Chapter
1
INTRODUCTION
A.
Background of the Study
There
was a saying by
Filmmaker Abel Ferrara;
Violence
is cinematic. It's like putting mustard on a hot dog. Serial
killers are often described as people who murdered their victims
three or more in a period of more than a month with downtime between
murders, before we dig deep in on what is a serial killer we must
first differentiate what Is a serial killer from the other names like
spree killer and mass murderer which the most people would mistakenly
take them as the same. Now a serial killer kills in a sequential
manner, with the killings separated on a long period of time, while a
mass murderer kills a several people In a single event and for a
spree killer, just like the serial killer they kill in a sequential
manner but what makes them different is a serial killer will
return to normal activity between killings
while a spree killer will not.
This
research will tackle specifically on serial killers, It
is also important to note that serial killers are not a new
phenomenon in so called civilized societies. They are not something
created by industrialization or advancing technology, but something
more readily revealed through industrialization and advancing
technology. There are recorded accounts of serial killers in the
fifteenth century, such as Gilles de Rais (Gribbon, 2005).
Looking
further back into history, using today's definition of serial killer,
it is likely many more serial killers would be discovered, where
records could be analyzed.
According
to the article, Natural
Born Celebrities by David Schmid
“Serial
Killers are natural born celebrities, they're existence is famous in
contemporary American culture, now a serial
murder is something that is being done by a serial killer occuring
over a period of time at different places, whose motive is not for
material gain and there is usually no connection between the victim
and the killer. (http://press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/738671.html
)”
If
we would think about it is somehow true that they are natural born
celebrities maybe because of the media helping them out be famous and
the serial killers helping them out as well by making them lots of
money. We can see a lot of serial killer story especially in
television and films.
Now movie making or
movies is a unique medium among all tools of the trade, it has been a
factor on why there is Celebrity serial killers. It is a medium
defined by the representation of acts of violence and by the presence
of stars.
Even
television networks have continuously made profit from the serial
killers' lives by having famous actors and actresses play them on TV
shows and in movies because public people finds the life of a serial
killer to be interesting and with the heinous acts that they portray,
it gives the media reason to put them on display.
In
a article I have read called Serial Killer vs Media: A Symbiotic
Relationship? By Morgan Summerfield “All this being
said, it would seem the easy answer is yes, serial killers have an
impact on the media…they make them money. Yet, when one reverses
the question, some troubling thoughts come to mind. Most serial
killers are egotistical, desire attention, want people to know and
understand that they are "all powerful." Doesn't the media
feed this ego and even inflate it with sensational headlines such as
"Green River Killer Outsmarts Police"? Given all the media
coverage, articles, books, movies and websites devoted to serial
killers there is a do it yourself library available for the serial
killer wannabe (Anonymous c, 2005). In an era where the media has so
much power to influence and so many people fail to think and just
accept information provided by the media, isn't there a risk that the
media is helping to "create" more serial killers?
(http://voices.yahoo.com/serial-killer-vs-media-symbiotic-relationship-12879.html?cat=7)”
It
discussed how serial killers and the media is kind of a two way
street wherein both takes care of each other. The
serial killer impacts the media and the media impacts the serial
killer. Together they impact society
The representation of
violence or serial killers in film or television is so centralized.
By constructing it's history we'd be able to track and enumerate the
factors making serial killer popular in film and television.
Having
background information on the popularity of the serial killer genre
would help people understand such trend and thus making them fit to
make a story for films or television similar to the serial culture
tackled in this research.
The purpose of this paper
is to enumerate and discuss the factors affecting the popularity of
serial killers in television and films.
B.
Statement of the Problem
This
study aims to answer this question:
1.
What are the factors affecting the popularity of serial killers in
television and films.
C.
Significance of the Study
Film
Students. This research paper
would be able to help students in college taking up courses regarding
films. They would be able to gain knowledge about the culture and
trends portrayed from this study thus giving them insights for them
to make such particular films in the future.
Film
Makers. Film Makers will
benefit from this study in regard to knowing certain key information
in making related films specific to this research. They would be able
to apply such information to their work.
