Week 15 - Stereotypes and Representation REDUX
For this week, I wanted to go back to a graphic novel that I read, and thoroughly enjoyed, in the middle of the year, My Friend Dahmer. I learned a whole lot more about Dahmer and had the chance to see the film for myself. I added a little further commentary on the story/polished it based on further findings.
"This week I decided to read My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf, which I actually had no idea was a graphic novel before it became a film just a few years ago. The book tells the story of the author Derf throughout his last few years in high school and his "friendship" with classmate Jeffrey Dahmer, who later went on to become one of America's most notorious serial killers.
Personally there's not a whole lot that stands out about the graphic novel visually. The drawings are fun/get pretty exaggerated at times and it's formatted like a normal graphic novel. The drawings are rather flat and evoke the look of a bizarre television cartoon. However, an interesting style choice throughout the book is that Jeff's face will sometimes be black/always in the shadows to indicate the darkness brewing inside of him.
Speaking of darkness, I think the book's biggest strength is the way it empathetically portrays and takes us inside the mind of Jeffrey Dahmer. In terms of stereotyping and representation, Dahmer is a teenage white boy with a ton of personal problems (family, alcoholism, killing animals, etc) who's never had a good day in his life. Dahmer is also a closeted homosexual who enjoyed fantasizing about necrophilia. In order to stand out, Dahmer pretends he has a severe mental disability and spasms. This is the only way people start to notice his existence (The Jeff Dahmer Fan Club). Soon after embarassing himself at a mall, everyone went right back to ignoring him. This is a very common backstory to a lot of well known serial killers like Ted Bundy or Ed Kemper (troubled individuals with horrible childhoods who could never figure out how to fit in/get the help they need).
After watching the film a few weeks ago, I found it to be a surprisingly faithful adaptation of the book (albiet with a few minor changes). The major story points were all there and the proper emotions hit hard. However, the movie didn't have a graphic novel/comic aesthetic to it at all. It felt more dangerous and brooding. The drawings in the book were very two-dimensional and a little goofy in some areas. It was weird to see a graphic novel translated to an indie movie that didn't evoke the same feel/style as the book.
Dahmer seemed like a very scary individual based on how he was represented in the story, but only because no one was able to recognize the fact that he needed help. Oddly enough, I feel like this semester has been the most I've ever learned about serial killers. From learning about them in a class I'm taking, to recently viewing and analyzing the new Joker film, to now reading a comic book on the subject, I feel like every day I'm constantly learning something new about these kinds of people."
Personally there's not a whole lot that stands out about the graphic novel visually. The drawings are fun/get pretty exaggerated at times and it's formatted like a normal graphic novel. The drawings are rather flat and evoke the look of a bizarre television cartoon. However, an interesting style choice throughout the book is that Jeff's face will sometimes be black/always in the shadows to indicate the darkness brewing inside of him.
Speaking of darkness, I think the book's biggest strength is the way it empathetically portrays and takes us inside the mind of Jeffrey Dahmer. In terms of stereotyping and representation, Dahmer is a teenage white boy with a ton of personal problems (family, alcoholism, killing animals, etc) who's never had a good day in his life. Dahmer is also a closeted homosexual who enjoyed fantasizing about necrophilia. In order to stand out, Dahmer pretends he has a severe mental disability and spasms. This is the only way people start to notice his existence (The Jeff Dahmer Fan Club). Soon after embarassing himself at a mall, everyone went right back to ignoring him. This is a very common backstory to a lot of well known serial killers like Ted Bundy or Ed Kemper (troubled individuals with horrible childhoods who could never figure out how to fit in/get the help they need).
After watching the film a few weeks ago, I found it to be a surprisingly faithful adaptation of the book (albiet with a few minor changes). The major story points were all there and the proper emotions hit hard. However, the movie didn't have a graphic novel/comic aesthetic to it at all. It felt more dangerous and brooding. The drawings in the book were very two-dimensional and a little goofy in some areas. It was weird to see a graphic novel translated to an indie movie that didn't evoke the same feel/style as the book.
Dahmer seemed like a very scary individual based on how he was represented in the story, but only because no one was able to recognize the fact that he needed help. Oddly enough, I feel like this semester has been the most I've ever learned about serial killers. From learning about them in a class I'm taking, to recently viewing and analyzing the new Joker film, to now reading a comic book on the subject, I feel like every day I'm constantly learning something new about these kinds of people."
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