The flip side of true-crime shows: Unjust commercialisation and more

There has been an inevitable surge in true-crime content that features archival footage and photos of some of the most infamous crimes in history, but what is the social cost of this phenomenon?

With the pandemic quarantining us to our houses for the better part of two years, the small screens have become dearer and OTT platforms are to be credited. Real-life crimes have played a very important role with respect to creating popular culture from time immemorial — from Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita to Sidney Lumet’s Dog Day Afternoon — and has inspired artists to churn out some of the most critically-acclaimed pieces of art. Gradually movies like Foxcatcher and Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile that are dedicated to very specific crimes and those behind the actions, started to occupy filmmakers’ minds, and consequently, the screens. 

However, with advances in content production and the habits of content consumption that OTT platforms have created, we are witnessing a surge in true crime content that features archival footage and photos of some of the most infamous crimes in history.

It is important that we heed a word of caution before diving headfirst into this genre, for not everything inspired by a crime can become a genre-defining masterpiece. 

True crime content on OTTs often shines the spotlight on the sheer brutality and gruesome details of the crime, with the trailers of these documentaries luring the audience in using graphic details of the case. In doing so, the creators, more often than not, violate a victim’s privacy. In cases where the victim is deceased, the narrative is hijacked by directors and writers to suit their aesthetic.

The social cost of creating and consuming true crime is extremely high. In most cases, the films and shows sideline the sociological aspects that led to the crime and focus their lens on the killer; by choosing to put a criminal at the centre of the narrative, they actively take away the agency of the families affected and the victims of the crime.

Some of these projects are even shot without the permission of the affected parties, forcing the affected parties to go through the ordeal all over again, potentially triggering their mental health.

Netflix’s I Am a Killer is a series that focuses on interviewing convicts about their lives and the events that led up to them committing the crime(s) that landed them behind the bars. The show, in an attempt to demystify the air surrounding murderers, almost goes on to tailor a narrative that extends empathy and pity to the killer. In a few instances, viewers of the show are convinced that the person behind the bars did not even commit the murder and that they were unjustly incarcerated.