Why Netflix's 'Jeffrey Dahmer Story' is getting backlash from victim's family, fans

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WellPreserved
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Momto2boys973 wrote: Thu Sep 29, 2022 5:56 pm Well… I haven’t seen it, but if what’s being shown is accurate and the guy was also victimized in some way, then that’s that. Why hide the fact? Something had to happen for him to turn into that monster. I actually think that denying whatever happened to him that made him a “victim” is just denying facts. Of course it doesn’t justify him- and I’m willing to bet that was never the intention- or even creates sympathy for the vast majority of people.
WellPreserved wrote: Thu Sep 29, 2022 3:15 pm
Traci_Momof2 wrote: Thu Sep 29, 2022 3:04 pm Wait, am I missing something? Are the family members being forced to watch it? Or are they choosing to watch it?

Because that was going to be my response to this thread, is that if it's too traumatic for the family they can just choose not to watch it. It's on Netflix. They aren't going to happen upon it by channel surfing. They would have to specifically choose to watch it.

Crime stories are huge right now. Netflix just put out the whole thing about Lori Vallow recently which DH and I watched. Now there's the thing about Jeffrey Dahmer which DH and I are both interested in seeing. We also watch other shows where they tell the stories of lesser known convicted murderers etc. I find it fascinating to try to see into the mind of the killer and what compels them. I also find it interesting to hear their own back stories because it seems like every single time there is some sort of trauma in their childhood.

If the show is getting backlash for incorrectly depicting the facts then I could understand the backlash. Otherwise it seems like a simple case of 'don't like it, don't watch it'.

You're right. Anyone can choose to watch or not watch. But I don't have netflix and my twitter feed and fb is inundated with clips from this series.

I believe that the families of Dahmer's victims complaint is that the series humanizes him and portrays him as also a victim. They also weren't notified prior to the release of the series and it's not like there are no other movies about Dahmer out there.

I understand that true crime stories are a big hit but I still find them distasteful.
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WellPreserved wrote: Thu Sep 29, 2022 3:15 pm
Traci_Momof2 wrote: Thu Sep 29, 2022 3:04 pm Wait, am I missing something? Are the family members being forced to watch it? Or are they choosing to watch it?

Because that was going to be my response to this thread, is that if it's too traumatic for the family they can just choose not to watch it. It's on Netflix. They aren't going to happen upon it by channel surfing. They would have to specifically choose to watch it.

Crime stories are huge right now. Netflix just put out the whole thing about Lori Vallow recently which DH and I watched. Now there's the thing about Jeffrey Dahmer which DH and I are both interested in seeing. We also watch other shows where they tell the stories of lesser known convicted murderers etc. I find it fascinating to try to see into the mind of the killer and what compels them. I also find it interesting to hear their own back stories because it seems like every single time there is some sort of trauma in their childhood.

If the show is getting backlash for incorrectly depicting the facts then I could understand the backlash. Otherwise it seems like a simple case of 'don't like it, don't watch it'.
WellPreserved wrote: Mon Sep 26, 2022 11:04 pm I can't even imagine being a family member and having to watch it. There was a particularly horrific scene posted on Twitter and the response from a relative was heartbreaking. I've always found true life dramas to be insensitive but I guess I'm in the minority.
You're right. Anyone can choose to watch or not watch. But I don't have netflix and my twitter feed and fb is inundated with clips from this series.

I believe that the families of Dahmer's victims complaint is that the series humanizes him and portrays him as also a victim. They also weren't notified prior to the release of the series and it's not like there are no other movies about Dahmer out there.

I understand that true crime stories are a big hit but I still find them distasteful.
They weren’t notified prior to the release of a few movies on him…
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THAT to me would be the issue. At least it should’ve been done out of courtesy. As I said, I haven’t watched it, but I think that unless any personal facts about the victims is shown, they really don’t need the permission of the families to portray them.
But at least let them know.
Quorra2.0 wrote: Thu Sep 29, 2022 6:18 pm
WellPreserved wrote: Thu Sep 29, 2022 3:15 pm
Traci_Momof2 wrote: Thu Sep 29, 2022 3:04 pm Wait, am I missing something? Are the family members being forced to watch it? Or are they choosing to watch it?

Because that was going to be my response to this thread, is that if it's too traumatic for the family they can just choose not to watch it. It's on Netflix. They aren't going to happen upon it by channel surfing. They would have to specifically choose to watch it.

Crime stories are huge right now. Netflix just put out the whole thing about Lori Vallow recently which DH and I watched. Now there's the thing about Jeffrey Dahmer which DH and I are both interested in seeing. We also watch other shows where they tell the stories of lesser known convicted murderers etc. I find it fascinating to try to see into the mind of the killer and what compels them. I also find it interesting to hear their own back stories because it seems like every single time there is some sort of trauma in their childhood.

If the show is getting backlash for incorrectly depicting the facts then I could understand the backlash. Otherwise it seems like a simple case of 'don't like it, don't watch it'.

You're right. Anyone can choose to watch or not watch. But I don't have netflix and my twitter feed and fb is inundated with clips from this series.

I believe that the families of Dahmer's victims complaint is that the series humanizes him and portrays him as also a victim. They also weren't notified prior to the release of the series and it's not like there are no other movies about Dahmer out there.

I understand that true crime stories are a big hit but I still find them distasteful.
They weren’t notified prior to the release of a few movies on him…
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"The books that the world calls immoral are books that show its own shame." - Oscar Wilde
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I had the same thought, that it would've been really nice for the families to be notified that the series was being done and being released, so that if family members wanted to avoid it they could.

