I've been investigating the Jeremy Bamber case for the past 4 years. The 1980's media (with the help of the police) helped shaped the public perception of him as a "monster" - I've got to know him very well and not only am I convinced he's the victim of a miscarriage of justice but that the media played a huge part in the publics wider perception of him. A good story for you to look at.
Great read ! These two columns have been extremely well written and quite disturbing. I do think you are onto something with regards to why people find such other people interesting. I suspect at one time or another many people have entertained thoughts of breaking things in bashes of anger and may have thought ill of others... in some way seeing such extreme behavior may make more "acceptable" thoughts well tolerable.
Those are some solid thoughts! I've certainly entertained such thoughts now and again, and I suspect anyone who says they haven't is either exceptionally calm or lying. There's a lot to be said for the opportunity to compare our everyday less-than-angelic behaviour to the real extremes.
The 'othering' of serial killers etc by the media as 'monsters' does little to help our understanding of people who commit these appalling acts. When unmasked they are very much like the rest of us, often boring nonentities fixated on some fantasy (granted, a more obscene fixation than the rest of us have) – which is more chilling. Thanks for a fascinating post.
I completely agree! I suspect that 'othering' them - or indeed 'monstering' them - may do the exact opposite of helping our understanding. It may actually get in the way. Some would argue that that's a good thing: that we should not try to understand their crimes, since that might diminish their horror.
I've been investigating the Jeremy Bamber case for the past 4 years. The 1980's media (with the help of the police) helped shaped the public perception of him as a "monster" - I've got to know him very well and not only am I convinced he's the victim of a miscarriage of justice but that the media played a huge part in the publics wider perception of him. A good story for you to look at.
Check out the New Yorker - https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/08/05/did-the-uks-most-infamous-family-massacre-end-in-a-wrongful-conviction
I shall! The case doesn’t ring a bell with me offhand, oddly enough, but I’ll take your advice. Thank you.
Great read ! These two columns have been extremely well written and quite disturbing. I do think you are onto something with regards to why people find such other people interesting. I suspect at one time or another many people have entertained thoughts of breaking things in bashes of anger and may have thought ill of others... in some way seeing such extreme behavior may make more "acceptable" thoughts well tolerable.
Those are some solid thoughts! I've certainly entertained such thoughts now and again, and I suspect anyone who says they haven't is either exceptionally calm or lying. There's a lot to be said for the opportunity to compare our everyday less-than-angelic behaviour to the real extremes.
The 'othering' of serial killers etc by the media as 'monsters' does little to help our understanding of people who commit these appalling acts. When unmasked they are very much like the rest of us, often boring nonentities fixated on some fantasy (granted, a more obscene fixation than the rest of us have) – which is more chilling. Thanks for a fascinating post.
I completely agree! I suspect that 'othering' them - or indeed 'monstering' them - may do the exact opposite of helping our understanding. It may actually get in the way. Some would argue that that's a good thing: that we should not try to understand their crimes, since that might diminish their horror.