Shubhangi Banerjee
Over the past few years, there has been an increased depiction
of psychopaths and serial killers in media and popular culture, some of the
famous ones including Ted Bundy, ‘Dr. Death’, Alphabet Murders, Jeffrey Dahmer
and many more. These individuals have become ‘more of a parable than human through reiterating their life stories ’. Films, tv shows and books based on them, attract a large number of
viewers who are now intrigued to learn more about psychopaths and their twisted
minds. One can see how the line between reality and imagination is often
blurred in a psychopath’s life. Which is also why there is a simultaneous
existence of a certain push-pull of inquisitiveness to know more about their
complex behaviours and stories, as well as feelings of revulsion when one hears
about the heinous, cold blooded acts committed by such individuals. This paper
aims to delve into the reasons behind our perceptions of and our fascination
with the lives and experiences of psychopaths.
In trying to assign meanings to the thoughts and
actions of psychopaths, we are often fraught with difficulty. However, we are
enthralled by some of the mind-blowing behavioural patterns they tend to
exhibit. In fact, there seem to be certain reasons which explain our immense
interest in films and stories based on their lives. Scott Bonn, a criminologist,
argues that ‘highly stylised and pervasive media coverage of real-life serial
killers/ psychopaths and their horrible deeds transform them into “celebrity
monsters”, and in doing so, provide a conduit for the public’s most primal
feelings such as fear, lust and anger.’
We tend to sympathise with them since we know that
their disability/ mental state is not something that they can consciously control.
Bonn says that this makes psychopaths “more predictable, more real and less
incomprehensible”. In doing so, we ‘humanise’ the monster in the serial killer/
psychopath and subconsciously reduce our own fear of the unknown. He also
discusses how we try to ‘humanise ruthless and brutal individuals like Jeffrey Dahmer
to make him less scary, but we also dehumanise him in order to create a moral
boundary between good and evil.’
Adverse situations and
failures at critical points in one’s life can lead to a lot of frustration.
Psychopaths aren’t restricted by conscience and fulfil their desires or goals
by hook or by crook. Such free will and goal directed behaviour, in some ways
reinforces our own confidence and self-esteem, within the correct moral
boundaries. We often admire the ease with which they mask their dark thoughts
and true intentions, and thereby confidently pull off a charismatic
personality. Also, people are often envious of the fact that psychopaths are
pathologically numb, because in situations where we have been badly hurt in
relationships or been humiliated, we wish to switch off and feel numb, but that
doesn’t happen.
We also admire the fact that they do not care about
societal norms and judgements, which often restrict one’s actions and thoughts
in life, in different ways. Maibom (2019) argues in her article that, ‘psychopaths
force us to confront a paradox at the heart of ethics: the fact that I care
about what happens to you is based on the fact that I care about what happens
to me’. Matt Nix, creator and producer, points out that “the thing about psychopathy,
at least as we usually represent it in fiction, is that a character without a
conscience is both an effective monster and a form of wish fulfilment. That we
all have a sense for what would be possible if we were freed from the
constraints of guilt, fear and shame. I think that that explains the fact that
its not just the villains in popular entertainment that are psychopaths- the
heroes are often what I’d term pro-social psychopaths”. (Silbermann, 2015)
Stuart (2018) comments that in certain ways, media has
enabled the audience to ‘mythologise the monsters’ within psychopaths and
serial killers, which provides one with the possibility of experiencing one’s
deepest fears from a safe distance, and also learn how to tackle with them.
References:
- Pemment, J. (2017, Oct 3). Why do we Like Psychopaths: The misplaced conceptual allure. Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/blame-the-amygdala/201710/why-do-we-psychopaths
- Bonn, A.S. (2019, Apr 5). Why are we drawn to criminals and monsters?. Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wicked-deeds/201904/why-are-we-drawn-criminals-and-monsters
- Silbermann, J. (2015, Mar 25). Opinion: Why do we Love to watch Psychopaths?. Retrieved from: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-robert-durst-jinx-psychopaths-on-tv-20150325-story.html
- Maibom, H. (2019, Aug 6) Spot the Psychopath. Retrieved from: https://aeon.co/essays/you-have-more-in-common-with-a-psychopath-than-you-realise
- Stuart, C. (2018, Dec 27) Why are we so obsessed with psychopaths?. Retrieved from: https://www.fashionfixdaily.com/why-are-we-so-obsessed-with-psychopaths/
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