But then I thought, 'how would they go about doing that?' I don't think there is some sort of victims' registry for producers to consult to get contact info. KWIM? Netflix might literally have not known how to contact victim families, especially if the families like to keep quiet about it all.
Momto2boys973 wrote: Thu Sep 29, 2022 6:28 pm THAT to me would be the issue. At least it should’ve been done out of courtesy. As I said, I haven’t watched it, but I think that unless any personal facts about the victims is shown, they really don’t need the permission of the families to portray them.
But at least let them know.
Quorra2.0 wrote: Thu Sep 29, 2022 6:18 pm
WellPreserved wrote: Thu Sep 29, 2022 3:15 pm

You're right. Anyone can choose to watch or not watch. But I don't have netflix and my twitter feed and fb is inundated with clips from this series.

I believe that the families of Dahmer's victims complaint is that the series humanizes him and portrays him as also a victim. They also weren't notified prior to the release of the series and it's not like there are no other movies about Dahmer out there.

I understand that true crime stories are a big hit but I still find them distasteful.
They weren’t notified prior to the release of a few movies on him…
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I watch Forensic Files and there I believe they do contact the families for interviews and permission. Sometimes even the criminal goes on the show, usually to state his side or his innocence. Forensics focuses more on the science. Dahmer will focus on him and I couldn’t care less. I know more than I need to thanks. I understand studying him but what we should be focusing on is helping troubled children before they become monsters. But in cases of psychopaths and sociopaths that can be extremely difficult. So I’m mixed. Netflix can make the document and it’s all public information. But it would’ve been nice to offer the victims families the right to say hey can you not include their name, certain details? At least notify them.
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I watched the first two episodes last night. I'll continue to watch the remaining episodes over the next days/weeks.

So far, yeah, I totally get how it could be traumatic to victims' families to relive the horror. But I think this is serving a bigger purpose at this point. I'm going to quote someone else's comments to illustrate what I'm thinking.
"This series spotlights the indifference of the police and the neglect that happened in an impoverished neighborhood. It also gave a much overdue public unveiling of the loved ones that were lost in this tragedy. This series finally put the victims first after 30 years."

I'm a woman in my mid-40's. I was definitely alive when it all went down, and I remember the name, but all I knew of him at the time was that he was a serial killer that ate his victims. That's it. Watching this series now is bringing to light a lot of stuff I never knew about the case, especially the groups that were targeted and the utter incompetence of the police. I watched the episode last night where the police basically gave the 14yo victim back to Jeffrey after "searching" his apartment and totally missing all the red flags not to mention the other dead body in the bedroom - all because the dumbass police didn't want to get gay cooties. I mean, I was infuriated watching that, thinking that police in my lifetime could be such dumbheaded buffoons with such incredible prejudices against race, class and sexual preference. It's honestly really eye-opening and I think creates conversations that our society still needs to have.

I get it that clips and articles are everywhere and probably difficult for the families to completely avoid. But they can still avoid the entire series if that is what they wish. But as a society if we want to move forward and do better, we can't afford to sweep stuff like this under the rug and forget it. We need to remember.
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If cops took him in and investigated and not believed him because he was a white man, the families might feel different. But you didn’t have to watch a documentary to see the ineptitude of law enforcement.
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Traci_Momof2 wrote: Mon Oct 03, 2022 6:41 pm I watched the first two episodes last night. I'll continue to watch the remaining episodes over the next days/weeks.

So far, yeah, I totally get how it could be traumatic to victims' families to relive the horror. But I think this is serving a bigger purpose at this point. I'm going to quote someone else's comments to illustrate what I'm thinking.
"This series spotlights the indifference of the police and the neglect that happened in an impoverished neighborhood. It also gave a much overdue public unveiling of the loved ones that were lost in this tragedy. This series finally put the victims first after 30 years."

I'm a woman in my mid-40's. I was definitely alive when it all went down, and I remember the name, but all I knew of him at the time was that he was a serial killer that ate his victims. That's it. Watching this series now is bringing to light a lot of stuff I never knew about the case, especially the groups that were targeted and the utter incompetence of the police. I watched the episode last night where the police basically gave the 14yo victim back to Jeffrey after "searching" his apartment and totally missing all the red flags not to mention the other dead body in the bedroom - all because the dumbass police didn't want to get gay cooties. I mean, I was infuriated watching that, thinking that police in my lifetime could be such dumbheaded buffoons with such incredible prejudices against race, class and sexual preference. It's honestly really eye-opening and I think creates conversations that our society still needs to have.

I get it that clips and articles are everywhere and probably difficult for the families to completely avoid. But they can still avoid the entire series if that is what they wish. But as a society if we want to move forward and do better, we can't afford to sweep stuff like this under the rug and forget it. We need to remember.
Come back and let me know what you think about it when you finish.

I am also in my 40s and remember when it all happened. I felt the same. I watched a lot of documentaries over the years...but this one hit different because there was A LOT about the victims and societal factors that I had no clue about.

I don't want to step on any family's toes but it was eye opening for me as well.
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My best friend and I are sort of serial killer buffs, so we're familiar with the real account. We watched the first episode and refuse to watch more.

The way they're portraying Dahmer isn't right. The way they're portraying his father, as if he kind of pushed him somehow into this, is all wrong. Almost blaming the Dad.

Plus - Evan Peters? We're bothered because it's almost like they're romanticizing him in a way by having a "heartthrob" kind of guy portraying Dahmer. It's disturbing.

There's a whole generation that didn't watch this unfold in the news that will think this is an accurate depiction of the story, which is what really bothers us.

We honestly both commented that we're pretty upset on behalf of the families and can't imagine what they must feel like seeing this out there. Yes, they don't have to watch it as someone commented ... But if you lost a family member to Dahmer, how could you honestly NOT watch this?
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