Week 12 Blog

First I will talk about the reading in Chapter 3, “Slasher, Serial Killer, and Psycho Movies" in which Rafter discusses the horror/violent movie genre and which she distinguishes among the three distinct types that each killer may be characterized by. According to Rafter the Slasher is extremely violent and gory similar to most the other killers. They also kill at random or just for the sheer pleasure of it. Psycho killers kill a lot of people without any remorse. They are usually working toward a goal. Serial Killers may also kill for no reason and randomly but they are thoughtful and meticulous in the process. They are portrayed as intelligent and planners.
Our next reading was “Idols of Destruction: Celebrity, Consumerism, and the Serial Killer.” Schmid explored and analyzed the phenomena where by serial killers are made infamous in America by their deeds.  There is no denying that Americans love to hear about serial killers.  That is what our ghost stories are about when we are kids. That is what the horror genre is based upon.  But when it comes to books, documentaries, or movies based on true stories, it crosses over into a gray area of moral question. Those are real people and by consuming those forms of media one is in a sense glorifying the accomplishments of that serial killer. The moral question not only is from turning a killer into some sort of celebrity but also when the victims in the human mind are treated the same as those victims in fictional movies. Its a morbid curiosity that humans possess that cause them to examine the extent of evil in human potential.
The class viewing this week was the film the Silence of the Lambs. I've seen it a few times and I enjoyed it. The Buffalo Bill character could be classified in Rafter's system as a Psycho-killer. Where as Hannibal Lecter could be classified as more of a serial killer though he also has a goal with his victims, the film places less emphasis on his mental condition and more on his intelligence and brilliance.
The Black Donnellys has no "serial killers" per say but the main characters do end up killing a lot, at first out of necessity, for survival, then for business,  or other agendas. The show analyzes the dynamic in the timeline in that at first it was for survival, justified, yet it was traumatizing, by the end it was easy, they didn't feel a thing, and it was much less justified. Interesting.