Dexter Review
We as a society wish to perpetuate empathy to all manner of characteristics including those individuals who cannot feel compassion for others.
The hit show “Dexter” revolves around a Miami forensic specialist who specializes in blood splatter, moonlighting as a serial killer. The character can feel neither emotions nor empathy for anyone around him, because of a tragic event at an early age. As the story develops, the audience learns more of the character as Dexter unravels why he cannot feel anything. We as the audience are drawn into the storyline as empathetic viewers for this unsettling character, as he journeys to find himself and his place in our society. The adopted father, who is a police officer, shows his son how to hide his killings and monstrous characteristics. Doing it so well, Dexter becomes a vigilante type serial killer, his own sister cannot even see.
Personally I am always more fascinated with character driven shows and movies, I find this show even more fascinating due to the fans falling in love with a serial killer. The show began in 2006 on the pay channel ShowTime. The show continues to get top ratings and provides Showtime its first or second most watched show. According to Nielson Co., a total of 1.8 million viewers turned in to view the season premier of Season 5, whereas another 575,000 watched the rebroadcast at 11 p.m., for the same night. This brings season fives premier of Dexter a total of 2.3 million viewers in one night.
The audience of Dexter actually shows empathy for the serial killer as he draws us into his world. The definition of empathy is “identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and motives”. We walk with Dexter to learn as he does how be becomes an unfeeling monster with compulsions to kill. His release of killing begins on animals as a child, and moves toward humans as he matures. The father, with a feeling of need takes him in and tries to protect his mentally challenged adopted son the only way he knows how. As the story unfolds, the father becomes sickened in what he has created. The audience empathy comes to Dexter, as this character does not understand why he has these compulsions, but also cannot help but release them. So Dexter releases them on other monsters in our society. This self given idea of moral justice provides him a means to live in our society. The audience understands these parameters set by his code of ethics. The storyline still puts Dexter in dilemmas of choice to follow his code of ethics or break them. The audience is given a ride of emotion, because consequences are made regardless of the provided set of chosen ethics.
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