Is dramatising real crime for tv really ok?!

[Blinkingbatshit]

There’s been an increased trend over the past couple of years to dramatise crimes that took place in real life. I’ve just seen that they’re currently filming a drama series on the Soham murders - surely surely this isn’t ok? The poor poor families of those poor girls - as if they need everything being rehashed for ‘entertainment’!! I feel more than ever that society is really broken as it seems there are more than a few people that think making drama & money out of this terrible incident whilst the parents & siblings are still alive is in anyway acceptable☹️

I assume that the family have given permission for this series to be made, and might even have a consultancy role in it behind the scenes. I really don't think dramatizations of events like the Soham murders are produced with no consent from the family.

I am always aghast and horrified there is a market for these ghoulish programmes. How emotionally dead must you be find entertainment in someone’s real life nightmare? As the parent of a murdered child, the viewers of these programmes disgust me as much as the makers.

I agree OP- even with the permission/ input of families it doesn't mean it's done so without upset.
There was a case local to me dramatised not too long ago- not everyone in the family agreed to it, so the content was skewed to the views of those family members who were happy to work with the producers. It caused a lot of further upset due to what they saw as misrepresentation.
It's possible some are done with full consent/ agreement, but those who don't agree are often left without a voice which further adds to the trauma.

I thoroughly dislike these programmes and would never watch one. I cannot understand the appeal at all nor how people can find them anything other than extremely distressing.

It depends on the wishes of the family, how much time has passed and the motives behind making the drama. Sherwood on BBC1 has been excellent but I know one family were unhappy, even though it was heavily fictionalized and the character had little in common with real events, aside from a murder of a newlywed, whereby the person responsible hid in the woods. Detainment, based on the James Bulger police interviews, was very well acted but at a cost - the further hurt to his Mum.

I think sometimes it's important. The Rotherham one (Three Girls?) for example.

@HeadNorth I am so sorry.

I don't understand why anyone wants to watch programmes/films or read books with a murder theme. So strange.

@XenoBitch I wish what you were saying were correct but sadly there are many instances where it’s not. And in the event they do bother to ask is it ok if, say the parents have subsequently divorced and one says yes & one says no? Or if adult siblings say yes and parents say no?
@HeadNorth I’m so terribly sorry💐.

Oh no, I'd hate for that to be on TV. I know what you mean OP, and even mentioned recently to my DH about how soon after events a film/drama seems to op up - it's ghoulish, but humans are naturally drawn to such events and wanting to understand them.

I did read Kevin Wells book, it was heartbreaking. He wrote very well and I understand why he chose to share his story, although he did stress that the account was entirely his own and that Jessica Chapman's parents wanted privacy which he respected and is absolutely understandable.

I don't think I could watch a drama about the Soham murders, it would be too sad.

Most of me agrees with you OP. Making a drama out of the murders of Jessica and Holly seems extremely distasteful.

But then I must be a hypocrite because the recent drama about the Jeremy Bamber case was some of the best TV I have ever seen. Perhaps I felt comfortable watching it because of the time that has elapsed (it happened in 1985) whereas the Soham case feels recent even though it was 20 years ago 😢.

Yep. I am a hypocrite.

I’m sorry for your awful loss, I can see why you’d feel this way, it’s not entertainment.

It's weird because I do have a morbid fascination with true crime although I much prefer documentaries or podcasts which show the reality of the crime and the humanity of the victims but having said that I think some crimes are so beyond the pale I find them hard to stomach.

A lot of dramatisations really miss the point. I tried to watch one called Landscapers with Olivia Coleman and I thought it was really sick. It was a terrible callous crime, but they portrayed it as whimsical and dream like. Really disturbing.

I'm not sure where the families of the victims are still alive. Dramatise Burke and Hare or Jack the Ripper maybe, but I agree the Soham murders or say the activities of the Wests, not comfortable with and I won't watch.

I was flicking between channels the other night and got the first couple of minutes of a so called real life crime episode on an American channel. The first thing they said was facts may have been altered for dramatic purposes. It was a very recent case about a child who was murdered. Their poor parents their horrific nightmare was being was entertainment.

I have never understood how anyone can view crime or violent TV dramas as entertainment. These real life crime dramas are the worst.

There’s also an argument for publicising as yet unsolved crimes such as the current Alps murders documentary. But I agree, dramas made purely for entertainment about recent horrific crimes with no input or support from all close relatives should absolutely not be allowed.

It is strange how recent the soham murders feel.

I don’t think they do ask the families for permission.

YANBU I used to watch the odd one but since having a child, I can almost ‘feel’ the horrific nightmare that their parents must’ve gone through. Even momentarily glimpsing the void feels too much. American ‘documentaries’ are the absolute worst, they really sensationalise it and play ‘suspense’ music as they re-enact them, show ‘glamorous’ photos of the victims etc. It’s bad enough when the victim is an adult but holly and Jessica? They were little kids, they should have some respect.

I find true crime as entertainment dehumanising and avoid it at all costs. I can’t understand that so many people enjoy it.

DP's best mate was attacked along with his friend - the friend died.

Because it was a particularly salacious case that got press time, every so often (3-4 years, generally), he gets hunted down by production companies that want to dramatise /monetise his ongoing trauma. They don't ask nicely. They threaten, they harass, they stalk and contact anybody who might have a grudge against the refusing person, they bombard partners, friends and colleagues with emails, calls, DMs, etc - and reveal very personal stuff about him in the process, not just that he was a victim in a newsworthy case (which is nobody else's business but his own if he doesn't want to tell everybody) and doorstepping.

From how they've been regularly essentially threatening him for refusing to engage, I wouldn't be so sure that the families are consenting as much as they're being coerced into it.

One of the issues too, is how much of fictional or reality programmes contribute to influencing people with different perspectives ?

I used to be really into true crime programs but have gone off them. Even when I did have an interest I did wonder what the families felt and felt slight unease. I also wondered if they were taking advantage of them. I guess I more thinking of the ones where they interview them and they cry.

There are some in worse taste than others. I remember watching one where each episode is a voice over done by an actor pretending to be the victim (“I’m just an all American housewife but a chance encounter with the wrong man will lead to a violent death for me…”) and it was so cheesy but at the same time it’s about a true murder and real people.

@NeverDropYourMooncup
Wow that’s horrible, poor guy. Those doing that to likely vulnerable people are scum.

I remember watching the dramatisation of the murder of the ?landscape gardener/architect? young woman where it was initially suspected that her landlord had killed her - he was later proved to be innocent.

The drama was meant to be from the landlords point of view, but I felt very uncomfortable with parts of it including the depiction of the ghost of the murdered woman sort of waving to the landlord at the end, as if she were acknowledging his innocence, and I did wonder how much involvement or say in the programme her family and partner were given.

I used to watch this type of thing. Now I have my own children I try to avoid because I always think of the poor mothers of victims sitting at home while we’re being ‘entertained’.