Serial Killers
The below paragraphs explore historical serial killers as well as nonfictional ones portrayed in current pop culture media.
Ted Bundy
Ted Bundy is possibly one of the most well known serial killers of the twentieth-century. Ted was a handsome, young, successful man who described himself as " an average-looking person with a family, a job and a home just like yourself" (Wright 148). But despite his normal appearance, Ted murdered at least thirty young women across America between 1974 and 1979. Bundy was first arrested in 1977, but escaped from jail twice, which allowed him to continue his murders. It was not until two years later in 1979 that he was finally convicted. He finally was executed by electrocution in January 1989.This stark contradiction between his external normality and monstrous actions makes him an even more horrifying figure. Bundy's "facade of humanness" made it difficult for people to accept his arrest and guilt in the murders (Wright 149). He was such an attractive and "terrifyingly normal" man how could he have performed such monstrous actions (Wright 149)? Not only did hundreds of women send him admiration fan letters while he was being incarcerated, but the former secretary of State, Ralph Munro, almost started a fund to protect him because he believed they arrested the wrong person.
Yet, Bundy's humanity may not have been entirely an illusion. Dr. James Dobson was a Christian evangelist psychologist who interviewed Ted Bundy the day before he was executed. In his final interview, Dr. Dobson comments on how Ted seemed to be show remorse for his actions and even went as far to warn society about the dangers of bringing violence through movies and TV shows into the home. Thus, according to Dr. Dobson, this interview shows evidence of Bundy's humanity. Bundy blames his monstrosity on his nurture. His violence is learned from media, particularly pornographic violence. In Ted Bundy's view, he is not responsible for his actions and instead, it is society who is responsible. Bundy claims to have been possessed during his murders and deflects any sense of responsibility. This emotional emptiness from his interviews creates "a feeling that we cannot quite reach Bundy, but there is nothing in his appearance, his gestures, or his body language that hints at the violence he was capable of" (Wright 153). This void therefore causes his image to lack of monstrosity. When the topic of his own death comes up in the interview, Ted genuinely shows fear. This fear causes viewers develop empathy towards him, but also highlights the humanity that exists within.
The portrayal of Ted in media was slightly problematic as most descriptions were positive. Even in the film, "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile", which was released in 2019, seems to reduce the seriousness and monstrosity of the serial killer. A professor from Northeastern University, Jack Levin, says that "if you didn't know any better, you'd think you were watching a preview for a fun and fast caper about a relatively harmless criminal in the style of "Catch Me If You Can, rather than a biopic about a monster" (Lewis 2019). Ted Bundy's image is normally associated with a charismatic, "handsome, intelligent, sociopathic murderer" (Wright 150). The first few words to describe him are not about his evil, monstrous behavior but about his exceptional performance of normality. His positive "clean-cut all-American boy" image remains intact and refuses to take on negative connotations. Thus, the narratives of evil and internal monstrosity that should be assimilated into society are not taken seriously due to Bundy's attributes as a good, desirable modern American man. Thus, through this image, he is able to blur the boundaries between us and the monstrous other.
Myra Hindley
Myra Hindley was a serial killer that committed rapes and murders of five children between 1963 and 1964 with the help of her boyfriend at the time Ian Brady. David Smith, Myra's brother in law, tipped off law enforcement in 1965 after witnessing one of Brady's murders. Despite being found guilty for three murders and being sentenced for life, Myra tried to regain her freedom by confessing to the five murders and applying for parole. Her efforts failed and she eventually died in jail in 2002 from respiratory failure. For Myra Hindley's full biography click here.
Her mug shot picture, shown above, has become a public symbol of evil over the years through continuous British media reproduction even years after Myra's conviction. This depiction of evil is an interesting contrast to the interview video of Ted Bundy, which showed his humanity.
A painting was created in 1995 by Marcus Harvey of the iconic police photograph of Myra. It is a black and white painting composed of white, grey, and black infant handprints to make up Myra's mug shot picture.
The painting turned out to be controversial despite it being displayed at the Sensation exhibition of Young British Artists at the Royal Academy of Art in London from September to December in 1997. Two citizens tried to deface the painting by throwing ink and an egg on the painting in protest of the glamorization and profitability of a murderer. Thus, even though Myra herself has died, her monstrosity survives.
Pop Culture
People today are increasingly fascinated by serial killers, stalkers, and other violent crimes. Law & Order, CSI, NCIS are a few of the widely popular TV shows that center plots around human monsters. We widely consume media involving serial killers and other crimes, but seem to separate what we see on the TV from the concerns and fears that emerge from these real life events. So the question is why as a society are we so fascinated by such monstrous behaviors?A recent Netflix TV series called "You" displays this fascination with serial killers and reactions to the star Penn Badgley slightly resemble those for Ted Bundy. Fans have expressed through social media how attractive Joe the secret serial killer that Penn Badgley plays is. This is similar to the excessive amount of fan mail that Ted Bundy received during his incarceration. The "You" fans even go as far as to seemingly cheer on for Joe in covering up his crimes and murders. As questioned earlier, why as a society are we so obsessed with crime and violence and even find empathy with someone as monstrous as a serial killer? This idea of obsession goes back to monstrosity being a fundamental part of humanity. We can't escape it.
For more clips on serial killers and psychopaths in social media click here to go back to the psychopaths page.
