PROLIFIC American television writer and director Ryan Murphy has been courting controversy since his career began. The unique style and transgressive nature of some of his most popular content have long made him a polarising and, arguably, problematic figure.
In fact, his latest project, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, has been dubbed by reviewers as his most controversial show to date.
The true-crime drama series chronicles the case of real-life brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez who were convicted in 1996 for the murder of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez. It is currently the No 1 show on Netflix in both the UK and US.
However, it has faced significant backlash due to scenes which portray an incestuous relationship between the adult brothers, despite there being no evidence of this in real life.
This is nothing new when it comes to Murphy - most of his projects place more value on style, sex and shock than on substance. In response to the criticism, he claimed Monsters takes a “Rashomon kind of approach” in its story telling arguing he and the team had an obligation to present the story from multiple perspectives.
Although this might have been Murphy’s goal, he hasn’t quite achieved it as the focus on the crime gets lost amidst the violence, sadism and brooding good looks of the actors.
Perhaps, unsurprisingly, this was also the case with the previous season of the anthology which saw Mare of Easttown and X-Men star Evan Peters portray serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Instead of focusing on the horrific crimes Dahmer committed - murdering 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991 - many audiences were instead preoccupied with Peters’s performance.
Peters’s portrayal of Dahmer recieved an overwhelming amount of attention. Mere days after the show’s release social media was rife with fan edits and thrist traps making him appear like some sort of misunderstood bad boy rather than one of the world’s most prolific serial killers. Similar videos have recently cropped up of Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch’s respective performances as Lyle and Erik Menendez - coincidence? I think not.
This seems to be a recurring problem with the true crime genre. Research has shown that it is human nature to instinctively trust people we deem to be attractive – so it’s difficult to watch a show like Monsters and not be, perhaps subconsciously, rooting for Dahmer or the Menendez brother’s when men like Chaves, Koch and Peters are portraying them.
Making entertainment out of real criminal cases will never be ethical
It’s neither original nor groundbreaking to say the romanticisation and glamourisation of serial killers is downright distasteful and completely disrespects the pain and suffering of the victims. Regardless of this, however, there is clearly an appetite for such true crime dramatisations.
But this isn’t a new or even unique trend. In real life the Menendez brothers received bundles upon bundles of fan mail from female admirers which is how they both met and married their wives whilst incarcerated.
As a result, many true crime fans, particularly curious young women are often percieved to be either naive or twisted. However, instead of lambasting fans of the genre perhaps we need to take a closer look at the likes of Murphy and the industry in general.
No matter what way you look at it, making entertainment out of real criminal cases will never be a moral endeavour. The fact so many victims’ families have been so vocal about the damage these dramatisations can do proves that. It’s therefore disingenuous and dishonest to suggest that there is any educational value in a series like Monsters.
Although I always try to be an optimist, I’m not unrealistic. I know the true crime genre will continue to expanding, more dark dramas will be made and people will carry on watching. But I think at the very least, we could be more selective in relation to our true crime choices. The actors might be lady killers but that takes on an entirely different meaning when it comes to the men they are portraying.
