When I
first heard of the show “Dexter” I was sure I would never watch it. Why would I
watch a show about a serial killer? It was such an obscene idea, and clearly
some producer’s inspiration for cashing in on the viewing public’s addiction to
thrill-kill gore. But a few years later, after hearing the show lauded by a
number of friends and co-workers, I gave the show a try and quickly pored
through three seasons on Netflix. And yes, when I gave it some thought, I was
troubled by that.
Then, a
couple of months ago, I started seeing these intriguing ads for a show called “The
Following”. And now I’m watching it too. This time, it’s not merely a binge of
indulgence, as with “Dexter”. Because “The Following” is new, I’m consuming it
the way it was intended – one episode a week, giving me days of speculation and
anticipation of the atrocities to come each Monday night.
And
yes, I’m still troubled.
I
remember that when “Bonnie & Clyde” and “Butch Cassidy & the Sundance
Kid” and “Superfly” came out, there was always a bit of underground grumbling
about the glorification of bank robbers and drug dealers and pimps. Generally,
I dismissed such criticism as conservative, reactionary, status quo
fear-mongering. I considered it the same sort of rhetoric as that which damned
marijuana as an inevitable gateway to heroin addiction and ruin.
But
this psychopath thing.... It worries me. Will I stop watching? Remains to be
seen. I’ve tired of “Dexter”. The device of making him out to be simply a
regular guy trying to get along, while saddled with a psychotic condition he
had no part in creating, is wearing thin. The qualifier, that he only kills
those who deserve it, feeding into the vigilante soul that lies dormant in us
all... well, it only goes so far. But, considering my default position, that I’d
never succumb to watching such trash, I bought into it pretty seriously.
I
absolutely love “Breaking Bad”. And a big reason is that it unflinchingly
traces a character’s descent from mere moral opportunism to ... well, evil. And
I remain convinced that “The Wire” presented us with the best television EVER,
because it was so raw and similarly unflinching in depicting an enduring reality
of the drug wars as they play out in the economic wastelands of America.
But “Dexter”?
It treats its subject too much as a game; there’s so much winking at the
audience for the cute absurdities it presents. Is it well written? Without a
doubt. Is it gripping, in some ways even instructive? Yes, that too. But it’s
also such an easy-natured, smoothed-over, sanitized presentation of
psychopathy, that it winds up being much less clean than Breaking Bad and The
Wire.
And “The
Following”? I hardly know what to say. It too is gripping and well-written. And
in its probing into the cult mind, and its speculation about the roots of
psychopathy, it sparks endless rumination about the nature of being human. But
here the psycho-killer is elevated to the status of charismatic guru. He impresses,
he charms, he seduces. And he’s brilliant. Far more than Dexter’s
boy-next-door, he’s the killer rock star. He’s a Charles Manson with good
teeth. Hannibal Lechter with sex appeal. The purported good guy here, who
repeatedly invites the psycho’s minions to shoot him (to put him out of his
misery), comes off as a determined but hapless stooge in comparison.
So I’m
bothered. Just as I am by the violent porn that is so accessible all over the
web. And, on that note, will we next be presented with a cuddly, adorable,
charismatic rapist as the subject of a television series? Or how about a
pedophile?
And
yet...I’m watching. Or have been, until now. We’ve just decided to give up
cable in our home. The shows I’m commenting on aren’t the main reason for that.
The reasons have more to do with our priorities, and with the tempting
distractions that television offers, in so many forms, and with our woeful lack
of discipline, and with our vulnerability to seduction and desensitizing. And I
can’t help but think...what of the kids?
My wife wonders about my choice of television, especially the shows I am comfortable watching late at night: Criminal Minds, Flashpoint, all of the Law and Orders. I have not succumbed to Dexter, but I watched the Wire and its predecessors, Oz, and especially, Homicide. Criminal Minds allows me to vicariously catch serial killers. It's all pretty dark, and i could get distressed or even depressed at this clear indication of my warped mind. But, I figure that watching this stuff very likely taps into something in me that is better tapped into in this manner than left inside or unexpressed.
ReplyDeleteWhen I worry about it, I eventually get to the notion that everything that exposes me to the workings of the human psyche supports me in my work. You could see it this way, too, Kirbs.
Thanks for the consoling considerations, Rev. I've tried them on too. I can agree to a point. There's all that business about Japanese society being so free of sexual violence, despite the prevalence of violent porn. But to what extent does "exposure" draw off pre-existing tendencies, and to what extent does it create them? I remember a characteristic of the pornographic novels of our youth: they often contained a short prologue, citing the purely instructive intent, and the academic integrity of that which followed. I haven't totally resolved these questions or these struggles for myself. But isn't it evading the struggle (and perhaps the guilt) to say it's all about self-improvement?
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