Okay, so I'm a little stuck.
Completely stuck would actually probably be more accurate. I have genuinely no clue what to do for this project. I guess it's mostly my own fault because hello, I can't quite go and park myself in Newark for a couple hours and see what I find. That's not really a thing that will work out too well for me, at least not that I think, anyway.
I also don't want to do just archival research. I spend a huge chunk of my time already reading up on things like this because violent crime is interesting beyond recognition, but this kind of feels like more of an opportunity to go and find something out, rather than just make connections through exciting things that other people have already done.
An experiment could totally be done with the effects of violent crime in the media... I could pick a violent movie, sit a few people down to watch it, then observe them afterwards- I could even throw in a bit of provocation, enlist a friend to be an annoyance on the street or something, but I think that all comes from me watching way too much "What Would You Do?". It might be a bit too complicated to actually go into, and with my luck I'd wind up completely throwing the results by not properly defining something, so I'll scratch that for now.
Maybe it's just my bias, but I don't think a survey would work here. Think about it, how many people would genuinely answer that they feel more violent after watching a violent film or something, or how many would answer honestly about that time they got into a fist fight while pissed out of their mind at a grad week party? Not too many, unless it was done anonymously, and even then I have my doubts.
I could do a case study, take a famous killer and see exactly how they've influenced current society and the media- like Jack The Ripper, for example. His (or her- they never found the culprit) case was one of the most influential of the time, and completely changed the way a lot of people tend to look at cases of serial killers. That seems like the most logical thing to do, at this point. I just have to decide on which killer to study, and what connections I'm going to make.
Hmmm. This could work.
Showing posts with label serial kilers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label serial kilers. Show all posts
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
Serial Killers: Why?
Okay, okay, you all got to see me be a massive nerd in class because of how much I like this topic, but seriously, once you get past the gore and terror, serial killers are fascinating. There are so many insane variations of people who fall into the topic of "serial killer" that it's so vast to study.
Example: You get people like The Zodiac killer, who killed thirty seven men and women in the 1960s-70s, and sent encrypted notes to local police forces, notes that some say were asking for help to stop. He was never caught. It's suspected he committed suicide, which is supported by the recent cracking of one of his letters. (Read the article, at least the bit at the end where the note's contents are. It's so crazy!)
Also along the same lines, is Jack The Ripper, who roamed the streets of London in the late 1880s, snatching women off the streets, killing them, and, in later murders, taking small body parts (ear, spleen, etc.). Those are "souvenirs" or "trophies" of the crime (the two terms actually mean different things, but since The Ripper was never caught, it's unclear as to which these may fall into, although it's most likely the second category). Jack The Ripper, like The Zodiac killer, sent letters to the local police forces, telling them that he (or she, there's speculation that The Ripper was a girl) had "done their work" and always addressed the letter "Dear Boss". Creepy, right? But also insanely interesting.
Then, on the flip side, there's people like The Green River Killer, who killed forty plus people, and walked away laughing once he was caught. He showed absolutely no sign of remorse.He never asked for help, and once in custody he told, proudly, of more bodies that the police hadn't even come close to finding.
It's terrifying, we can all agree, absolutely terrifying, and almost unfathomable that a person can be capable of such a horrible crime, of such horrible crimes in the plural, but it's also fascinating. How do people come to be like this? Is it the double Y theory? Is it something they're raised to do? Maybe they're born with it? (Maybe it's Maybelline? No? Awful joke? Moving on...)
So why do you think they do it? There's really no wrong answer when we're talking so generally, not about one specific person. What could be motivation? Could psychological disorders fit into it? How do sociological aspects fit into the profile of a serial killer? What do you think?
(and, if you're interested in things like this, some movies I'd definitely recommend would totally be:
Zodiac (2007 - Fincher), The Capture of the Green River Killer (2008 - Lifetime). And, if you're like Mrs. Wren and like TV over film, check out Criminal Minds. They have real F.B.I. members consulting on the show to make sure it's accurate, and they reference some of the most famous cases.)
Example: You get people like The Zodiac killer, who killed thirty seven men and women in the 1960s-70s, and sent encrypted notes to local police forces, notes that some say were asking for help to stop. He was never caught. It's suspected he committed suicide, which is supported by the recent cracking of one of his letters. (Read the article, at least the bit at the end where the note's contents are. It's so crazy!)
