Hey y'all! I hope everyone is chugging along with their papers. I just wanted to ask a quick question and see what y'all thought...
I have been a major Dexter addict lately (Andy if my paper sucks this will be why... I just can't stop watching) For those of you are aren't familiar with the show (come on people, get on it, it's phenomenal) Dexter is a serial killer that prefers cutting his victims in pieces--often while they are still alive--and then putting them in Hefty bags and chucking them in the ocean. There's a catch, however: he only kills murderers. So, I was wondering what y'all thought of this concept: I believe that both stories of serial killers and the kind of stories we have been reading are "horror" stories. But is one more horrific than the other? Is Dexter still a horrific character/monster if he only kills murderers? Does his practiced capability to blend in with the rest of the world as fairly normal, to the extent of having a job as a blood splatter analyst with the Miami Metro PD, make him more horrific? Would his story be more horrific if there was some sort of supernatural element tied in?
For those of you out of my loop here is a clip from the pilot episode:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPORpnPPnDY
Trust me, it only gets better from here. And do not blame me if I have sparked your new addiction...
5 comments:
I have never actually seen the show but I have read the series. Based on what I've read, I don't think of him as a monster. Killing people is obviously wrong but the way in which his character is written, the audience loves Dexter. I love him. As for his blending in making him more horrific, I think without a doubt it's worse. That's how most serial killers are though: they blend in so no one would ever think that he/she could possibly be the killer. That to me is what makes them so creepy. Knowing someone is killing people is scary but finding out later it was the old grandpa next door whose plants you watered when he went on "business trips" is what makes the skin on your neck crawl.
I think what's kind of scary about Dexter is the fact that we sympathize with him. I mean, I've found myself praying that the cops didn't find out what he was. I also find the idea of the "dark passenger" scary. That phrase just gives me the creeps.
I have caught a few episodes here and there and it looks pretty awesome. I just have too many shows on my plate already :D
I definitely think serial killers are more terrifying to me than ghosts, demons, haunted houses, vampires, werewolves, etc. The reason is obvious: I know serial killers exist and only have little iffy bits of proof about the rest. So I do think serial killers count as horrific. But Dexter is a unique case. He's kinda like Robin Hood, a thief with a conscience, but he's a killer with a conscience. Why not have him go around killing all the bad guys so the government and judicial system doesn't have to? Goodness knows our courts are flawed and highly delayed. NOTE: I am not suggesting anyone pick up murdering murderers for a career path. I just think it works for Dexter
I think another thing about Dexter is that he seems to have no conscience about killing, which is a scary concept, but also makes the show much more entertaining and humorous. But this is because Dexter stresses he has no remorse because he has no feelings.
In countless horror texts, the victims are unpleasant people who get their comeuppance. That was the chief plot engine of the 1950s horror comics, and it's still common today. In one of the Saw movies, the victims are the health insurers who denied Jigsaw his coverage. That makes their fates no less horrific. We are all guilty of something.
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