Why Do We Find True Crime Fascinating? 'Savage Appetites' Looks For An Answer
With her well-researched, beautifully written book, Rachel Monroe addresses the desire to consume stories of murder and mayhem — and what it reflects about us and the world around us.
A few months ago, I watched a chilling film, My Friend Dahmer, based on a graphic memoir written by a high school friend(ish) of infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
While IMDB's logline for the film reads, "A young Jeffrey Dahmer struggles to belong in high school," I saw it more as an attempt to contextualize Dahmer. It showed his chaotic family life, the masculinity he was expected to perform yet couldn't, his social ineptness, and the disturbing ways his instincts were and weren't validated.
The film seemed to be asking the unanswerable question: What if? What if
