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Programs like Making a Murderer have attracted worldwide attention to criminal cases
From series like Making a Murderer to podcasts like Serial, the real crime seems to be everywhere in recent years.
I raise my hands and I admit – I am an addict.
For reasons I do not understand, crime documentaries have become my usual means of decompression.
If I have friends at home, I could make an embarrbaded joke about my streaming suggestions – but the evidence suggests that I'm not alone.
The growth of the genre is unavoidable. Almost every week, it seems like a new documentary is published and not without controversy.
Some warn that we risk glorifying notorious killers and erasing their victims with cover. Others have accused program managers of being selective with evidence.
Is our fascination with real crime problematic? I spoke to victims and directly affected communities to try to find out.
The survivor
Kathy Kleiner was only 20 years old when she was attacked by Ted Bundy.
He beat her in bed with a piece of wood in the Chi Omega house of Florida State University in 1978.
Before entering his room, Bundy had murdered two of his sorority sisters while they slept.
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Kathy Kleiner
Kathy with her son Michael (left) and her husband (right)
Kathy was found with a broken jaw and severe facial injuries. Her mouth had to be closed, forcing her to leave the college.
At age 61, Kathy says she did not talk much about the experience until the American media found her recently.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of Ted Bundy's performance. You can probably know because the serial killer seems to be everywhere in 2019.
In February, Netflix reportedly paid millions of dollars to secure US rights to a new movie starring famed actor Zac Efron as Bundy.
The announcement took place when the trailer caused an uproar on the internet, accusing some of badualizing the murderer.
Netflix, who had also just published a series of interviews with Bundy, even weighed on social media.
I ask Kathy, as one of the few survivors, what it was like to constantly remember Bundy in popular culture.
"I have not asked to travel with him in his life – with his murder and his violence," she said during a phone interview from New Orleans, where she resides now.
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Sky Cinema
Efron's Bundy portrait was hailed on his first appearance at the Sundance Film Festival
But for her, knowing has been synonymous with power.
"I read all the books and saw everything I could read and see about it," she says, while acknowledging that others may behave differently.
Efron has adopted Bundy's curls and signature smile for the role – and strangely resembles the killer.
"When Hollywood makes a movie, he wants to sell it, he wants people to see it," Kathy said about her portrait.
"Bundy showed them what he wanted them to see – he still had control … Zac Efron – he plays a role – he's an actor, he does that as he was, as they have perceived Bundy. "
You can read more about this story on the Beyond Today podcast of the BBC Sounds app or online on the podcast site from 16:00 GMT on April 1st.
Kathy says that she tried to contact the studio when she heard about the production, but badumes that the email was lost in general inquiries.
She admits that she can not imagine watching as a parent of one of the 30 women and girls that he would have killed.
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Kathy then testified against Bundy at trial
"For me, they are the heroes during this period, having to undergo this advertising," she says.
She hopes the film is more reflective of the victims than the trailer.
"I do not know how far they are diving into the victims," said Kathy. "So, without seeing it and they're not doing the victims well – so maybe I'll be pissed off."
The community
Wisconsin has an unenviable reputation for being one of the most notorious crimes ever committed by the United States.
Manitowoc County is located on the east coast of the state. It is home to 80,000 people but is famous around the world for one, Steven Avery.
A mural welcomes visitors and celebrates the heritage of the city
Manitowoc borders Lake Michigan and is a hub for manufacturing
A Netflix series outlining Avery's wrongful conviction for charges of badual badault and return to custody for murder caused a stir during his debut in December 2015.
Hundreds of thousands of people have since signed petitions demanding the acquittal of his nephew and nephew. A second series has already been published and legal appeals are ongoing.
I'm going to Manitowoc in early March, when the hangover of an unusually cold winter means that the snow is still deep on the ground.
Before traveling, I try to contact local authorities – but there seems to be an understandable reluctance to talk to another journalist who comes to town.
The international spotlight has drawn unpleasant attention to the county and its namesake.
