I’m not sure where the origin of our modern fascination with true crime lies, but two texts from the 60s might have had something to do with it. Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood” appeared in magazine form in 1965 and book form in 1966. Then there’s Joan Didion’s essay “Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream” which appeared in magazine form in 1966 and in her influential collection “Slouching Towards Bethlehem” in 1968.
Both of these texts are what we would probably now call literary non-fiction and both writers were also known for their novels. I recently re-read Didion’s essay and was surprised at how prescient her essay is regarding the true crime story. You can read it here, although I noticed numerous typos, so it might be worth tracking down her “Slouching” book:
Hi Frank, thanks, I'll give it a read. More than why we are fascinated by it, it would also be super interesting to read/ watch something that would explain the social-cultural aspects of the US that leads to so many serial killers. I don't think any other country compares to it, and I've always wondered why.
Hi there... Thanks for the recommendations - I am a huge fan of Mindhunter - wish they would bring it back for another season. I'll try "Perfume." I agree with you about the Dahmer docudrama and the point about the grief of the families. I recently got pulled into the Michael Peterson case and felt compelled to read about the case in many iterations because the documentary was edited in a such a way that too many pieces to the story were missing.
Hey Claudine, I found Perfume quite interesting. It's written in an easy-to-read way and in my view what Jean-Baptiste is looking for is power and be loved. Of course, in an extremely twisted way.
I’m not sure where the origin of our modern fascination with true crime lies, but two texts from the 60s might have had something to do with it. Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood” appeared in magazine form in 1965 and book form in 1966. Then there’s Joan Didion’s essay “Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream” which appeared in magazine form in 1966 and in her influential collection “Slouching Towards Bethlehem” in 1968.
Both of these texts are what we would probably now call literary non-fiction and both writers were also known for their novels. I recently re-read Didion’s essay and was surprised at how prescient her essay is regarding the true crime story. You can read it here, although I noticed numerous typos, so it might be worth tracking down her “Slouching” book:
https://www.therivetermagazine.com/some-dreamers-of-the-golden-dream/
Hi Frank, thanks, I'll give it a read. More than why we are fascinated by it, it would also be super interesting to read/ watch something that would explain the social-cultural aspects of the US that leads to so many serial killers. I don't think any other country compares to it, and I've always wondered why.
Hi there... Thanks for the recommendations - I am a huge fan of Mindhunter - wish they would bring it back for another season. I'll try "Perfume." I agree with you about the Dahmer docudrama and the point about the grief of the families. I recently got pulled into the Michael Peterson case and felt compelled to read about the case in many iterations because the documentary was edited in a such a way that too many pieces to the story were missing.
Hey Claudine, I found Perfume quite interesting. It's written in an easy-to-read way and in my view what Jean-Baptiste is looking for is power and be loved. Of course, in an extremely twisted way.