Also along the same lines, is Jack The Ripper, who roamed the streets of London in the late 1880s, snatching women off the streets, killing them, and, in later murders, taking small body parts (ear, spleen, etc.). Those are "souvenirs" or "trophies" of the crime (the two terms actually mean different things, but since The Ripper was never caught, it's unclear as to which these may fall into, although it's most likely the second category). Jack The Ripper, like The Zodiac killer, sent letters to the local police forces, telling them that he (or she, there's speculation that The Ripper was a girl) had "done their work" and always addressed the letter "Dear Boss". Creepy, right? But also insanely interesting.
Then, on the flip side, there's people like The Green River Killer, who killed forty plus people, and walked away laughing once he was caught. He showed absolutely no sign of remorse.He never asked for help, and once in custody he told, proudly, of more bodies that the police hadn't even come close to finding.
It's terrifying, we can all agree, absolutely terrifying, and almost unfathomable that a person can be capable of such a horrible crime, of such horrible crimes in the plural, but it's also fascinating. How do people come to be like this? Is it the double Y theory? Is it something they're raised to do? Maybe they're born with it? (Maybe it's Maybelline? No? Awful joke? Moving on...)
So why do you think they do it? There's really no wrong answer when we're talking so generally, not about one specific person. What could be motivation? Could psychological disorders fit into it? How do sociological aspects fit into the profile of a serial killer? What do you think?
(and, if you're interested in things like this, some movies I'd definitely recommend would totally be:
Zodiac (2007 - Fincher), The Capture of the Green River Killer (2008 - Lifetime). And, if you're like Mrs. Wren and like TV over film, check out Criminal Minds. They have real F.B.I. members consulting on the show to make sure it's accurate, and they reference some of the most famous cases.)
Friday, October 19, 2012
Criminology
You know how people on cooking shows will be like "Oh, good, a desert challenge, this is my playground!". Well, I've been pretty excited for this section, because serial killers and criminology are kind of my playground.
Don't give me that look, we all want to study things we like, and things like this fascinates me and it's what I know best! I mean, that's not to say I've had close contact with killers or anything... at least as far as I know... but it's where my field of study lies. I've wanted to go into go into and research criminology and serial killers and behavioral analysis and victimology and things like that since before I can properly remember. Even as we speak, one of the tabs I have open is the course requirements for the criminology department of a school I'm applying to, another for the forensic psych program, where some of the courses overlap. It's interesting beyond measure to me, which explains my excitement about this section.
I don't have an article or video or anything, though I will tell you if you're interested in serial killers or other types of criminals in mass media (i.e., crime shows), you should check out Criminal Minds, a show that runs on CBS on Wednesdays at nine, but I do have a question. For those of you who are interested in criminology and forensic psychology/sociology, what do you think the most common misconception is about crime/criminals/killers, etc.? I know it's a bit of a gory topic, but hey, I guess I can pass it off as it being close to Halloween, but I guess you guys'll all know the truth- that I genuinely like studying weird stuff.
Don't give me that look, we all want to study things we like, and things like this fascinates me and it's what I know best! I mean, that's not to say I've had close contact with killers or anything... at least as far as I know... but it's where my field of study lies. I've wanted to go into go into and research criminology and serial killers and behavioral analysis and victimology and things like that since before I can properly remember. Even as we speak, one of the tabs I have open is the course requirements for the criminology department of a school I'm applying to, another for the forensic psych program, where some of the courses overlap. It's interesting beyond measure to me, which explains my excitement about this section.
I don't have an article or video or anything, though I will tell you if you're interested in serial killers or other types of criminals in mass media (i.e., crime shows), you should check out Criminal Minds, a show that runs on CBS on Wednesdays at nine, but I do have a question. For those of you who are interested in criminology and forensic psychology/sociology, what do you think the most common misconception is about crime/criminals/killers, etc.? I know it's a bit of a gory topic, but hey, I guess I can pass it off as it being close to Halloween, but I guess you guys'll all know the truth- that I genuinely like studying weird stuff.
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