The media industry is constantly expanding and evolving from its past. With the most creative minds always at work, engaging content never stops being released worldwide.
People will always have a new vibrant sitcom, heartwarming romance, or compelling drama to grab their attention and be their new go-to source of entertainment in their free time.
However, one genre, in particular, seems to transcend time, trends, and individual interests.
Whether it’s a fictional show about a group of agents, a dramatized film based on a true story, a documentary detailing actual events, or a video essay or podcast giving a storytime-styled rundown, the crime genre never fades from popularity.
A simple search on any online platform about any crime-related media would return a plethora of content that, without a doubt, has gained traction and relevance from millions and millions of viewers.
The topics of true crime and criminology are just too intriguing to ignore and so interesting that after diving into one case, you want to discover another one.
But while liking this genre can seem harmless, like any other hobby, there’s one underlying concern that connects every form of crime-related media: whether the rise of true crime is doing more harm than good.
Shows like Criminal Minds, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and You are common answers to the question, “What’s your favourite show?” But as much as fans will gravitate towards these forms of entertainment when deciding what to watch while eating or lying in bed, enjoying this genre is said to be a big red flag by doctors.
American psychologist Dr. Thema Bryant has voiced the need for concern when trying to understand why shows about harm, danger, and violence are found to be soothing during an appearance on The Mel Robbins Podcast. She also questioned why the trauma evident in these shows is relaxing.
As harsh as her judgement may seem, she presents a very fair assessment. Because frankly, why do we find these shows fitting to watch before bed? Why do we resort to these shows as entertainment?
According to Psychology Today, one of the reasons is that we get to live through the characters on our screens. Getting to join investigators and detectives while they solve a crime is thrilling, and trying to figure out who the murderer is before they do is a fun game to play.
It’s also said to be because viewers enjoy the victims’ humanity in these films. The characters’ backstories are realistic and raw, making them more alluring to watch, tying it back to the topic of viewers’ enjoyment of trauma.
Speaking of trauma, another negative aspect of liking this genre is its contribution to the rebirth of disturbing memories for actual crime victims. Even though it’s been a year since Her Campus at Toronto MU managing editor Khushy Vashisht explored the lack of ethics in true crime, more examples of harmful productions have entered the industry.
Take Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, for instance. Released on Sept. 19, 2024, the show took the world by storm, engrossing millions of people with the story of Lyle and Erik Menendez — two brothers sentenced to life in prison for murdering their parents despite them claiming self-defence for horrible parental abuse.
Given the show’s dramatic and captivating promotions, people obviously consumed the show’s nine episodes with little hesitation and a lot of intrigue.
What fans of the show wouldn’t expect, however, was an actual reaction and response to the show from real-life Erik Menendez. The day the show came out, Menendez posted a statement via his wife Tammi Menedez’s X account that opened the eyes of anyone who perceived the case solely through the show.
His statement confronts showrunner Ryan Murphy for reviving false narratives of the real story and misrepresenting male sexual abuse. A few days later, Murphy responded back, arguing that Menendez’s opinion was unnecessary and baseless simply because he didn’t watch the show to have any criticism.
That being said, true crime shows still fail to represent victims in a true and respectful manner. Filmmakers seem to have no trouble silencing them when they do attempt to voice concern over plot decisions. This leaves victims misrepresented, re-traumatized, and given an entirely new narrative for the rest of the world to pick apart.
Apart from the skewing of real people’s trauma, true crime also allows people to fully immerse themselves in the field. Finding a new obsession is something that can be fun and harmless, but that will never include obsessing over crime.
In recent years, it’s become common to create personal aesthetics for certain characteristics, and one of those includes the “true crime girl” aesthetic and variants of the sort.
While there’s absolutely no wrong in having an interest in the study of crime, the romanticization of it is problematic.
This is due to the popularity of the aforementioned shows, not to mention Netflix’s recent television series adaptation of Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, a young-adult mystery novel. Like what they see on screen, audiences begin to involve themselves in solving murders as if it’s an easy and exciting thing to do rather than it being an extremely dangerous and serious matter.
In the end, while crime can be a simple source of entertainment on your screen and exist as simply that, if pursued or discussed in overbearing ways, it can come with a long string of concerns and detrimental consequences for all parties involved.