Contagion is the big theme of 2020. My personal world view has definitely been infected by pervasive themes in our media and, now that I’ve noticed, it’s time to isolate myself from what’s making me sick. Last week, I shared my disbelief on social media that yet another Oscar Pistorius documentary had been made. Seriously, I’ve seen this coward’s crying face plastered all over TV for the last five years, with the same tired story about ‘having an accident’. I’m told he was a hero because he could run fast (cool, that’ll come in handy should dinosaurs return). I know he overcame physical challenges, but so have many non-killers.
I understand the fascination with murderers. It’s basic human interest to gawk at the space between good and evil – to be captivated by how someone could blend into society one moment, then turn monstrous behind closed doors. But I’ve seen it now. I get it. We’ve gone beyond documentation into a sick fetishisation of violent men.
‘But wait!’ they’ll cry on Twitter, ‘Charlize Theron killed men [in 2003 film Monster]!’ Thank you for your one example. It’s true, there are women who kill, but they are so rare that, each time they do it, they’re subjected to a sit-down interview with Piers Morgan as extra punishment to their jail time. And Charlize Theron’s Oscar for her portrayal of that female killer was mostly won because she had the courage to get fat.
I swear there were three separate Ted Bundy films last year. Two about OJ Simpson. Similar abominations include The Staircase, Don’t F**k With Cats, Making A Murderer and a bunch of child abduction and R Kelly stories thrown in for good measure. Why? I’m certainly not being enlightened about women’s stories, I’m just being made to feel small and scared.
You want a compelling true-crime story? Go hang out at a women’s shelter.
The biggest true-crime documentary on Netflix right now is American Murder: The Family Next Door and I’ve finally stepped away from the screen. Kylie Jenner shared a clip of it online and my heart sank as I imagined the narcissist who murdered his wife and children salivating in his prison cell at the thought of how famous he’d become. We’ve shifted into dangerous territory with these hugely popular documentaries positioned as entertainment, and I never want to see another one ever again. The victims are always an afterthought.
We know the statistics of domestic homicide – and those statistics are growing in lockdown, by the way. You want a compelling true-crime story? Go hang out at a women’s shelter. There will be at least a few deeply underfunded ones in your area.
Crucially, you’ve got to stop watching these programmes, too. It won’t diminish the issue – instead it will serve to stop normalising murder as entertainment and, ultimately, your viewership is the only thing TV networks really care about.
READ MORE: Meet Katherine Ryan, writer and star of The Duchess
READ MORE: Sign ActionAid's petition to end violence against women and girls
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