TV shows such as ‘You’ and ‘Dirty John’ are necessary because they carry important messages and lessons that an audience can benefit from.
Through an entertaining way these shows can teach people important messages that though may not happen to them directly but that may be useful for them to be aware of.
‘You’ is a psychological thriller series, released on Netflix in 2018, about a guy who meets a girl and uses social media to stalk her and find out information about her, which he uses to follow her and to manipulate her into a relationship with him.
The series stars Penn Badgley as Joe, this character has been described as if Dan Humphrey from Gossip Girl (who Badgley also plays) was portrayed as the psychopath and stalker that he is.
The character of Joe gets progressively creepier as the show goes on, between the lengths he took to “accidentally” be in the same place as her to how he was so easily able to find out information about her life and schedule that he then used to stalk her.
The message this show contains shows how you shouldn’t put your entire life up on the internet where anyone can access it from anywhere. It also shows how easy it is to trust someone and think that they are nice when really, they have kept people hostage, stolen from you and killed people.
Following the release of the show, there were many people who cleared their social media or made them private. People became more aware of the things people can do with the information that they post publicly.
‘Dirty John’ debuted on Bravo in November 2018 and released on Netflix in 2019. The series is based on the true events of John Meehan, a con-artist and sociopath.
The story seems like it’s just a story that has been written for the show until the disclaimer comes on the screen that says “While this program is based on real events, some scenes and characters have been dramatized or fictionalised.”
This show tells the story of John Meehan and centres around his marriage with Debra Newell, who he met on an internet dating site. The shows deal with the manipulation and abuse that he put his wife through and the things he did to her family.
Not knowing how dangerous he is, Debra ignored the signs and warnings from her family and continued her relationship with him. She even continued to live with him and stay married to him after finding out about his past and the lies he had told.
The message in this show is how you can’t trust everything a person says, especially a person you met online, who you’ve only known a couple of weeks. It also shows that love can blind you from the danger that you find yourself in
These shows have been released as a form of entertainment but they do contain messages that are vital for people to be exposed to so that they are aware of the dangers that could happen.