The new Netflix show “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” starring Evan Peters has sparked great controversy about the morality of its release, but there are huge points people are overlooking. 

Serial killer shows have been talked about for a while now, saying they glorify the serial killer and cause the victims’ families to relive the traumatizing events. However, the harsh facts of the Dahmer case are illuminated by this new show, and these are bigger than the atrocious crimes he committed.

In a Netflix interview, Peters shares his take on the controversy from the show. He discusses their collaboration on his character and how the creator, Ryan Murphy, had “one goal with this project: never glamorize the serial killer.” 

When I watched this series, I was completely unaware of how much police negligence and homophobia contributed to the murder of 11 gay Black men. Peters even says this story is so much more than Dahmer, that it’s truly about “how society and our system failed to stop him multiple times because of racism [and] homophobia.”

I understand the amount of pain and trauma the families have to go through is unimaginable for anyone. However, I don’t think this means information shouldn’t be shared with the public.

If this was presented in a classic documentary form, I wouldn’t have understood or been able to feel sympathy for the victims, their families and the horrific events they suffered through. Peters talks about how they also had one rule while filming this: it would never be told from Dahmer’s point of view. The audience isn’t made to sympathize with Dahmer, but with the victims. 

A simple documentary, even though it is more respectful, cannot convey the same emotions as a reenactment. The case itself is deeply disturbing, so the series’ format is a more efficient method to accurately present the facts in a way to elicit an emotional response in an audience. 

People are also way more likely to watch something in a docuseries format compared to a normal documentary. A lot of people are interested in disturbing things. 

“Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” is also getting backlash for sparking insensitive comments on TikTok and Twitter that desensitize the severity of the case. However, people say crass things about tragic events all the time, regardless of whether there is a docuseries made about it. This doesn’t mean we should stop having emotional takes on true stories. 

If serial killers shouldn’t be on screen, then the same should be said about all reenactments depicting war, mass murders and shootings. What about those victims’ families? 

What happened to those 11 young gay Black men is a devastating story, but it aids in exposing the corruption and negligence of the police to previously uninformed people. People on Twitter are now having more conversations about racial issues involved and sympathy for victims because of this series as well.   

The information in this docuseries is still prevalent today. Actress Niecy Nash, playing Glenda Cleveland, speaks on the timelessness of the theme in a Netflix interview. She explains how we still have “communities that are being underserved, being overpoliced in the wrong way … communities, and people crying out for change and to be heard by the police.” 

“Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” is different from the other docuseries that actually glamorize the serial killer. The Netflix film, starring Zac Efron, “Extremely Wicked; Shockingly Evil and Vile” received backlash for casting a famous sex symbol as a serial killer. Peters genuinely looks like Jeffery Dahmer and has the acting skills to back up the role. He even made it a point to act in a way that would present his role “in an honest and very unflattering light.” 

Reliving that experience is something I would never wish to go through, but it shows a new account of people affected by Dahmer and the inequalities they faced. Not everyone knows how badly the police were culpable in the victims’ deaths and this show presents a side that a lot of people aren’t aware of. Yes, one can look up the information on the Internet, but with a narrative like this, people can see a new side to the story and become aware of the racism and homophobia that took place within the police system.

Stories like this will always be painful for the people involved, no matter what, and there are actions that can be taken to make the blow softer for the victims and their families. However, we cannot and should not get rid of a whole genre for this reason.