Screen
Writers. This study would be
able to help screen writers in such that they would have knowledge in
writing films related to this research, they would be able to
understand how this particular genres of film work and could apply to
their manuscripts.
Future
Researchers. Future researchers
would benefit because this will help them with their future study and
this study can also act as a backbone or foundation.
D.
Scope and Limitations
This research will
focus on the factors involved on why such genre; serial killers on
film/television are very popular.
This study will only be
discussing the media of film/television with serial killers and no
other genres.
E.
Materials and Methods
- This research employs a Descriptive method since the researcher aims to give factors on how serial killers are very popular. This method is the process of gathering analyzing, classifying and tabulating about prevailing conditions, trends, processes and making adequate and accurate interpretation about the data.
F.
Definition of Terms
Serial
Killers. is
traditionally defined as a person who has murdered three or
more people over a period of more than a month, with down time
(a "cooling off period") between the murders.The motivation
for killing is usually based on psychological gratification.
Screen
Writer. is a writer who practices the craft
of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass
media such as films, television programs, comics or video
games are based.
Film
Maker. is the process of making a film. Film making
involves a number of discrete stages including an
initial story, idea. It involves scriptwriting, casting,
shooting, editing, and screening the finished product
before an audience that may result in a film release.
Film
Director. is a person who directs the making of a film.
Generally, a film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic
aspects, and visualizes the script while guiding the technical crew
and actors in the fulfillment of that vision.
Audience. is
a group of people who participate in a show or
encounter a work of art, in this case film.
Plot. it's
the events that make up a story, particularly as they relate to one
another in a pattern, in a sequence, through cause and effect.
Chapter
2
Discussion
I.
Definition and factors affecting the popularity of serial killers in
television and films.
Robert Ressler coined
the term “Serial Killer”, the purpose was to label or to provide
clarity of repetitive murders at different series of time. For years,
people are fascinated by serial killers. Every people have their own
notion on what serial killer is and how they operate there is always
something more than meets the eye.
A typical serial killer
being portrayed in film and television are those who is brutal, who
kills their victim in a very unexpected way.
There's
an article written by Morgan Summerfield entitled
“Serial Killer vs Media”
“How
does all this fame come to fruition? Why all the attention? The
serial killer and the profiler are celebrities in today's society.
The more sensational the case, the more coverage it receives
(O'Connor, 2005). Even over time, the stories of serial killers past
are brought back to "life" in the media (Bell, 2005). The
modern day serial killer seeks out attention for his or her acts and
the media obliges with as many gory details as they can surmise. The
public has a fascination with that which is not "normal."
Just look at the popularity of Ripley's Believe it or Not. The
initial sight of the two-headed dog may set us back, but we keep on
looking. Humans are curious by nature. The media knows and feeds on
this curiosity. The consumer or individual must take some
responsibility for fostering and encouraging the media to pursue
horrific stories. If circulation didn't go up every time some heinous
act was committed and reported, the media would be less likely to
pursue such stories.
(http://voices.yahoo.com/serial-killer-vs-media-symbiotic-relationship-12879.html?cat=7)”
He
discussed how people are attracted by gruesome stuff but yet somehow
we don't find it really gruesome instead people are attracted to it
and usually comes back for more. He also added the people are curious
by nature, we are like cats but we don't have 9 lives. He then said
that the media knows about this curiosity, and that's why the media
are always making heinous film and series.
II.
Factors affecting the popularity of serial killers in television and
films.
A.The
Villain and Hero Story.
A reason today why
Serial Killer series and films are widely spread in the world is they
have something that people likes to watch. The Villain and the hero,
obviously the serial killer is the villain, you might think that the
police is the hero, you might be right but in today's trend, they are
called the “serial killers profilers” whom are made famous by
movies like “The silence of the lambs”, TV series like Hannibal.
In an article by Rose
Rosenbaum
entitled Why
america loves serial killers
:
“And
then there are those pseudo-scientific charlatans, the "serial
killer profilers" made heroes by The
Silence of the Lambs and
the bullshit best-sellers they write who claim to have fathomed the
source of human evil in bromides like "low self-esteem" and
"abusive family situations." The profilers get to be heroes
because they convince Americans that however much evil is out there,
however many serial killers, these specters are not unfathomable.
