Date of Award
Spring 5-10-2025
Document Type
Honors Thesis
Department/Major
Criminal Justice
First Advisor
Thomas Mrozla
Second Advisor
April Carrillo
Third Advisor
Isaiah Cohen
Keywords
Jeffrey Dahmer, True Crime, TikTok, YouTube, Informational, Dark Humor, Sexualization, Romanticism
Subject Categories
Civic and Community Engagement | Criminology | Other Social and Behavioral Sciences | Social Psychology and Interaction
Abstract
Social media platforms have developed a new form of true crime media. This paper aims to discuss media portrayals of Jeffrey Dahmer on the Netflix series “Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” YouTube, and other forms of new true crime media, while specifically analyzing videos from TikTok. The goal is to demonstrate why this type of media is created, explain why society chooses to view this type of media, and signify what changes have been made across true crime media to satisfy society’s needs of entertainment. By viewing TikTok’s about Dahmer and his case, three portrayal elements are found - informational, dark humor, and sexualization/romanticism. The concern with this new media is that it takes away the seriousness of Dahmer’s case, provides little information or sympathy for his victims and their families, and reaches wide audiences - young or old - to find Dahmer’s case in a positive and romanticized lens.
Recommended Citation
Hall, Aysia Jo, "Our Obsession With Serial Killers: A Jeffrey Dahmer Media Analysis" (2025). Honors Thesis. 347.
https://red.library.usd.edu/honors-thesis/347
Included in
Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Criminology Commons, Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons, Social Psychology and Interaction Commons