Are You an Ethical True Crime Fan? 4 Questions To Ask | Lindsey A. Sherrill | TED

From the Salem witch trials to Jack the Ripper, humanity's historic fascination for true crime content can be traced back to the Middle Ages. But is it ethical to consume these real-life dramas in the way we do? Researcher Lindsey A. Sherrill shares four questions to ask yourself to be a mindful fan of this provocative cultural obsession -- so you can direct your attention away from the exploitative "ugly side" of true crime and to those that are doing useful work in the genre.
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[@MiVidaBellisima]

Real person here. True crime is so important because without understanding history it is doomed to repeat itself. It is very important to report on these tragedies respectfully though. It makes me cringe when I see people cracking jokes or mixing the nonfiction story telling with casual/mundane things like the “mukbang” buffet-style eating or doing makeup.

[@raidenyvelina8558]

kendall rae and georgia marie are the best tcc youtubers, genuinely cannot find anyone else that treats cases with respect for the people involved

[@alli1185]

@@raidenyvelina8558 Agreed! Love Kendall Rae!

[@carsonhunt4642]

True crime has always been a Bit cringe because women are 80% of the viewers. Definitely an underlying sexual fantasy/kink involved!

[@ocskywatch1]

Right ive even seen women putting on makeup while spouting True cringe horror and even ASMR True cringe horror

[@MissBliss818]

I only watch Stephanie Harlowe and John Lorden with Lorden Arts. Oh, also Unsolved No More.

[@wtaffam]

If you're calling yourself a true crime fan or "murderino".. um that might be one of those times to reassess even more so..

[@wildflower1397]

I believe the most important reason for sharing respectful true crime is to protect people. By learning about mistakes, red flags, deceptions, and more, we can sometimes avoid the same dangerous traps other victims gave fallen into. Many people believe that abuse, murder, kidnapping, robbery, and other crimes are things that only happen to "other people". The general public needs to understand that they and their loved ones can easily become victims. Also, we as a society need to learn to give more kindness, compassion, empathy, support, and acceptance to victims. Emmett Till's mother requested an open casket after his horrific beating and murder, because she wanted people to see the truth of what was happening so they would fight for justice. Today we need justice more than ever, including better laws, law enforcement, education, schools, court systems, prisons, mental healthcare, drug abuse treatment, and much more. People are suffering and dying every day, and we can no longer justify turning away because it is too graphic or painful to see.

[@ficationsare6552]

The self preservation excuse is see through. Pretending grown @ss people need 20 Ted Bundy docs to teach them not to trust strangers is ludicrous. Stop pretending you're not driven by morbidity.

[@SoLuVaBle299]

I wanted to be a medical examiner when I was in high school. I had grown up watching First 48 and Forensic Files with my dad and I wanted to help the victim identify who hurt them. Of course that dream crashed and burned when I realized I couldn't break the spinal column of a fetal pig during a dissection at a forensic camp, but I still watch those shows because I need to know what's out there so I can keep my life in perspective. I will say, I did learn about the racial injustices around who's cases get reported and who's get swept under the rug from a crime podcast I listened to, but I stopped listening after a while because the dramatizations (in podcasts and TV shows) have always rubbed me the wrong way. Somebody died. And someone had to find the remains, which might have scarred them for life. Someone, several someones most likely, lost their loved one. I remember hearing a dad describe his wife's wail when she was told her young daughter's remains had been found. He still looked shaken a decade or so later like he could still hear her. That's shocking enough for me. No need to add superficial, silly cloak and dagger bullshit on top of it.

[@user-xxxxxxxxx2]

Whats with all these spammy comments

[@ckee8437]

Came here from a video I was watching that went into unnecessary details about the child SA committed in a case. It wasn't educating me about red flags to watch for, it was re-victimizing those kids.

[@sebastianvalentin9319]

Be a mindful consumer, she said.

[@doit9times]

My teacher showed my class this and this tedtalk is so underrated. Wonderfully curated

[@felicityhappy919]

Definitely food for thought. Thank you

[@josephyoo5726]

When I watch some crime drama or news, I feel that it is not easy to focus. Even, I was uncomfortable. Why someone enjoy tragic and have laugh with terrible scene? We have to try to make a long distance between we and the bad things. God save us.

[@98Johnna]

This was a great Ted Talk!!

[@itheuserfirst3186]

What a ridiculous premise. You are consuming a story. It's not an ethical dilemma. You don't owe anyone involved in the story anything. People like true crime for the same reasons they like any kind of documented reality. In fact, I think it's weird to not be interested crime stories. It betrays human instinct. Now, if we're talking about fans of a killers, well that's a different extreme. To each their own, but you have no "ethical" obligation when consuming a story.

