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I happened to really pay attention to my TV menu screen last night and ended up 'counting' all of the different channels that have are some sort of true crime, i.e., Investigation Discovery, TrueCrime, In Session, to name a couple and some of the other channels which offer, throughout the day, different program which pertain to true crime situations.
Why are we do fascinated by true crime? I don't like to think we are truly into the gore and horrors of it - perhaps somehow we always want to see justice done or the fascinating scientific methodology that helps to find and or rule out the offender.
How many of us actually switch from a comedy these days and/or simply go directly to true crime channels when we are not watching the Law & Order/NCIS episodes?
I watch the true crime on A& E and InSession (not the trials). I also watch the History Channel when they have the program Gangland on. Very well done. And, I have watched the prison stories. If that doesnt get your attention, nothing will.
I like Dateline NBC, 20/20 WE, Investigative Reports, etc. I find them fascinating. My DH doesn't understand why I like them and I can't tell you why. But, I also watch other things. I like TCM, Nat Geo, AMC, HOuse Hunters International, the Cake Boss. And, yet, up until about 10 years ago, I didn't watch 2hours TV a week. I was a reader. My DH is an addicted TV watcher so I guess some of it wore off on me finally.
I happened to really pay attention to my TV menu screen last night and ended up 'counting' all of the different channels that have are some sort of true crime, i.e., Investigation Discovery, TrueCrime, In Session, to name a couple and some of the other channels which offer, throughout the day, different program which pertain to true crime situations.
Why are we do fascinated by true crime? I don't like to think we are truly into the gore and horrors of it - perhaps somehow we always want to see justice done or the fascinating scientific methodology that helps to find and or rule out the offender.
How many of us actually switch from a comedy these days and/or simply go directly to true crime channels when we are not watching the Law & Order/NCIS episodes?
LOL, TruTV and those true murder shows are pretty much ALL I watch on TV, outside of Jeopardy.
I am not much for sit coms. They have to be exceptionally good to grab my attention. Most are silly and fake. I do read a lot, and some of what I read is also "True Crime.' but not all.
SugarMaple asked why we are interested -or in my case fascinated with true crime.
Well first I will say that it is NOT the gore. That is often disturbing to me and sometimes hard to watch or hear.
I am both horrified and fascinated by what drives people to kill. I am especially interested when seemingly ordinary people kill. I am equally fascinated by the number of intra-family murders, and over the years, certain pasterns have begun to emerge.
Sometimes a family is "a murder waiting to happen." One recent case that falls into that category would be the Zahara Baker case. - clueless father, manipulative and unstable stepmother, a history of documented abuse - and no one did a thing! (If that were is my community I would have had her removed. I have done this before with a neighbor about twelve years ago. If you care enough it is not impossible.) The woman I reported later stabbed her common law husband and was evicted from the house where they lived, because the section eight housing was taken away. She continues to sell and take drugs and is promiscuous with both men and women,
I am also particularly interested in murders involving children because I love mine so much and I had a difficult time having them.
I majored in interdisciplinary Social Science with concentrations in Psychology, Sociology and Child and Family Studies.
I don't even own a TV, and find that "true crime" shows are heavy on sensationalism and light on substance. I prefer well-written books, because they often go much deeper into the "why" which is what interests me most. WHY do people do heinous things, what in their life, their upbringing, their thought processes, what brings them to a place where they can harm or kill other people?
As to why I find that interesting...I don't know. I think perhaps most of us humans have a "dark place" in our psyches that we never look at, never acknowledge, but are curious about. Learning about other people who do these sorts of things both affirms our faith that we could never "be like that" and gives us a little window into why.
I'm not a fan of gore either....it's not the gory details that interest me as much as the psychological profiles of perpetrators.
It's hard to say the cause for the popularity of this genre, but I suspect it is related to economic uncertainty. People are worried about themselves, their security, and their economic status, so they gravitate to entertainment that reinforces their idea that the world is a dangerous place.
It really isn't a good trend for society, though.
First, the leading networks count these shows as "news" programming. It clearly isn't news. Maybe it's factual, but it contributes nothing to our understanding of the world we live in and the forces molding events.
Second, these shows, like the proliferation of cop shows in scripted television, give people the mistaken idea that crime is going up. Not only do these shows make people more frightened than there is any reason to be, they lead people to support draconian anti-crime measures and attacks on the rights of criminal defendants, neither of which have been shown to reduce crime and both of which reduce rights for everybody.
They do not lead me to support "draconian anti-crime measures." and I do not think that crime is going up because of a "proliferation of cop shows."
