmer, and now by Hollywood. dahmer. netflix

In conclusion, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is a deeply contradictory artifact. It is, simultaneously, a masterfully acted, socially conscious drama that exposes the lethal intersection of racism, homophobia, and police negligence, and a glossy, exploitative spectacle that re-opens old wounds for profit and entertainment. The series succeeds as a critique of institutional failure but fails in its responsibility to the real people whose names and faces it uses as set dressing. Ultimately, Dahmer serves as a mirror for the true crime genre itself: compelling, addictive, and ethically murky. It forces us to ask an uncomfortable question of ourselves as viewers: In watching, are we bearing witness to tragedy, or are we simply the next in a long line of people who have chosen to stare at the monster rather than mourn his victims? In September 2022, Netflix released Monster: The Jeffrey