Now, tourists go to the Avery family's rescue yard to take selfies. A firefighter told me that the local police had been forced to moderate comments on Facebook because of abuse. I am told that the threats have completely forced other officials to leave social media.
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CALUMET COUNTY / SUPPLIED
The entrance to Steven Avery's property has become an attraction for visitors
Jason Prigge is a Manitowoc resident determined not to be silent.
As a business man working throughout the country, he states that the last drop came when a customer came forward and asked, "Well, I'm not sure. did he do it? " with reference to Avery.
Since then, he and his wife Tina have made it their mission to change Manitowoc's vision of the outside world. They created an online web series, The Coolest Coast, to showcase the positive aspects of the community, such as local businesses.
Tina describes the Avery case as an "abnormal anomaly" and, like others I've spoken with, points out that the Avery property is actually miles from the town of Manitowoc.
"Reporters arrive or someone from Hollywood comes to do a show and they can leave without immersing themselves in it and without really learning who this community is or what it has to offer," said Tina. . "For them, it's just a name, it's just a story."
"Imagine that several TV crews are parking outside your house and are looking at your house and judging you because of a cracked window," says Jason about negative attention.
"They never talk to people who live in the house, but they only look at the house from the outside."
Tina and Jason come from the public service and marketing.
The city has seen journalists from all over the world
The couple makes me visit the surroundings, eager to show it.
In cold weather, much of the river is still frozen and has a bright varnish. The city skyline is dominated by the industry and a historic courthouse that I recognize from the show, but it's also dotted with quaint local shops like cafes and shops. It's a postcard image that I did not expect.
They urge people like me not to judge the county and all its inhabitants according to the documentary.
"The cameras and the journalists are leaving, but what they left here is a stain we are trying to clean up," Jason said of the lasting damage.
Business
Milwaukee is a city known for its beer and baseball 80 km south of Manitowoc.
But it's also a top-ranking destination for the biggest crime fanatics in the United States.
The guided tour of Cream City Cannibal takes visitors around Walker's Point – the area where serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer has drawn some of his victims to gay bars.
Her website boasts that the tour is "so horrible it has been banned from Groupon twice."
The owner of the tour insists that nothing could change his mind about his business
When it was launched, local media covered a protest by the families of the victim. Critics said it was too early because the crimes were still in the living memory for many.
The tour departs from Shakers – a bar in the center of the old gay district. Once owned by the Capone family, this place has a dark history.
The current boss, Robert Weiss, bought it in the 1980s and organizes a number of ghost tours from the room. He says that he had the idea of a Dahmer tour when people he met on a trip referred to the murderer after appearing as a Milwaukee native .
Bob knew the crime as well because the local police frequented the bar and Dahmer even went himself.
"I used to drink him for five or six months when he came in periodically," Bob tells me.
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Dahmer was arrested in 1991 and murdered in prison three years later
About 12 people do the tour on the Saturday evening in which I participate. The weather is freezing and it's raining and snowing everywhere.
The badistants are for the most part true fans of crime, but also include a family and a couple celebrating their birthday.
Our guide tells us about education, alcoholism and the journey towards serial killer violence.
Dahmer, who has admitted to killing 17 boys and men, is considered one of the most heinous criminals in the history of the United States.
His murder and cannibalism are described in detail by our guide, which indicates infamous places along our walk.
Organizers say family members of the victims participated in the tour
The information is disturbing, but not worse than what you can hear on a Dahmer documentary.
Bob insists that the tour has historical and educational value, but I notice that his bar also sells t-shirts, which is not good at all.
"Of the thousands of shirts that we have sold to that likeness, does anyone complain" We did not do it, "says Bob.
He rejects the claim that they are arsonists and insists that they have only started to manufacture them because of unprecedented customer demand.
"I think if you talk about things that are in bad taste, there are a lot of other things that would go over and behind the shirt," he says, pointing out people who buy morbid artifacts like the works of art of Charles Manson.