Rather, they are explicable, capable of capture both physically and
psychologically by these brilliant knights in scientific armor who
can put the killers under the microscope and deliver us from evil.
(http://www.slate.com/articles/life/the_spectator/2011/04/why_america_loves_serial_killers.3.html
)“
He
discussed how profilers are the heroes of serial killer movies and
series. They are the one who saves the day and this is what makes the
audience long for more, the idea of violence and a hero who stops
violence has been the sole foot of the media industry, but audiences
are not necessarily attracted to violence per se, but seem to be
drawn to violent content because they anticipate other benefits, such
as thrill and suspense. We are not really attracted to violence but
how the characters in the movie and series faces the violence we
perceive it as a meaningful acts of courage and see profilers as
heroes.
B. Change in Creative
artists.
New young artists are
getting exposed in the film industry bringing fresh and exciting
plots. In an article called Serial Killer Culture: The Movie by
Katherine Ramsland, she interviewed John Borowski who's just
finishing up his fourth film. John Borowski said:
“My
interest in serial killers is a combination of growing up watching
horror films and my curiosity of morbid and macabre subjects, which
can range from the stories of Edgar Allen Poe to the films of Alfred
Hitchcock. In making films on serial killers, I hope to attempt to
understand them and their actions. They are human beings just like
all the rest of us and I feel it is society's responsibility to
attempt to understand them and not just execute them so they are out
of sight, out of mind.
There
must be a reason for their existence and I’m attempting to figure
that out. Maybe there is no answer, but I find their lives
fascinating, especially the serial killers with interesting
psychological components. Gein, Nilsen, Dahmer, and Fish I find the
most interesting because their actions are not only extreme and
bizarre, but there seems to be definite trauma in
their past which can be referenced to in causing their actions as a
murderer.
(http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/shadow-boxing/201302/serial-killer-culture-the-movie)”
Motivated people like John is the on
responsible for bringing new ideas in the film industry. Artists like
John are fueled with passion with their chosen medium they think
beyond borders on what they do some might think of it as risk since
they do not know if the public will like it or not and yet they are
the ones coming up to the top. This type of people are affecting the
serial killer trend in the film and television industry. He is
specifically fascinated in the serial killer culture in movies.
Even new actors/actresses are
portraying old serial killer characters like Hannibal whos previously
played by Anthony Hopkins is now being played in a series called
Hannibal by Mads Mikkelsen, whom which portrayed Hannibal very
differently to Hopkins which gave the character a whole new meaning.
People are getting more interested in new faces since the public
wants new, fresh and exciting stories which fits perfectly.
C. Advancement of technology used in television and films.
With a lot of things
changing day by day it is somehow hard to get tracked of today's
technology.
An
article entitled How
has technology changed the entertainment industry?
By Stephen
Tobolowsky,
He said:
“Technology's
changed everything. In just a physical sense, there is the
possibility of a lot more, and a lot less being done. You take
cameras. It used to take four men to operate a camera.
Now, with high def, one man. That means 75 percent of the
workforce is looking for a job. The medium has changed.
The type of entertainments people seek have changed.
You could almost see the focal
point of where the truth is changing. For example, back in my
heyday film was the thing. That was the cauldron where ideas
and great performances were created. Now, film is kind of
recycling '60s and '70s television shows -- for movies based on video
games. It's not really the cauldron of great ideas anymore.
Now, in a way, the cauldron of great ideas is cable TV. Who
would have thunk it? That you can actually come the closest to
creating a novel -- something like "Six Feet Under," or
"Deadwood," or "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
The
changes in technology have made it inexpensive enough to create
novels in this novel way. That has been a huge change. I
think the Internet is going to continue to change what the actor's
role is. That's why, for me, it's always important to know not
just what project you're working on, but what story you're telling.