But I can see that some people might think that.
I enjoy the psychological and sociological aspects of these crimes. I am also interested in reform with reference to child and family services intervention.
Though watching these shows I have drawn some conclusions of situations that may be predictive of family violence - particularly murder against children.
I personally do not watch these shows or read about these topics in a vacuum. I derive my news from a variety of sources - the newspaper, news magazines, and on television MSNBC and CBN.
I avoid Fox as though it were the plague. Because it is.
What is YOUR interest in true crime, Jack? Do YOU have an interest or are you just posting to put down something that annoys you or that you do not understand?
I really hope that's not the case. Do share with others on this forum your interest in the topic.
What is YOUR interest in true crime, Jack? Do YOU have an interest or are you just posting to put down something that annoys you or that you do not understand?
I really hope that's not the case. Do share with others on this forum your interest in the topic.
Sorry, I didn't realize that this thread was limited only to fans. You're free to ignore anything you don't agree with.
Although I will clearly [smile] be dating myself, I used to watch lots of mysteries [Burke's Law, Checkmate, and the like], I don't think I ever thought of them as 'true crime' nor cases/stories that were based on true crime. There were bad guys who robbed banks or on occasion, murdered someone, there were chase scenes, there were accomplices [a witness here and there] and then of course, the bad guy always got caught. I don't ever remember watching any of those shows where bad things happened to children either [could be wrong]. Sometimes it was trying to figure out who the bad guy was; following closely with the detective to see if "I" was right -- other times it was to figure out what made someone tick -- and generally speaking, those shows were pretty apparent--greed; jealously and perhaps alas and alack-infidelity etc.
I think there are several reasons why things have changed, programs have changed, interest and awareness in/of true crime has escalated. One element, in my opinion, is the influence of the press and TV reporting. At one time, we would simply 'read' about a crime and/or 'hear' about a crime -- now, we have chairside crime. We can watch the show In Session which not only gives a summary of cases but takes you into the courtroom to be part of the case AND it offers you the opportunity to vote re: innocence or guilt. Another element w/the press -- previously, the press reported the story - it reported the facts; however, now, at least in my opinion, not only are the facts noted in the article but the emphasis appears to be much more with sensationalism than in the past. To me, it is the sensationalism that is read and gobbled up by the public, not the facts - the facts are secondary.
The fascination w/the pathology of the person is much more prevelant too [in my opinion]- what makes someone do this or that...how can a person really think this way or that way...[at least I like to think that component is far more interesting and attention-getting than the physical elements/gore of the case.
There is, in my opinion, a difference between intrigue and fascination. One can be intrigued w/a terrific mystery [TV or book] and fascinated by the pathos of an offender - true crime.
For myself, I crossed the line w/watching TV mysteries and reading super mystery books to fascination w/true crime when I became a victim/survior of 'true [violent] crime' - and not because of the crimes themselves or the pathology of my offender [who I knew] -- my fascination was and is based on amazement that the system failed me. My new found desire to watch and read more true crime cases is primarily about my need and, too often, my angst when repeatedly, the system fails other victims.
For myself, I crossed the line w/watching TV mysteries and reading super mystery books to fascination w/true crime when I became a victim/survior of 'true [violent] crime' - and not because of the crimes themselves or the pathology of my offender [who I knew] -- my fascination was and is based on amazement that the system failed me. My new found desire to watch and read more true crime cases is primarily about my need and, too often, my angst when repeatedly, the system fails other victims.
I have a friend whose sister was murdered by a serial rapist/killer (he is doing life) and she has the opposite reaction: she will not watch true crime shows or read books about it. I'm sorry you had to deal with that.
It's hard to say the cause for the popularity of this genre, but I suspect it is related to economic uncertainty. People are worried about themselves, their security, and their economic status, so they gravitate to entertainment that reinforces their idea that the world is a dangerous place.
Interesting points (and only one person disagreed with you, sheesh don't be so sensitive!) - I wonder if interest in crime spikes during periods of economic downturns?
I do agree that crime is a sort of iconic sign, to many, of general uncertainty or end times, and danger and fear is used by many in power to influence the masses. Look at any election. Also, violence sells ("if it bleeds, it leads") and always has. People like to be voyeurs, no matter what their economic status.
Two thoughts though - violent crime has stayed constant for at least 100 years; many people just think it's more prevalent because of mass media. Second, compared to, say 100 years ago (and definitely compared to 200 or more years ago) the world is a much, much safer place for us and our children.
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