He also says that he rejected other options of unpalatable goods, such as cannibal-based foods.
Their shirt "Milwaukee Cannibal" also has "Dahmer 17" at the back
Those attending the visit reject the claim that it is bad taste or comes too early.
"I always grew up knowing that," said Alex, a young traveler in his early twenties. "I think that's part of our story and that, rather than hiding it and keeping it in the background, I think it's important for people to know it so that it's a good thing. they can try to avoid this in the future. "
Another, Melissa from Illinois, had already participated in the tour before.
"I do not think it's disrespectful to families," she says. "I think it's more a way to remember victims than to forget them."
Like me, she admits to having watched many real crimes. She thinks that the addictive nature of streaming services is causing the rise of their popularity.
The experts
Deborah Allen has found a "huge leap" in public interest in recent years.
She is vice president of programming at Jupiter Entertainment, one of the largest television producers of serious crime in the United States.
The company began making murder programs in 1998, despite the initial reluctance of the television channels.
"In the past, the networks saw the television series about real crime as their dirty little secret," she says.
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Jupiter Entertainment
Jupiter Entertainment's broadcasts include titles such as Snapped, which has 24 series.
Over the past decade, a number of 24-hour crime channels have sprung up in the United Kingdom and the United States.
High-budget series may have been generalized, but there is still a mbad of other content designed to fill these network calendars.
Demand means that Jupiter now produces about 200 hours of criminal programming a year, fueled by researchers badyzing news stories from across the country.
Deborah says they only cover cases that have been resolved in court and think that many viewers are comforted to see that justice is done.
She also says that their company listens to the families of the victims if they oppose that a case be covered.
But the recent public distress of James Bulger's mother about a film about the murder of his son shows that the family's opinion does not always prevail.
- The controversial film by James Bulger
- Serial & # 39; s Adnan Syed loses its takeover bid
It's a similar story behind other popular shows too.
The McCann family has not contributed to a new series on the disappearance of their daughter and Theresa Halbach's family has never participated in Making a Murder.
Relatives of the 1999 murder victim, Hae Min Lee, said Serial's attention "reopened old wounds" for their family. Despite this, HBO has adapted this case to a new documentary series – The Case Against Adnan Syed – which follows the launch of the podcast.
Serial, like many other popular series on real crime, attaches to casting doubt on a conviction.
This format has obvious appeal to all audiences – allowing him to play detective for himself.
Some program managers, including those from HBO, The Jinx, have even discovered new evidence that prosecutors said would help settle cases.
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Reuters
The Adnan Syed case started in March on HBO
The growing popularity of True Crime is also translating into big business in other areas. There are now young influencers on YouTube covering news stories and in the UK a new monthly crime magazine has been announced.
In the United States, thousands of people attend CrimeCon every year – an event where fans pay hundreds of dollars to see the experts and presenters of their favorite shows.
A New York Post reporter pointed out that most of the participants last year were women – and Bob in Milwaukee found the same thing with his Dahmer tour. He describes his average clientele as women aged 25 to 37 and graduated from university.
So why are we so intrigued – is it pure morbid curiosity?
The British psychologist Emma Kenny, who plays regularly, recognizes that we have a natural tendency to be voyeurs and to be attracted to darker things.
This, of course, is not new and can be seen through human history.
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Historical cases, like Jack the Ripper, have long captivated the fascination of the public
It highlights the prevalence of crime in other forms of entertainment, including the dramas we watch and the books we read.
Emma says that watching criminal broadcasts can trigger chemical reactions in our bodies, while affirming our moral vision of good and evil.
She says that interest in the genre is nothing wrong, but warns people, including myself, to look too much.
"I think for anyone who looks at these things, you really have to know why you're looking at it, I think, because you do not want to desensitize too much," she told me.
"It's better to spend your life making good people, exposing yourself to the best things in the world that you can expose yourself to … we should never be insensitive to horror."
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