True crime has become one of the most popular genres of television. This has sparked an ongoing ethical debate amongst fans and critics alike.
While shows of this genre promise to deliver insight into the real victims and criminals that inspired them, the line between being educational and exploitative becomes thin.
Because of this audiences ponder the concept of responsibility of telling a respectful story that centres around the victims whilst not humanising the actions of the perpetrators.
Netflix’s Monster series created by Ryan Murphy expertly highlight this tension of these concepts with critics and fans of the series arguing that the violence in the series is sensationalised which shifts the focus away from real human suffering in favour of telling a dramatic story for entertainment purposes.
Despite a range of controversy surrounding this arguably problematic genre, audiences still continue to engage with it due to finding them oddly entertaining and compelling.