Dexter – Symptoms of Sickness

Little more than one year ago, started on the American's TV, in the Showtime channel, the Dexter’s series. The idea is, at least, creative and this calls the attention and curiosity of a lot of people, mostly the ones who were influenced by the new wave of series that surprised the public by it’s originality like, Lost, 24 Hours and Desperate Housewives.

Dexter, is a series for people who have no stomach. In fact, you need to don’t have another stuff too, like for example, critical sense, common sense, and other abilities common in the mind and social faculties. I know that some fans will want to rip me apart, but that’s just because they are fans. They already bought the craziness of this entertainment. However, you just need to analyze shortly some arguments and you won’t gonna be able to avoid the sensation of puke (sorry for the lack of euphemism). Dexter is one irresponsible entertainment.

Dexter works in the Police Department, doing the blood analyses in crime scenes. But he is a killer that should be arrested or even executed, depending on some American laws. He follow his victims, always with the Maquiavel argument of have a reason to do it, cause he just kill criminals. He prepare his crime scene, tie people naked using some kind of tape, makes he’s own show, given arguments to the victim and the expectator, choose the knife or any perforation object and initiate what he calls “ritual”. Executing with sadism the victim. That always leave the scene inside of black bags. That said, consider, he is the hero of the plot.

Some of the terrible details that I would like to share: He’s first victim, is the nurse that was treating his father in the hospital. His father told him that she was drugging he and others, and people were getting worst and passing out. He gives to his psycho son the mission to get rid of her. Good excuse, right? Wrong! Well, he get’s the old woman, put her naked into his ritual table, make her beg for her life, then stab her until the blood spills all over him. Another interesting scene is when he almost kills a boy that wasn’t a Serial Killer but a boy, who was violated. If the boy hadn’t talked about this, the “Justice” of Dexter would be a great mistake. The last scene that I want to comment is the “coyotes” couple. They killed the Cubans that didn’t pay the fee to be released into US soil. Dexter, kill them both one in front of the other, with screams of “I love you” one to another, without any ceremony. He passes all night killing the man, with the wife watching everything. Just to remember, this guy is the Hero!

If that wasn’t enough, Dexter’s father teaches him to develop his furtiveness with the excuse of teach him to survive the electric chair. In summary, the father’s value code say that if he’s son is a monster, even killing a lot of people should survive. He irresponsibly creates a monster and release it in society. Dexter excuse him self saying that can’t help him self from the kill urgency. He also thanks a shrink that treated him, for help him to accept who he really are, ripping he apart next. Do you think a sociopath should accept his situation? Dexter also obstructs justice, making serious crimes inside the police corporation, like planting evidences. And he awaits sincerely that one other Serial Killer continue free killing more people, so he can continue with he’s fetish for morbid competition. The glamorization is so high that in the last death there I watched, was listening to a music in off. Then happens the banalization of death. The American philosopher Sissela Bok, from Harvard, names this circumstance “compassion’s fatigue”, “an state of spirit that makes possible witness the brutality with distance, without involvement” (Translated from a Brazilian Magazine. Super Interessante, June of 1999, p.p. 21).

In the end, I ask my self, why the American society allow this kind of entertainment? Why in a place where people get guns and start a shooting hell, entertainment like this are produced? Why in the land of Serial Killers, this kind o entertainment is promoted? What will guarantee that repressed psychopaths won’t come out of the closet with good excuses to canalize theirs impulses? With such a glamorization of the sociopaths what gonna stop them? Maybe the one who didn’t knew his problem could recognize it in the screen, and instead of search for help, try to solve it like Dexter does. Without professional help and perpetrating revolting crimes. In the same way that normal people is influenced by media’s glamour, maybe, I’m almost sure, sleeping psychopaths would press a button that will destiny then to live the “adventures” of Dexter. Cause also, the character is evidently ruled by challenges. It’s easy to ask: “Who will be the best Serial Killer?” You can see in this series that they love competition. In a competition of Serial Killers, who do you think is going to loose? Funny, if not tragically sick. I already watched more then I should, for me it’s enough!