Because that is going to guide your
path.(http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/how-technology-changed-entertainment-industry)”
He discussed how the
changes in technology brings a large effect in the film industry
making things inexpensive, Stephen Tobolowsky is both an actor and a
writer with vast experiences in the film industry he explained how
today's technology gives a new way of giving entertainment. People
can practically make a film within a few days with todays modern
gadgets. Advance workflow has been introduced in ways that there was
no more limit in imaginations, every serial killers fantasy is being
accomplished by visual effects. TV series like Hannibal uses a lot of
visual effects that emphasize the personality and the portrayal of
how Hannibal kills, it was brutal in a way that it's an art.
Practical effects is not something the people in film industry have
given up on but having the advancement in technology definitely put a
notch more in film making.
Chapter
3
Summary,
Conclusions and
Recommendations
Recommendations
Summary
This
paper attempted to determine the different factors affecting the
popularity of serial killers in film and television.
The
research design used in this study is the descriptive method where
data from several different online articles was used to answer
the following research question that was stated. The research
finds are the
following:
1.
Serial killer films should take inspiration from serial killers from
the history, since they are usually inspired by real serial killers
from the past, some are greatly exaggerated to catch the public's
interest.
2. Today's Serial
killers film and series uses a great deal of visual effects to
emphasize brutality and the manner of killing by a certain serial
killer, which should every film maker take in to consideration.
3. Film-maker should
have a continuous flow of ideas since the public tends to get tired
of over-done stories, by watching serial killer movies and series
it'd be easy to create a new stories based upon already made story.
Conclusions
Based on the finding of
this study, the conclusions are drawn:
1. People are attracted
to Villain and Hero type of stories, especially if the story is very
unexpected also film-makers should take into consideration the type
of viewers they prefer to view the film.
2. The use of visual
effects in modern films and television has a big impact on portraying
the personalities of Serial killers. Film-makers should take regard
of the post production side of making film; from the quality to
color, from art production to context of the script.
3. More young screen
writers are appearing and knows what the young wants in term of
content thus giving out satisfaction to audiences.
4. The audience/public
wants new ideas everyday, a continous flow of ideas regarding
scriptwriting and film making approaches should be kept high with the
fast phase of today's technology.
Recommendations
After
drawing the conclusions of the study, the researchers hereby make the
following suggestions/recommendations:
1. One should know the
personality of a given character in order for it to work not only the
character but the taste of the audience as well. In order for this to
work, one should make research about different profiles of serial
killers and applying it to the subject.
2. Audience loves the
hero losing. This type of story trend should be considered by those
who plans to make a similar film or series.
3. Film makers should
take time researching about the particular genre. They should take
time in watching similar films in order to have an in-depth knowledge
and understanding of the films for one to be able to easily make a
similar approach.
4. Substance is a
crucial thing in serial killer genre. The audience take interests in
a very smart approach in scripts and story telling. Filmmakers should
keep the story interesting by putting ideas that are never before
been attempted.
5. Film-makers should
take in consideration the three part of production. Pre-production,
by having a well written script it is easy to take the audiences
interest. Production, with today's latest technology, film-makers
should take advantage of the modern gadgets and the benefits of
digital film-making. In post-production, Visual effects is a trend
that hollywood has been perfecting for years, with this approach not
only you differentiate your film from a low budget and a high budget
but you also get more attention since it is what the public today Is
looking for.
References:
Electronic Media
Ania Albhorn Nov 14,
2012, Serial Killers: Fascination or Fear?, Retrieved Dec 10 2013,
From
http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/11/serial-killer-fascination-or-fear-ania- ahlborn- thriller-true-crime-film-sex-crime-book-to-screen
Ron Rosenbaum April 28,
2011 Why America Loves Serial Killers, Retrieved Dec 10 2013, From
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/the_spectator/2011/04/
why_america_loves_serial_killers.3.html
Morgan Summerfield Dec
12, 2005 Serial Killer VS Media: A symbiotic relationship, Retrieved
Dec 10 2013, From
http://voices.yahoo.com/serial-killer-vs-media-symbiotic-relationship-12879.html?cat=7
David
Schmid 2005 Natural Born Celebrities Serial killers in American
Culture, Retrieved Dec 10 2013, From
http://press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/738671.html
