Essay Example on Popular Heroes or Social Menace? Serial Killers in Media

The roles and portrayal of serial killers as famous figures in the entertainment industry defines the features of modern culture concerning violence and stardom. The representation of violence has become an integral part of films and novels, which, to some extent, has raised debates concerning the impacts they have on society. A novel, “Darkly Dreaming Dexter" by Jeff Lindsay and its television series "Dexter," represents examples of plays that portray serial killers as popular heroes in society. The main character of the television show, Dexter Morgan, is portrayed as a smart and wittily self-aware homicidal maniac that kills people who deserve to die. On the other end, Lindsay, in her novel, also builds a character of the same name and behavior. As much as the film and novel share a similar theme, literary analysts can approach and analyze the issue differently compared to film analysis. Therefore, the review conducted in this essay focusses on comparing and contrasting how the literary analysis would analyze "Darkly Dreaming Dexter” differently than a film analysis would be of the television series. Also, the essay provides an in-depth insight into how the heroic vigilantism of the protagonist bleeds into the real world.

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In the film analysis of the television hit series “Dexter,” Houwen states that the show works against the gain of conventional morality, which dictates that murder is wrong (26). He argues that the show has been able to manipulate the emotional feelings of the audience through empathy and sympathy towards the character's nature. The spectators or audience of the film can identify with the different situations of Dexter Morgan, which tends to justify his actions. The serial killer tends not to have any personality trait; instead, he is intelligent, extreme sadist, and have suffered a family trauma in the past. For instance, Dexter witnessed the brutal event involving the murder of his mother by some dry dealers during his childhood (Luis 4). The event enables the viewers to understand that Dexter was not born a killer but instead developed the instincts following the traumatic event leading to his mother’s death. Also, the character engages in other activities that are of social benefit, including going after murderous pedophiles, practicing vigilante law enforcement, and targeting drunken drivers who would otherwise escape justice (Stanley n.p). These activities strengthen the protagonist's likeability, and as a result, the audience views him as a hero despite the immoral behaviors.

In the literary analysis of “Darkly Dreaming Dexter” by Jeff Lindsay, Fiserova holds a similar argument as the film analysts. According to her, a psychopath is an individual who does not qualify to be insane, has no empathy, manipulate, pretend, and their action relates to violence (Fiserova 520). She outlines the characteristics of Dexter Morgan, which makes him a psychopathic hero rather than a regular serial killer. First, the main character of the novel is a morally upright vigilante serial killer whose actions focus on protecting the innocent (521). Also, Lindsay, the creator of the character, creates a psychopath that is likable based on his genius nature on investigative tasks and the ability to solve murder cases. The nature of the work and antisocial nature of Dexter makes it challenging to connect with others; therefore, he is often lonely, which makes the audience empathize with his circumstance. However, Fiserova discusses different blend of characteristics that initiates a heroic status for the protagonist in Lindsay’s novel. Her analysis reveals Dexter possesses a combination of a unique voice that observes humanity from the outside and sharing personal insights. The two combination wins the support of the readers’, and they can even consider him as not only a hero but a role model.

Dexter is a real vigilante, and while some would argue that he is not a hero, well, his activities connect correctly to the real world. First, he has very methodological routines in conducting his operations, which keeps him away from being caught. After realizing his psychopathic nature, his adoption father, Harry Morgan, decided to train him based on specific principles, which he called “the code” (Houwen 33). Harry intended to utilize his dark impulses to correct injustices and illegal practices in society. The principles and rules from Harry dictated that Dexter could only kill other murderers. The codes enabled him to conduct his acts neatly without leaving a trace to avoid being caught and after collecting enough evidence to prevent the killing of innocent people. His ability to put his emotions into check and control his actions based on the codes is admirable.

Conclusion

The existence of corrupt systems in the real world presents the chance for Dexter to conduct his brand of justice. He utilizes the environmental situation and the prevailing social circumstances to satisfy his needs. For instance, Lindsay portrays Miami as a city of a broken system and full injustice activities. When the author introduces a character named Rita, she is recovering from her previous husband’s abuse, but the act seems to be healthy in the region (Burnes-Davies 9). Dexter indicates the impression that the real world in Miami expects to mistreat others and to be exploited in return. Therefore, the region requires his vigilante justice intervention, or else the city will be worse off (Lawrence 25).

Works Cited

Burnes-Davies, Erin. “An analysis of America’s favorite serial killer.” Dissertation and Theses: Florida Atlantic University, 2009, pp. 1-112. https://fau.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/fau%3A41907/datastream/OBJ/view/DECODING_DEXTER__AN_ANALYSIS_OF_AMERICA___S_FAVORITE_SERIAL_KILLER.pdf

Houwen, Janna. “Identifying with Dexter.” American, British, and Canadian Studies, 2015, pp. 25-43.

Lawrence, Alyssa. "A deconstruction of Dexter: An analysis of the noble cause of corruption within a crime drama. Online Theses and Dissertations. 187. https://encompass.eku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1185&context=etd

Luis, Garcia F. “Sociological analysis of Dexter: The television series. La Mirada de Telemo, (6) 1-11. https://www.aacademica.org/luis.garcia.fanlo/67.pdf

Stanley, Alessandra. He kills people and cuts them up. But they deserve it. Besides, he's neat. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/29/arts/television/29dext.html