Written By: Barbara Lunsford
Netflix has done it again with their new release of “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”. The ten episode series was officially made available to viewers on September 21, 2022. Since then, despite how horrified some viewers have been, the show has reached number one. Gaining popularity fast, what do students at Saint Xavier have to say about their experience watching?
Before getting into the opinions, let’s first understand what the series is about. Jeffrey Dahmer is a notorious name in regards to serial killers in America, and this is his story brought to life. His killings spanned from 1978 to 1991, consisting of seventeen different men.
The details included in the show are brutally honest. Dahmer would drug his victims and partake in cannibalism and necrophilia. In other words, he would eat human body parts and have sexual relations with bodies that were no longer alive. Many question what would lead a man to do such a thing, and the Netflix series dives into a tragic past that has received a lot of shocking feedback.
Dahmer is shown in the show to have a troubled home life, never belonging in any one place. He was thrown around as his parents fought and separated. Then, a day came where he was left entirely alone while he was around eighteen years old. In addition to this, he took a particular interest in dissecting animals with his dad when he was young. This interest is similar to hurting small animals, which is a sign of someone being a psychopath. Based on what he goes through along with his unconventional interests, Dahmer was almost set up to do evil things.
One feeling going around is that some viewers sympathize with Dahmer based on the Netflix portrayal of his childhood. I decided to ask some fellow students their thoughts, as well as how they felt about the show as a whole.
Taylor Hansen, a sophomore at Saint Xavier, said, “I personally find with any serial killer, any criminal that commits a very serious crime, that I want to see what their psychological side is like. If I saw him in person, I’d want to talk and see what made him want to kill.” She also commented that while she felt bad about the traumatic events of his childhood, it was still inexcusable for what he went on to become.
Timothy Novak, also a sophomore at Saint Xavier, said, “I didn’t know how traumatic of a past he had. He’s not just a person that did bad things. There’s more to him than just being a serial killer.”
With any case like Dahmer’s, there can sometimes be a reason found behind the madness. The idea of being able to sit down and have a conversation with him to try and get a feel for who he was is interesting. Then, there are people who would rather take a pass on this type of opportunity.
When asked how he would react to seeing Dahmer in person, Will Sulima, a senior at Saint Xavier, commented, “I would feel very uneasy knowing what he’s done to people.” While this was his reaction to that idea, Sulima went on to say that he found the series, “to be better than other documentaries similar to it.” The episodes were able to grab his attention to the point where he could not stop watching.
For the viewers who helped boost the series to number one, this was also the case. For others, the disturbing story was impossible to finish. Netflix followed Dahmer’s life well and replicated the uncomfortable situations with little left to imagine. Yet this is the kind of story that is hard to sugarcoat with how horrid the happenings were. Viewers would not truly understand the extent to which Dahmer’s terror went unless they witnessed just that.
All in all, Saint Xavier students are impressed and would recommend this show for anyone that wishes to know more about what Dahmer did. This show was released just in time for Halloween, which means it is another quick series to add to your watchlist if you want to feel more terrified than normal.