[@meeganmisha6009]

Well stated! it doesnt have to always be murder, i like fraud too! Who wants a story about some dude's day at the office! Zzzz

[@ficationsare6552]

The words of TC fans will always be driven by unnecessary guilt.

[@harmonlanager2670]

But these aren’t just stories, these are accounts of real suffering from real people. People who often still have living family members or friends that get repeatedly retraumatized as their trauma is dramatized. Like, look what happened with Dahmer or I Am A Killer. Documentaries created despite victim’s’ families begging them not to because it’d glorify the perpetrator. That’s real pain. And it’s worth being aware of as a consumer (and therefore motivator) of that content.

[@somethingsomething6991]

You do know the point of true crime is that it actually happened, right?

[@josecarlos-ny5bb]

Great!!!!!!!!

[@ocskywatch1]

Monetized Gossip ruins it, should be more of an educational topic, watch enough "I Survived" and you'll want to own a gun

[@ShahrezadNorMohammadiy9116]

‘My father had brought me here (at GKB Graveyard) just before I had left Pakistan to enter Harvard University in 1969 (and said): "Remember, whatever happens to you, you will ultimately return here. Your place is here. Your roots are here. The dust and mud and heat of Larkana are in your bones. And it is here that you will be buried."’ *-Benazir Bhutto 🇵🇰*

[@galgor]

I dunno... Streets of LA was fine, but NY was better.

[@justbrianmusiqitsanotheron883]

I'm glad that this topic is finally been talked about openly. Are we learning history of crime or creating a fascination for killing and getting away with it. Great talk. Brian, Kenya.

[@TippyHippy]

I put my hamster in a sock and slammed it against the furniture.

[@YukiChannelShibaInu]

03:02

[@motivationquotesbyRY]

Great 👍❤️

[@allenn00]

This is a ted or a TEDx talk?

[@richarajesh8098]

It is for precaution and see what one never thought existed. Not any kind of high!....My mother and aunt really like watching murder mystery, suspense thriller out of that suspence and plot point of view with all empathy for those who actually suffered!

[@clown134]

in my opinion. under capitalism it is not the responsibility necessarily of the consumer of true crime entertainment to be ethical. literally all we are doing is watching content. in my opinion it is the creator of the contents responsibility to be ethical in the way that they presented and profit from it. we got these people out here fucking doing makeup tutorials to true crime stories

[@harmonlanager2670]

“No ethical consumption under capitalism” was not coined to be a get out of jail free card. True crime podcasts isn’t the same as consuming food from a corporate farm that abuses its workers cause you don’t need podcasts to live. The point is that the system of distribution itself is unethical but you still have choices within that system. You can still curate what you consume.

[@clown134]

@@harmonlanager2670 agreed. there's no reason to abandon sense and support bad things.

[@tka-tpa-prapatankalisari45192]

👩🏼‍🎓 TED "I pay tribute to the endless heroism of youth, you, the young lions. You, the young lions, have energised our entire struggle." ~Nelson Mandela during his first speech after his release, City Hall, Cape Town, South Africa, 11 February 1990

[@clown134]

I'm sure all the Big Rich true crime KZbinrs will be here in the comments agreeing with the need for ethicality in the true crime entertainment genre... Right? Right?

[@MaybeYoureRight-1234]

New generation, new solution! 😅 - "Moments of great difficulty are also moments of great opportunity. To come together in solidarity. To unite behind solutions that can benefit all people. And to move forward - together - with hope in what our human family can accomplish." *- António Guterres,* in his New Year Message. 😅

[@theterribletaco3042]

So tired of obese people saying it’s not unhealthy to be over weight. We need to stop teaching kids it’s “ok” to be over weight. This poor lady is out of breath just standing there talking. I know I’m going to get berated for saying this but it’s true. Overweight is not in any way healthy. It’s not “ok” to be over weight. It shouldn’t be praised for being “curvy” or anything like that. Obesity is an epidemic and we need to stop letting people teach our youth being fat is ok

[@triple_gem_shining]

I think she might kill her husband 😂

[@nHans]

Oh come on, now! Are you really going to make me answer a woke questionnaire every time I want to consume true-crime content? It's one thing to avoid glorifying murderers when teaching history to children. When I was a kid, I had to memorize who assassinated President Lincoln, Archduke Ferdinand, Mahatma Gandhi, JFK, MLK etc. More recent teaching guidelines explicitly state that such killers are to be deemphasized as much as possible, and their names are not to be mentioned. Modern textbooks omit their names entirely-good for the kids. It's also fine to avoid naming the criminals in other contexts-for example, trivia contests. Back in the days, questions like these used to be trivia staples: "Who committed the XYZ school massacre?", "Which of these serial killers has the most documented kills?", "Which fan of Jodie Foster ..." etc. But yeah, ask something else; I'm okay with it. But it's quite something else to start questioning my motives when I try to access free speech.

