With the evolvement of the society, increase of our Planet’s population and accessibility of gained information the number of times the news about occurred serial killings escalates. It is logical to assume that the general number of active serial killers increases with time at least due to the statistical approach to the question. Based on the conducted research this work will explain what makes a serial killer kill on the example of a fictional character form a popular TV show Dexter Morgan. In order to understand the serial killer’s actions the paper will examine all of the possible issues, which initially differentiate Dexter from other people, his personal experiences, which influenced his personality, his desires and motives as a serial killer, which drive his actions, and the social circumstances, his surrounding and opportunity to be able to do what he does. Taking into account the moment presented on the photograph, the four main reasons for Dexter to kill will be discussed: initial individual’s difference and predisposition to kill, occurred psychological trauma, capabilities and controlled opportunities to kill, and distinctive established behavior and self recognition.
Individual’s difference and predisposition to kill
When we look at the photo, the first thing to notice is the main character right in the middle of the scene. The viewer’s sight turns to Dexter, who definitely stands out from the crowd. First of all, he is separated from others with red net; he is standing in front of it, when the rest is standing behind, as if Dexter thinks different and knows something others can only attempt to experience. Dexter is like no other in the room, and the picture highlights this point.
The numerous scientific studies have proven that those individuals “who had been convinced of a murder with aggressive or antisocial disorders showed distinct brain activity compared to those who were considered normal”, which brings out the assumption that killers must have born with a completely different genetic make up (Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture). The idea that murders manage and process information differently was explained with help of functional MRI to visualize their brain activity. The relationship between the orbital frontal context, which was admitted to control and deter the emotional explosions, the anterior cingulated cortex, which was supposed to be responsible for the reactions to conflicts, and the amygdale, which was dealing with reactions to fear, was noticed (Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture). The results have shown that the anterior cingulated cortex and orbital frontal cortex brain activities of violent subjects were greatly reduced or completely absent if to compare to the subjects, who were considered normal, while the amygdale activity stayed on the same level, or went higher (Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture). Thus, when we look at Dexter, we can clearly see the strained red threads, which can symbolize the unique way of Dexter’s thoughts processing. The only reason he is so good at work, is because of his ability to think as a killer, which Dexter admits numerous times. He knows, how the blood spots appeared, he knows exactly, what type of physical damage was caused to victim in order for each of them to occur. He sees the direct correlation between the attempts, actions and results; he can evaluate that since he is one of the killers himself. The picture highlights his understanding with strained red threads, which do both: lead from blood spots to Dexter and pots Dexter’s vision of cause and effect. Meanwhile, due to the non-functional neural pathways, which are aimed to process the signs of human affliction, Dexter does “not identify with the emotional distress of (his) victims” (Layton). Returning to the picture we can notice, that Dexter is the only one having a neutral facial expression. While the other fine characters in a picture express curiosity, disgust, attentiveness, interest and alarm, and show closed body language with crossed hands, Dexter is standing completely opened, his face is saying nothing, his hands are lowered, he seems relaxed and peaceful. Another academic point to support such conclusion would be that psychopaths “typically have a low resting heart rate”, which can be a result of their emotional detachment (Pemment). The murder does look detached, he does not even tend to notice that he is a centre of everyone’s attention; he does not illustrate any emotion or sign of involvement.
Occurred psychological trauma
Researches of various studies agree on the fact that the majority of serial killers were abused as children. The impact of emotional trauma had been studied: “the subject has to be discussed in terms of the continuous and complex interactions between an organism and its environment, and the relevant contributions of both sets of variables in determining the behavior of the organism” (Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture). Dexter had his mother killed right in front of him. Being a child, he, perhaps, could just forget the horrifying experience; however, that event damaged him in a way, which made him a serial killer. As Jeffrey Cohen stated “the monster is born at this metaphoric crossroads, as an embodiment of a certain cultural moment – of a time, a feeling, and a place” (Cohen), Dexter became a whiteness of a murder at the very young and dramatic age, moreover, the most sacral person of his was taken away, and he had to experience all that in the middle of nowhere, where nobody to comfort him was present. And that was the moment a victim started transforming into a murder.
Even though, Dexter was raised by a police officer, who taught him everything, and for sure, accepted him, Dexter was lonely and emotionally isolated from the world around. This can be noticed when we take a closer look at the picture: a step father was the only person, who truly knew and supported Dexter, so after his death, Dexter had to continue talking to him, seeing him and listening to father’s opinion, because he had no one else to open to. The step father is present on the picture, because he is always following Dexter, warning him about danger and guiding to safety. Though, the step father is not real. Dexter does not have real friends: the experienced shock and childhood abuse had lead to “social isolation, learning difficulties, self-control issues” (Gerber).
