[imagesource: Netflix]

There is a serious glut of true-crime content to consume and no shortage of those who are hungry for it.

But not everybody thinks that there needed to be yet another show about a serial killer, paedophile, necrophiliac, and cannibal who murdered and dismembered 17 people over the span of 13 years.

Netflix’s freshly released 10-episode true-crime drama DAHMER – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is picking up steam and, consequently, major heat.

While “Dahmer” was one of the top search terms in the US a day after the series’ release, the show has also been subject to criticism and backlash, largely because of how it approached the families of Dahmer’s victims, reported Mashable.

Or rather, the production team has been called out for not approaching the victims’ families at all and rather re-traumatising them for profit:

DAHMER – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story attempts to distinguish itself by framing its narrative from the point of view of the serial killer’s victims, who were men and boys primarily from marginalised ethnic groups. According to Netflix, the new series “will give notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims a voice.”

However, family members of one of Dahmer’s victims have spoken out about Netflix’s production, publicly stating that they were not consulted about the series and questioning the need for yet more entertainment media digging up their trauma.

Many have said they needed to switch the show off as it is so horrifying:

Twitter has become the gathering place to vent:

The families have already said that the Netflix Dahmer series has retraumatized them, so I think we need to acknowledge that you watching it goes away beyond “I like true crime cause it’s informative”. Admit that the trauma of others is entertainment for you and go.

— HOEING 747 (@ginfueledbrat) September 23, 2022

As much as I love Evan Peters and true crime I’m not watching the Dahmer series on Netflix. I’ve had enough of that man and the glamorization and obsession Hollywood has of him. What else do we need to know?!

— (@GlamGothBeauty) September 24, 2022

Netflix asking how Jeffrey Dahmer got away with it so long, in their preview, is so tone deaf and annoying because like WE KNOW why, racism, racist policing, and policing in general & nothing is going to change so yeah.

— The Great Negro (@jiggyjayy2) September 25, 2022

Eric Perry, the supposed cousin of Errol Lindsey, who was 19 when he was murdered by Dahmer in 1991, also spoke out:

I’m not telling anyone what to watch, I know true crime media is huge rn, but if you’re actually curious about the victims, my family (the Isbell’s) are pissed about this show. It’s retraumatizing over and over again, and for what? How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need? https://t.co/CRQjXWAvjx

— eric. (@ericthulhu) September 22, 2022

That video he responded to is a comparison of his cousin Rita Isbell’s victim impact statement during Dahmer’s trial, right next to Netflix’s dramatisation of the event.

Isbell herself wrote a personal essay published on Insider stating that she was never contacted by the show.

She also pointed out that Netflix would benefit financially without sharing anything with the very people it used to make the money (AKA the victims’ children or grandchildren):

“If the show benefited them in some way, it wouldn’t feel so harsh and careless,” Isbell said. “It’s sad that [Netflix is] just making money off of this tragedy. That’s just greed.”

Per CNET, many have asked that the victims be remembered, not the man whose name appears twice in the show’s title:

#DahmerNetflix is out, let’s not romanticize Jeffrey Dahmer just because he is played by Evan Peters.
Remember the victims.
A tread about each victim and who they were. pic.twitter.com/3NAZpG40Dq

— hot girl jo (@sicssorluv) September 21, 2022

Before this show, there have been at least four films dramatising Dahmer’s life.

That includes 2002’s Dahmer and 2017’s My Friend Dahmer, on top of The Secret Life: Jeffrey Dahmer released in 1993, one year after Dahmer was murdered in prison.

Plus, there are also a number of documentaries on Dahmer, including the upcoming Netflix series Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes.

[sources:mashable&cnet]