[@tka-tpa-prapatankalisari45192]

🇵🇰 👩🏼‍🎓 "Honour belongs to those who never forsake the truth even when things seem dark and grim, who try over and over again, who are never discouraged by insults, humiliation and even defeat." ~Nelson Mandela

[@CassieAngelica]

The only way to be an “ethical” true crime fan is to watch those videos while internally quivering with fear. That’s why I no longer watch any of that stuff.

[@henriquecunha1056]

In short: do not listen to true crime podcasts

[@ShahrezadNorMohammadiy9116]

‘I pledged to myself that I would not rest until democracy returned to Pakistan, that the light of hope that he (ZAB) had kindled would be kept alive.’ *-Benazir Bhutto 🇵🇰*

[@BassNinja]

Also obsess with eating. Obsession in food been going on for decades. She's losing her breathe while she's speaking on stage.

[@cafeslyn]

naurrr i was listening to the podcast version and wondered why the person speaking was so out of breath 😭 now we know

[@tka-tpa-prapatankalisari45192]

👩🏼‍🎓🇺🇸 "Women activists everywhere are standing up and calling for an end to harassment, to violence, to discrimination, in education, in the workplace, in legislation, in all aspects of their lives." -- UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous

[@reedofwater]

There is no "real world" impact to watching entertainment. It's fun to watch then watch.

[@ShahrezadNorMohammadiy9116]

“In our male-dominated culture, boys had always been favored over girls and were not only more apt to be educated, but in extreme instances to be given food first while the mother and daughters waited. In our family, however, there was no discrimination at all. If anything, I received the most attention.” *-Benazir Bhutto 🇵🇰*

[@ShahrezadNorMohammadiy9116]

"Glory be to Him who has control over all things," I read from the Ya Sin sura of the Holy Quran. "To Him, you shall all return." *-Benazir Bhutto 🇵🇰*

[@tka-tpa-prapatankalisari45192]

*👩🏼‍🎓 TED* Thank you for support! ✊🏼 “The support of tested and dependable friends gives one the strength to hold on to hope and to endure successfully even the most challenging knocks in life." -Nelson Mandela

[@ShahrezadNorMohammadiy9116]

‘Pakistan People's Party was voted into office, my father had started his modernization programs, redistributing the land held for generations by the feudal few among the many poor, educating the millions held down by ignorance, nationalizing the country's major industries, guaranteeing minimum wages and job security, and forbidding discrimination against women and minorities.’ *-Benazir Bhutto 🇵🇰*

[@funnytv-1631]

Don’t be surprised if it starts to feel odd when you slip back into an unhealthy habit. It is self-respect speaking up, reminding you to take care of what you love: You.

[@SJSUPhilosopher]

True crime writing we can trace back to Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC) in Rome!

[@ShahrezadNorMohammadiy9116]

“Writing the book has been difficult. It has meant reliving the pain of the past. But it has also been cathartic, forcing me for the first time to come to terms with memories I had been trying to escape.” *-Benazir Bhutto 🇵🇰*

[@tka-tpa-prapatankalisari45192]

👩🏼‍🎓🇺🇸 "I admire young people who are concerned with the affairs of their community and nation, perhaps because I also became involved in struggle whilst I was still at school. With such youth, we can be sure that the ideals we celebrate today will never be extinguished." -NelsonMandela

[@thatomofolo452]

Fan 😁

[@ficationsare6552]

The entire TC community will forever gab about how THEIR love for TC is different and more ethical because ___. Women will never admit their own blood lust. This lady is just another denial case trying to punch down.

[@tka-tpa-prapatankalisari45192]

👩🏼‍🎓 TED Thank you for contributions! 🗽 "Our freedom is also incomplete, dear compatriots, as long as we are denied our security by criminals who prey on our communities, who rob our businesses and undermine our economy, who ply their destructive trade in drugs in our schools, and who do violence against our women and children." -Nelson Mandela

[@Solynk]

It's strange to be early on a ted video because there is nobody and they'll maybe do millions of views

[@ASMTrendingz]

We should talk about the impact on society also 😔

[@tucciproducer]

Is she wearing black lipstick?

[@sam-sn5pu]

No, I don't watch true crime.