I Love True Crime — What’s Wrong With Me?
Disclaimer: I mention a small spoiler about the Netflix Documentary “American Murder” in this piece.
“He smothered his sleeping wife and then walked into the bedroom down the hall, where his 2 young daughters slept and killed them. He placed their lifeless bodies into his truck and buried them in an open field.”
I hear this as I’m watching Netflix’s “American Murder” this past weekend.
The documentary showcases the story of Chris Watts, who wakes up one day and murders his entire family in cold blood, and then lies about it as the evidence stacks up against him.
As I’m watching this, and devouring a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream (flavor: Netflix and Chilll’d, yes really) — I ask myself: “Wait… why am I enjoying this? This poor family is now gone. Is there something wrong with me?”
Is it normal that I derive some amount of pleasure from watching this horrific event?
As I second guess why I expose myself to true crime, the real reasons are more complicated (and less sinister or concerning) than you might imagine.
No wonder this genre of entertainment has taken off recently and is insanely popular.
You’re Not The Victim
This reason seems to be a little messed up, but if you’re being honest with yourself, it’s true.
It’s a part of human nature — you feel grateful when you’re safe and something terrible happens to another person. It’s only natural.
This reason is actually derived from stoic philosophy. If you’re feeling poorly or bad right now, just imagine all of the terrible things that could possibly be happening to you. Imagine if I had (name a terrible thing here), I would be ecstatic to just be in my current position.
This is exactly what happens when we watch or listen to true crime.
This framework can be applied to true crime quite easily. We can learn to become more appreciative for what we do have once we realize that it can all be taken away from us so quickly.
Abnormal Behavior is Fascinating
We like rare things.
In a world of so much normalcy, stories of true crime are statistically rare and not something that you experience every day. The pure scarcity of the event makes it interesting.
Take any other abnormal event, whether it’s seeing a bald eagle or maybe even a famous person in public- the simple fact that it’s rare/abnormal makes it attractive and interesting. It’s something that as the story goes on, is hard to ignore or look away from.
If we lived in a world where true crime were extremely common, it would lose it’s edge as we’d be over exposed to it, making it far less interesting.
You Stay Safe
No matter what — once the show or podcast is over, you’re safe. You’re not being attacked and you haven’t been murdered; you’re perfectly fine.
This is such a relief after getting engrossed in such a sad story.
True crime is just that, it’s real.
You get to walk away and continue on with your day while you can’t say the same for the subject of the true crime show/podcast.
You’re safely watching a True Crime documentary in the confines of your home, there is something comforting about the fact that you are bundled up and safe.
Cautionary Tale
In life, we learn from the mistakes of others.
You try hard to not be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Exposing yourself to true crime teaches you what and what not to do. Through experience, whether it’s lived or indirect, we learn how to safely function in the world.
True crime can actually teach us how to be safe. We hear so many stories and just think to ourselves:
“What were they thinking?! Of course something terrible happened because they were obviously in a sketchy place, all alone with odd characters around.”
(Not applicable to the tragic “American Murder” situation, but is for many others.)
As you continue to watch true crime, you will learn about situations where people get in trouble and maybe you’ll learn how to spot them before it’s too late. This is our brain trying to preserve our lives and keep us safe.
The Unexplained
Some true crimes are never solved.
For an hour, you get to play the detective to try and solve a mystery.
While there’s typically an abundance of information and evidence, murders are still able to get away and blend into society. This lends to the mystery/fascination angle.
In a world where surveillance, high technology, cameras, phone tracking is everywhere — it’s almost unbelievable that some people are able to get away with some of these crimes.
If you listen to the podcasts Crime Junkies or My Favorite Murder, you know that some of the crimes or murders are never solved. Even after experts and police departments spend countless hours tracking down certain leads, they’re still not able to solve the problem.
I think the human mind is naturally attracted to problem solving, which is a large part of true crime.
You get to play the role of the detective, but from your home and you’re not invested in any capacity.
It’s always important to second guess the decisions that we make.
As I was initially shocked to “remember” that I enjoy true crime, after I analyze it — I am much less concerned about this sub culture that I expose myself to pretty frequently.
As we can now see, just because you like true crime doesn’t mean that you’re a psycho or that somethings wrong with you. It means you’re normal.
Let me know your favorite true crime shows, documentaries or podcasts in the comments section.
Enjoy and stay safe!
