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wezzyでフェミニスト批評「お砂糖とスパイスと爆発的な何か」を連載中の北村紗衣さんの新刊『英語の路地裏 オアシスからクイーン、シェイクスピアまで歩く』（アルク）が、2023年6月に刊行されたことを記念して、オンラインイベント「入試に絶対出てこない入試問題を作ってみよう 『英語の路地裏』刊行記念」を8月27日（日）に開催します。
本記事はイベントのために北村さんにお書きいただいた、「入試に絶対に出てこないテーマ」を扱った英文とその訳（2ページ目）です。テーマは、Netflixなどの配信サービスで多数配信されている、実際に起きた犯罪を取り扱ったドラマや映画、いわゆる「実録犯罪モノ」に指摘されている問題について。イベントに参加予定の方は必ず、そうでない方はぜひ、英文とその訳を読んでください。
True Crime
The ‘true crime’ genre, which consists of works focusing on actual crimes, has recently become as popular as ever. Books, films, TV shows, and podcasts on criminals, especially serial killers, or criminals who commit successive murders, are published or aired one after another. Perhaps many people have heard of the names of Ted Bundy, an American serial killer who sexually assaulted and murdered at least thirty women in the 1970s, and Jeffrey Dahmer, another serial killer who murdered and ate dozens of men in Milwaukee.
This enormous interest in true crime stories is not new. The evil side of human nature has always inspired authors. In English literature, the true crime genre dates back to the 16th century, when stories of real crimes were printed in pamphlets and made into plays. Victorian readers also enthusiastically read the coverage of crimes.
The recent popularity of true crime stories may be attributed to the rise of podcasts and streaming services. In 2014, the true crime podcast Serial became a hit, and since 2015, Netflix, one of the biggest streaming services today, has been constantly airing true crime documentaries and dramas. Other streaming services, as well as TV broadcasters, have also produced a wide variety of true crime shows that ranged from straightforward documentaries to fictionalised versions of actual crimes.
True crime shows have been criticised for several reasons: they are too violent, have a bad influence on the audience’s mental health, or do not accurately describe the details of crime investigations. Perhaps the most serious criticism is their disrespect of victims. Victims should be treated with dignity – they are not fictional characters who can be freely toyed with but real human beings with their own lives. Furthermore, in some cases, victims of serial killers belong to vulnerable sectors of society. Society rarely pays attention to crimes against them, and the police are unwilling to investigate them. For example, Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims were mostly non-white and gay, and it is said that the bias against these people made the police relatively indifferent to the suspicious activities in Milwaukee. Victims deserve respect, at least in the retelling of horrible events. Their families and friends have the right to refuse scandalous portrayals of them.
Another interesting subject is that violent criminals are sometimes ‘too sexy’ in true crime shows. Recent films and TV shows tend to cast popular male actors for the roles of real-life criminals. When Zac Efron, one of the sex symbols of his generation, played Ted Bundy in the 2019 film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, Hugh Montgomery, a journalist at the BBC, discussed its casting choice and warned against the sexualisation of violent abusers. On one hand, it is helpful for countering victim-blaming: victims of sexual violence are often unreasonably criticised for their carelessness or loose morals, although the abuser is the only one to be blamed. Presenting a violent criminal as someone with sexual charisma makes the audience think that it is completely natural for any person to be taken in by such a clever and charming schemer. As Montgomery and others suggest, however, it could also lead to the glorification of the abuser, which may feed modern audience’s obsession with erotic aspects of violence. Portraying a criminal as an object of sexual desire is problematic, while such descriptions do have their own artistic merits.
Works Consulted
Pamela Burger, ‘The Bloody History of the True Crime Genre’, JSTOR Daily, 24 August 2016, https://daily.jstor.org/bloody-history-of-true-crime-genre/, accessed 31 July 2023.
Kidiocus King-Carroll, ‘Racism and Homophobia Enabled Jeffrey Dahmer’s Crimes’, 11 October 2022, The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2022/10/11/racism-homophobia-enabled-jeffrey-dahmers-crimes/, accessed 27 July 2023.
Anna Millard, ‘Zac Efron’s New Ted Bundy Movie May Be Taking Our Obsession With Serial Killers Too Far’, Refinery29, 28 January 2019, https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2019/01/222756/zac-efron-ted-bundy-extremely-wicked-critics-react, accessed 25 July 2023.
Hugh Montgomery, ‘The Troubling Obsession with the ‘Sexy Psychopath’’, BBC, 3 May 2019, https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20190502-the-troubling-obsession-with-the-sexy-psychopath, accessed 25 July 2023.
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