New Netflix show series Dahmer aired on September 21, 2022, leaving students and staff at EHHS with mixed emotions and ratings.
Dahmer is a series about Jeffrey Dahmer, one of America’s most known serial killers. It follows what he does to his victims, what leads up to the killings and the point of view of his victims. Viewer discretion is advised since some scenes are quite disturbing and graphic. The show has gained quite the popularity not just in EHHS, but worldwide as well, 93% of viewers loved the show. It debuted at No. 1 on Netflix with 196 million hours viewed.
One of the things that has made the show successful was the acting, particularly Dahmer’s neighbor, Glenda Cleveland and the grandmother of Dahmer, Lionel Dahmer. Their acting was a favorite for many EHHS students and staff because of how real each character felt and how well each actor played out the character’s mannerisms. To have to play such a gruesome role and replicate those scenes, definitely needs good actors. Great emotion and display of mannerisms was shown through the grandmother’s role well. EHHS History teacher, Ms. Hajnal believes that the grandmother “copied mannerisms well” as well as played an “old timid woman, but fierce character.” Throughout the show, the neighbor has suspicions that Dahmer was different than most people. This character’s intuition led to most viewers enjoying the show. Sophomore, Nick Vocatura really enjoyed the acting from the neighbor and said he liked that she “wasn’t scared” of Dahmer.
Some comments revealed that the show was overall too dramatic. It contains real life experiences from people that shouldn’t be brought to the surface as a fictionalized show. The scenes contain dismembering and cannibalism. From his bone-chilling apartment that made the show feel “too dark” to the very detailed scenes of the victims’ deaths, the show was thought by some to be overall too dramatic and not be brought to television. Even though Ms. Hajnal thought the acting was good, she wouldn’t recommend it to others to watch. She stated that it was a topic that “shouldn’t be dramatized.” Even some who haven’t seen the show and do not plan on watching it agree that it shouldn’t have been made into a show. Sociology teacher, Ms. King, who did not watch the show, said she “ would not” watch it because it was “too gruesome” and that a “theatrical” feeling is different from what actually happened.
Some staff and students at EHHS absolutely were fascinated by the suspense built throughout the show. They found it very exciting and interesting. Using the cinematography, the director and actors were able to build up the suspense before each killings. EHHS senior, Madison Dinuzzo stated that it contained lots of “OMG!” scenes as well as ‘disturbing’ scenes. She recommends watching it but states, “Yes, if they aren’t sensitive to it, no if they aren’t in the right state of mind.” Madison definitely learned the valuable lesson of not everyone is who you think they are.
Social media eats up these types of shows, especially with popular actors like Evan Peters. With a known and attractive actor, it will draw a younger crowd, popularizing the show. It is brought to popular apps like the infamous TikTok. People make videos obsessing over the role of Dahmer that was played by Peters and are dressing up like him. The background story is quite disturbing and to fetishsize a serial killer is even more disturbing.
