Curiosity Killed the Cat but Satisfaction Brought It Back
It’s Friday and I just came home from school. I’m tired, I had a bad week and I’m annoyed with everything. I feel like killing someone but I’ll stick to just watching something on Netflix. I grab my soft blanket and my best friend, aka my laptop, and pull up Netflix. I start browsing for something to watch and I land on one of my favourite crime series, Forensic Files. The narrator comes on and begins to talk about the heinous murder that I see before my eyes. Next thing, I know, it is 1 am and I am still immersed in this bloody show. I can’t help but think to myself, why am I watching this and why can’t I stop?!
True-crime has gained so much popularity in today’s society, however, this genre has been around for years. It started with print and moved on to television and movies. There were books published in England as early as 1722 recounting actual crimes (Franks, 2016). Throughout the years, many books were written telling the stories of different murders. Eventually, the books turned into movies. In 1967, Truman Capote’s classic, In Cold Blood, hit the theatres making it the first ever movie of this genre and creating mass appeal (Bearden, 2015). It is constantly reinventing itself in order to keep up with the times. It has gone from print to movies to television to podcasts. The question is why are people so interested?
True-crime is popular because it gives us an adrenaline rush every time we watch it. In Psychology Today, Scott A. Bonn says, “adrenaline is a hormone that produces a powerful, stimulating, and even addictive effect on the human brain”. While watching these tv shows, adrenaline runs through our veins much like riding a rollercoaster. Even though your stomach is in knots, chills take over your body and beads of sweat are forming on your forehead, you can’t help but become addicted to this feeling. It is similar to the feeling a drug addict has when they are high. They want to constantly feel that sense of euphoria so they keep getting stoned. These nonfictional murder shows keep us on the edge of our seat and let us experience fear and thrill from the safety of our home.
You are snuggled in your bed, in the middle of the night, watching Forensic Files. It’s quiet, almost too quiet and it starts to get eerie. Scenes of discarded limbs, blood spattered on walls, a lifeless body, flash before your eyes. You start to hear your heartbeat in your ears, you feel your blood rushing throughout your body, you feel your senses have been dialed up aware of everything around you. Then, you see the murderer. They look like your next-door neighbour, an average joe. Then, they open their mouth to speak and their voice is creepy, making the hair in back of your neck stand up. When they are convicted of the murder, you let out a big sigh of relief that you didn’t know you were holding.
Women are huge fans of true crime stories. According to Dr. Amanda Vicary, a psychology professor, “women are more drawn to true crime than men.” This is because women have a “driveto survive”. They feel that by watching such programs, they may learn some techniques that can help them if they were to find themselves in such a situation. They also learn some signs on how to spot a possible killer. Women have a fear that they will be victims of crime and therefore, search for tips and tricks when watching these shows. Dr. Sharon Packer, a psychiatrist, says that “watching, listening to, or reading about real crimes could be like a dress rehearsal.” Being attacked is a real fear that women have. They often take self-defence classes and try to find different ways to defend themselves.
Everyone loves to watch mysteries and solving them too. Humans by nature like to solve puzzles. According to Dr. Katherine Ramsland, professor of forensic psychology, “most true crimes on TV and in books are offered as a puzzle that people want to solve. This gives them a sense of closure. It is also a challenge that stimulates the brain”. Even as babies, we are given puzzles as toys such as stacking rings and shape puzzles. If these toys are for kids, then, true murder mysteries are the puzzles for adults. These programs allow us to play, “armchair detective and see if [we] can figure out “whodunit” before law enforcement authorities catch the actual perpetrator.” This reminds me of myself as I have spent countless afternoons binge watching Forensics Files from my recliner, trying to solve the murders. It is a true challenge and nothing beats that feeling of satisfaction when you find out you were right all along and were able to solve the mystery. It is like putting the final piece in a puzzle.
An appeal of this genre is the fact that it is real. Unlike fictional stories, “blood shed in true crime is blood shed in our world” (Bearden, 2015). This strikes a chord with the viewers because the actions of murderers cannot be erased. The people who commit these murders are also real and “often blend into society very effectively”. They are not creature-like monsters who have saliva dripping from sharp teeth, they are average looking people that we see every day. It can be anyone from a spouse to a neighbour to just a complete stranger. The perfect example would be Ted Bundy. He was your average guy who was very charming. He was an honour student who studied psychology before he decided to study law. He had a wife and a daughter. However, despite this, he was convicted for murdering 30 women.
Humans are just curious by nature and “the desire for knowledge is physiologically arousing in the sense that the information gap between what one knows and what one wants to know makes the curious individual “thirsty” and “hungry” to know more” (Wiggin, et al., 2019). Unsatisfied curiosity leads to a desire for rewards which in turn causes indulgence. For example, since we don’t witness murders every day, then we tend to indulge in true crime and murder documentaries. We have this drive to understand the who, what, where, when, why and how. However, some people can have a dark side when it comes to satisfying the unknown. Although they can have knowledge about murder, it can be taken a step further where the person actually kills someone because they feel this is the only way to satisfy their inquisitiveness. In addition, “curiosity motivates us from a survival drive”. The more knowledge we have about certain situations, the more we are able to deal with them or avoid them altogether.
Why do we have this curiosity and fascination with evil?
It is just human nature. In fact, this has been going on since the beginning of time. The allure and interest with evil began with “Adam and Eve, who were forbidden to eat fruit from a particular tree” (Lee, et al., 2014). Basically, Adam and Eve transmitted human nature to their descendants (Lee, et al., 2014). Human nature is all about curiosity. For example, when parents tell children not to do something, they will usually end up doing it. Clinical Psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Rutha says “we’re drawn to the tension between good and evil.” Murder is one of the most fundamental taboos and one of the most heinous crimes in society. However, we are still tempted to learn every graphic detail.
Being fascinated or curious about the dark side of humanity is normal. It may feel wrong but we simply can’t look away, it is our human nature. In fact, for many people, including me, true crime shows offer a guilty pleasure and a true satisfaction. But do not get any ideas!
Works Cited
Bearden, Wade. “Jinxed and Serialed: Why True-Crime Dramas Are Making a Comeback.” Christianity Today, vol. 59, no. 6, July 2015, pp. 88–89. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLAiG0M160415001234 &site=eds-live.
Bonn, Scott A. “The Guilty Pleasure of True Crime TV.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 30 May 2016, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wicked-deeds/201605/the-guilty-pleasure-true-crime-tv.
Franks, Rachel. True Crime: The Regular Reinvention of a Genre. Vol. 1, no. 2, 2018, pp. 239– 254. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edspmu&AN=edspmu.S23807687162 00076&site=eds-live
Lee, Joseph, and M. Theol. “The Human Dark Side: Evolutionary Psychology and Original Sin.” Journal of Religion & Health, vol. 53, no. 2, Apr. 2014, pp. 614–629. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s10943-013-9805-z.
McCarthy, Erin. “12 Reasons We Love True Crime, According to the Experts.” Mental Floss, 10 Oct. 2018, http://www.mentalfloss.com/article/559256/why-we-love-true-crime.
Thorpe, JR. “Why Are People So Obsessed With True Crime?” Bustle, Bustle, 29 July 2019, www.bustle.com/p/why-are-people-so-obsessed-with-true-crime-experts-reveal-the- evolutionary-reasons-why-18138062
Wiggin, Kyra L., et al. “Curiosity Tempts Indulgence.” Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 45, no. 6, Apr. 2019, pp. 1194–1212. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1093/jcr/ucy055.
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