Drawn to Murder?

[ben_dy]

Dear Internet Coconspirators,

First I’ll say that I’m a 67 year old male, widowed, not in great health but I manage to get to Mass 3-4 times a week, do a bit of volunteer work, but have found that, since retirement, I do watch more television than I’ve ever done before in my life.

Now when I lived in the UK in the 1980’s I became enamored of good British murder mysteries. Particularly fond of John Nettles in “Bergerac” and who is now to be seen in “Midsomer Murders”.

About fifteen months ago I began watching “Murder, She Wrote” and I believe that I’ve seen at least 3/4 of the entire series. There are, in certain episodes anyway, a touch of what I enjoyed about some of the British murder mystery programs.

And then about a year ago I began watching “true crime” shows. I found them disturbing and fascinating. I’ve never been much of a reader of true crime books, save “Helter Skelter”, and I was shocked and fascinated by what men and women will do to one another some with no reason and some with great reasoning skill. But after a year of these programs they began to make me feel almost physically ill. Nauseous. And even a little frightened - not that I was in a position to be murdered or that I was acquiring a wish to murder, but a fright that was one of a sort of revelation: that people could be so horrible, so cruel, so careless, so unfeeling, that anything justified - if justification was even needed - murder. One murder, twenty murders. The numbers didn’t matter. The reasons didn’t matter.

And with this discomfort I felt that which JPII spoke of with such heaviness of heart - the “culture of death”.

And so in May I bought a large crucifix and hung it above my television. Some friends thought it sacrilegious to have such a sacramental so close to what, admittedly, pours forth and piles upon the ever growing culture of death. But for me it’s something that makes me think about what I’m watching.

I still watch 2-4 hours of television a day. But I find that I am not really ‘drawn to murder’ so much that I watch those shows which grew to disturb me. Oh, I still watch ANY Inspector Morse broadcast and still enjoy “Midsomer Murders” if an episode that I’ve not seen before is broadcast.

So that’s basically my ‘story’ and I wondered if there are others who were, for a while, drawn to murder - real murder as told in an hour long episode of series that exist, I suppose, to show us in detail just how horrific we can be to one another.

Have I over-reacted here? Have I seen evil on-screen and decided that there was something evil in the proliferation of telling (and in some cases, telling over and over again) the cruelties - the inhumanity - that men will visit upon their brothers?

Tell me what you think…

 

[puzzleannie]

murder mysteries used to be my major recreation, usually don’t like TV mystery movies since they are more horror, true crime, suspense than classic mysteries, except the BBC and PBS Mystery adaptations of classics. Used to read 5-6 novels a week. In the last few years since semi-retirement I have found it impossible to enjoy those authors I once liked. For one thing most authors seem to use the genre to push an agenda - womens lib, gay lib, apologetics for various immmoral and destructive lifestyles.

For another thing, the plots and actual mystery element are often secondary to the personal life and problems of the protagonist, so I find myself reading more social commentary and less mystery. Consequently the plots and resolutions are much more predictable and unsatisfying as mysteries. For another, except for some authors that are naturally good writers, the actual quality of the writing and editing has declined in general. I hold no brief for the plot and premise of DaVinci Code, but the book should be banned on the basis of abysmal writing and its author sentenced to remedial creative writing class in his local community college.
the bottom line is I am no longer fascinated by the entire genre since the element of an intellectual problem and exercise of logic is no longer a feature of mystery novels, movies or TV shows.

 

[Courtneyjo]

What has happened to the classic thrillers such as Agatha Christie? I enjoy a “whodunit” but find myself turning away from the increasingly gorey forensic shows. I am begiining to think that they give people ideas and can be a vehicle for transmitting evil. I often watched these shows, but found myself increasingly repelled, because they have reached the point where they use death for profit. The shows portray real events in stunning detail, with no respect to the person (sometimes even using the person’s real name), and then cut to a commercial to sell something.

I think you were wise to put a crucifix above your TV.

 

[chicago]

I liked the Cordelia Grey episodes which made it to PBS a few years back? Has anything more come from that series than those few early shows I saw?

 

[Peace-bwu]

I used to be fascinated by that sort of crime because I wanted to understand what made criminals like that “tick”

I used to be drawn to learning about the occult, Ghost stories, ghost hunting, voodoo, withcraft, etc. etc. etc. I was fascinated by exorcisms.

I used to be fascinated by sexuality. Although I didn’t participate in that sort of thing, and never would,I was fascinated by shows like “real sex” on HBO,

Part of it may have been an interest in psychology, an interest in understanding the flip side of Christianity, understanding human sexuality… I could tolerate all kinds of foul language in poems and novels and movies. I was an art student and was tolerant of all kinds of debase art.

I was young and uncatechised, thought I was doing the right thing by having an open mind. I assumed that nothing I could do woudl separate me from God, after all I wasnt’ actually doing any of it. I assumed that nothing I viewed or listened to would affect my morality or spirituality.

I can’t explain what happened to me, but I know when I changed. I began reading the Catechism after being married for two years, while pregnant with my first baby. I began reading teh Bible cover to cover. It changed my life. I began to realize that my interest in the occult (though I would never have participated in it) was a misguided desire to understand God better. I began to understand what the Church taught and why. I had a greater love and understanding of the Sacraments, I began to pray the rosary more fervently and more frequently. I had an adult conversion. Now all those evil things that fascinated me literally revolt me. The change was profound. I believe that it was the Holy Spirit calling me to a holy life. Those things literally repel me now, and I believe that they are actually offending The Holy Spirit, and I can feel that.

The only cop show I can stand to watch now is Law and Order, and I think that is because if focuses on the job of the police and the legal system, rather than watching the crime take place, there are episodes I have to turn off from time to time.

I can’t stand to listen to any secular music that has offensive lyrics, and I want my artwork and writing to glorify God, rather than myself or anything evil.

God called me back, closer to Him. With His grace, I listened and obeyed.