“Without any substantial social structure in his life, the killer is unable to embark on a normal (sexual) relationship, and thus is forced into solo (sexual) activities” (Gerber). Dexter has to act on his own, because the society would reject him, his vision and his needs are not understood, and he has to isolate himself from others in order to survive. The picture clearly demonstrates Dexter’s isolation from others: he tries to be the same; he is even wearing all black, like others do, but he is separated with red threads. Those threads, the direct line of a murder story, mean more for Dexter than the people, who surround him. His threads and he go first on the foreground, it is all about their relationship, and the people are just the background.
“They are typically social isolates. They very rarely have close friends or confidants. They almost never have an intimate relationship, although they sometimes have had brief relationships, which have usually failed” (Lende). Researchers have also noticed that due to the lack of meaningful relationships, psychopaths were looking for comfort in violent actions towards animals as they were kids: “those who were animal abusers were five times more likely to commit acts of violence such as assault, rape, and murder against others. What was understoodis that serial killers in their childhood would resort to killing animals because they felt powerless” (Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture). From a TV show we know, that Dexter used to act out his violent fantasies on animals; those were the first sits of his Dark passenger to reveal. He was founding comfort in such actions, receiving pleasure and relief, and understanding his difference made Dexter even more isolated from the society.
Capabilities and controlled opportunities to kill
If taking a close look at the picture, we can notice that Dexter’s posture is open and powerful in comparison to others. His hands are open and his fingers are spared as if he is gaining the power from the atmosphere of his comfort. Truly, the scene is comfortable for him, since this is Dexter’s daily duty to be dealing with blood.
Dexter is well prepared to kill: he is well educated, even though the majority of serial killers did not have a higher educational background; Dexter is in a good physical shape, which gives him advantage over his victims; he obtains a perceptual affordances of the needed materials and information due to his position at the police office; moreover, Dexter has trust of his colleagues and his sister. “In each of its applications it makes it possible to perfect the exercise of power. It does it in several ways: “because it can reduce the number of those who exercise it, while increasing the number of those on whom it is exercised” (Foucault). Dexter is using FBI’s data base to hunt his victims, who are complete strangers to him, so he is never directly suspected, because the motive can’t be found.
Distinctive established behavior and self recognition
As Cohen stated “monsters must be examined within the intricate matrix of relations that generate them” (Cohen). Because of being traumatized, Dexter lives within his fantasies: “victims of abuse and rejection, serial killers find comfort in their fantasies and reams that take them into a realm that only they can control” (Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture). Dexter does not have any positive fantasies from his childhood (Gerber), as the impact of negative one is too strong. As the result, Dexter has adjusted his behavior, customs and tactics in order to have a safe opportunity to constantly keep bringing his fantasies to life without getting caught.
Freeman identifies “two ways of identifying serial killers: one based on motive and one based on organizational and social patterns” (Freeman). On one hand, Dexter can be viewed as act-focused killer, because of the actual short-term killing process he is used to commit. Dexter kills to kill, he needs to get his relief in order to act normal, and otherwise, the dark passenger may take over the control. Killing for Dexter is the necessity, which brings temporary peace. On the picture the hero is illustrated as the most relaxed; the blood is already squirted; the murder is already completed; the killer is satisfied and pacified: “through the body of the monster fantasies of aggression, domination, and inversion are allowed safe expression in a clearly delimited and permanently luminal space” (Cohen). In this category of an act-focused killer, Dexter can be related to both a visionary and a missionary killer. He falls for visionary type, because he constantly has his dark passenger present, whom Dexter has to satisfy, while the ghost of his step father tells him exactly how the killing is supposed to be done (Freeman). Dexter’s ghost is pictured in a careful, patient and concentrated manner, as if he is absorbing all of the incoming information before releasing the verdict. The ghost stands on the very back, keeping his fingers together, listening and watching the rest of the room. For sure, we can see the direct impact of ghost’s directions on Dexter’s actions. Dexter trusts the ghost, he respects it. At the same time, the recognized killer can also be described as a missionary type of a murder, due to his clear decision to kill only the “bad guys” (Freeman). Dexter knows that the system is not perfect, otherwise his dark passenger would have never been born, and Dexter uses the system’s imperfection to define his own judgment, he straggles for a violent justice and he is proud of doing so. On the picture he may be compared to a saint: his posture can be compared with an angel who is just about to get off the ground, he is emotionless, because he believes his actions are for good.
On the other hand, Dexter can be related to the process-focused serial killer, since he gets thrilled with the murder technique he had developed and the actions he had to take, while preparing for the murder (Freeman). Dexter is very organized killer, perhaps, this is the first reason of his success as a serial killer. The white container on the picture represents the desire to stay “clean”, to keep everything under control, and the carefully located red threads tell about the constantly present accuracy of Dexter’s actions. When preparing for the murder Dexter carefully studies his victim in order to be confident about his choice: he looks for the evidence of victim’s previous crimes, so he feels better when the victim is eliminated. Farther, Dexter is setting up the time and place for the crime. He always brings the unconscious victim to the cultivatable crime scene. The murder needs to make sure, no evidence of his own crime is ever left, so he covers the room with layers of oilcloth: that way the blood spots will tell nothing, because they won’t be there. Tied and naked victim has a chance for testimony first: sometimes, they confess, sometimes, they lie, but during those moments Dexter communicates with someone of his one type, so he analyses them. These actions again underline his loneliness, as well as highlight the atmosphere of a holy mission (the victims confess before their death). Then, Dexter kills. He uses the knife, to be able to feel it, observe blood, but to make it fast. When it is all over, the killer takes a small souvenir, an emotional attachment to the experienced pleasure, a victim’s blood spot. Later, the body will be cut into pieces and trashed to the bottom of the ocean.
