According to English professor David F. Schmid, American television viewers don't spend much time contemplating what draws us to the murder-mystery genre.
By indulging in these shows, viewers simply enjoy the suspense and fail to recognize that the premise is a homicide, while resting on the security that justice is served in 50 scripted minutes.
In his recent publication Natural Born Celebrities: Serial Killers in America, Schmid explores the perverseness of our obsession with serial killers and delves into the unconscious of the American public.
"You can tell a lot about a culture by the way they treat violence and crime," said Schmid.
Schmid, who hails from England, attributes his interest in the topic to the bombardment of serial killers as American popular-culture figures in the 1980s. His studies have given him a way to understand his adopted country. Jeffrey Dahmer is one notorious figure from this era who has influenced Schmid's interests.
He found the case of Aileen Wurnos, subject of the 2003 movie Monster, especially compelling.
As he delved into the case, Schmid found underlying questions that concerned the matters of gender roles and the differences between how men and women are treated within the judicial system. It also raised questions of sexuality and child abuse and their effect on the human mind.
According to Schmid, the scary part of American culture is that public idols are an indicator of their moral compass. Schmid's research centers on the concept of the "Celebrity Serial Killer."
"The term comes from the sense that we are a culture defined by celebrities," Schmid said. "Anywhere you look you can see that we put them on a pedestal - we are run by celebrity."
Schmid referenced the JonBenet Ramsey case to illustrate his point. In recent memory, John Mark Karr became a celebrity overnight after claiming to be the murderer of JonBenet Ramsey. His claim was later refuted.
"Serial killers have greater name and face recognition than most people, and we treat them as celebrities. We track their every word," Schmid said.
He believes his approach to research is unique. He operates on the premise that all previous research is incorrect, encouraging him to approach data with an objective point of view. Schmid tends to resist collaborating with any other authors.
"I found that there was a lot of research concerning serial killers, however, none really looked at it from the perspective that we view serial killers as celebrities," Schmid said. "Reality is very different than what is portrayed in popular culture. I aim to point out inaccuracies."
Schmid's upcoming projects will follow along the same lines as Natural Born Celebrities. His new book, Murder Culture: Why Americans are Obsessed by
Homicide, will examine what function homicide serves in our culture.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
