Media Portrayals
- In 1992, Hart Fisher published a comic book titled Jeffery Dahmer: An Unauthorized Biography Of A Serial Killer. Collector's Item Issue, which the Milwaukee Sentinel described as "lurid and error-ridden." The publication sparked protests both in Milwaukee and in Fisher's home town of Champaign, Illinois. Dahmer's victims' relatives filed a lawsuit against Fisher (sometimes called "Fischer" in press reports) and his Boneyard Press for exploiting their loved ones' names and likenesses for profit without compensation, but a court eventually ruled that since the victims were dead at the time of publication, "name or likeness" laws were not applicable. In the wake of the lawsuit, Fisher eventually published sequels The Further Adventures of Young Jeffy Dahmer, Dahmer's Zombie Squad and Jeffrey Dahmer vs. Jesus Christ. Hart later discussed the controversy and confronted several family members of Dahmer's victims during two lively appearances on both The Jerry Springer Show and Sally Jesse Raphael.
- The film Jeffrey Dahmer: The Secret Life was released in 1993, starring Carl Crew as Dahmer.
- Joyce Carol Oates' novel Zombie (1995) was based on Dahmer's life.
- In 2002, the biographical film Dahmer, starring Jeremy Renner in the title role and Bruce Davison as his father, premiered in Dahmer's hometown. The film quickly went to video.
- In 2002, cartoonist John Backderf (known as Derf), who attended middle school and high school with Dahmer, produced a comic book entitled My Friend Dahmer which presents his recollections about the killer's adolescence.
- In 2003, Raw Dog Screaming Press released Harold Jaffe's 15 Serial Killers: Docufiction, which included a section on Dahmer; racism is implied as a factor in Konerak Sinthasomphone's death.
- In 2006, another film, Raising Jeffrey Dahmer, was released; the film stars Rusty Sneary as Dahmer and Scott Cordes as Lionel; the film revolves around the reactions of Dahmer's parents after his arrest in 1991.
- Dahmer was featured in the 6th episode of Discovery Channel's documentary series Most Evil.
- In 2012, a documentary called Jeff premiered, which featured interviews with Dahmer's next door neighbor, Dahmer's interrogator, and the city medical examiner, as well as fictionalized scenarios of Dahmer living in Milwaukee.
- In 2012, the NBC fantasy crime series Grimm "revealed" Dahmer was a wendigo, a cannibalistic creature.
Read more about this topic: Dahmer
Famous quotes containing the words media and/or portrayals:
“Never before has a generation of parents faced such awesome competition with the mass media for their children’s attention. While parents tout the virtues of premarital virginity, drug-free living, nonviolent resolution of social conflict, or character over physical appearance, their values are daily challenged by television soaps, rock music lyrics, tabloid headlines, and movie scenes extolling the importance of physical appearance and conformity.”
—Marianne E. Neifert (20th century)
“We attempt to remember our collective American childhood, the way it was, but what we often remember is a combination of real past, pieces reshaped by bitterness and love, and, of course, the video past—the portrayals of family life on such television programs as “Leave it to Beaver” and “Father Knows Best” and all the rest.”
—Richard Louv (20th century)