Meanwhile, from the perspective of a killer’s personality, Dexter can be viewed as an expert manipulator and the average Joe (Myall). First of all, this man is extremely good in applying “psychopathic traits such as charm, manipulation, and intimidation” (Pemment). Again, returning to the scene picture, Dexter is being viewed; however, observers’ facial expressions create a feeling as if they are trying to figure him out. The murder is standing under the light, his coworkers and friends are all angled toward him and look at him with expressions of wonder and disgust to assume he could possibly be one of their suspects. Despite all of the webs leading to Dexter, nobody feels comfortable enough to question him, because Dexter has always been using his “frightening ability to manipulate those around them, pressing the right buttons in order to present themselves in a false light” (Myall). He has always been lying and hiding behind a well prepared back-up story. Dexter has been manipulating his sister all this time as well, and due to her reputation, Dexter is the last person to be doubted.
However, the scariest fact about the man in the middle is that he “looks like a pillar of the community on first sight” (Myall); such people would rarely be initially accused of assault: “they don’t tend to have problems with alcohol and drugs. They’re certainly not impulsive, quite the reverse. These are rather rigid, observational individuals who plan everything extremely carefully” (Lende). As it was already mentioned earlier, for the society Dexter is a good guy, who brings donates to the office, helps people by analyzing killers, tries going out and even gets married at some point. He completes a big piece of work pretending he is normal. But his secret desires control his essence and the right for happiness.
Speaking of Dexter’s inner motivation we can again return to the picture. It is clear that all of the attention is turned to the murder, and the murder is not hiding. Dexter is standing right under the lamp, in the center, everybody is emotionally observing him, while, he is being confidently calm and peaceful, his hands are open and his pose reminds a saint. Knowing the TV show plot, we are familiar with Dexter’s permanent instability and deep desire to become like everybody else. However, once he found his normal happiness when settled down for a family, the outside world had showed him flanges: his wife was violently murdered, while his little son had to repeat Dexter’s story and become a witness of that. Dexter already begun to “believe that this emotionally barren world that surrounds it is something normal” (Gerber). Perhaps, Dexter’s body language is trying to tell us, he wants to be caught, so his mental sufferings can be finished, maybe, he finally can rest in peace, knowing that it is all over, and the world will reward him for his duty: “perhaps most important of all, these people are on a project to suicide. They go out there to die, and they go out to die literally in what they see as a blaze of glory” (Lende).
After the research was completed the detailed analysis of Dexter’s Morgan reasons to kill was made. As the result, I have come to a conclusion, that a fictional serial killer, who works at Miami FBI department, collects a standard for the majority of serial murders package of reasons to continue killing, such as: child neglect, the received trauma of loss, developed Antisocial Personality Disorder and schizophrenia, loneliness, personal hater of the society, and individual’s mission.
Works cited:
“Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture. How Serial Killers Are Born”. American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. (2014). Web. 19th of April, 2016.Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome. “Monster Culture: Seven Theses.” Readings for Analytical Writing. Comp. Christine Farris, et al. Bedford/St. Martins, 2008. 105-23. Print. 20th of April, 2016.Foucault, Michel. “Panopticism.” Readings for Analytical Writing. Comp. Christine Farris, et al. Bedford/St. Martins, 2008. 196-224. Print.Freeman, S. “How Serial Killers Work”. How Stuff Works: Culture. (2nd of October, 2007). Web. 18th of April, 2016.Gerber, B. “10 Most Common Traits of Potential Serial Killers”. LISTVERSE. (2nd of January, 2013). Web. 21th of April, 2016.Myall, S. “What Makes a Serial Killer? Five Types of Killer Personality from the Charmer to the Power Junkie”. Mirror.co.uk. (24th of July, 2015). Web. 18th of April, 2016.
Lende, D. “Inside the Minds of Mass Killers”. Plos Blogs: Neuroanthropology. (24th of July, 2012). Web. 20th of April, 2016.
Pemment, J. “What Would We Find Wrong in the Brain of Serial Killer?”. Psychology Today. (5th of April, 2013). Web. 22nd of April, 2016.
Layton, J. “Do Criminal Psychopaths Enjoy Other People’s Fear or just not Notice It?”. How Staff Works: Science. (7th of December, 2006). Web. 21st of April, 2016.
