I have just rented and in the process of watching the first season of the Showtime series Dexter. My roommates like it, but I have a problem with this series.
What is the PURPOSE of making a serial killer your main character- your “hero”?
In my opinion television, as a moving picture, is not just a form of entertainment, it is an artists medium. Although I am prone to saying “fuck art” from time to time in lieu of business, there are philosophical lines that must not be crossed, and I think that Dexter has crossed or comes very close to crossing those philosophical boundaries. I’m not one to be against “pushing the limits” in favor of a more equal, free, and understanding society, however I do not find this to be the case in the instance of Dexter.
The major problem I have with the series is a moral one. It seems to me that the series validates Dexter’s lifestyle as a serial killer. This is counter-productive to the peace and order of the ideal society. It is not ok to believe that killing another being cannot be controlled in the case of serial killers. Every action is a choice. If your choice violates the rules of society, than you will be chastised or punished for your violation of our collective values.
Which leads me into the next moral problem I see in the series. Dexter chooses bad guys- criminals- as his victims. A decidedly vigilante slant to an already screwed up storyline, a moral problem arises in the character’s own validation in his choice of victim. It is not ok for any one person to take justice into his own hands. It is especially not ok for a single person to serve as judge, jury, and executioner, no matter how right that person may feel in doing so. We have laws, governments, judges, juries, and all the rest for a reason.
Dexter (the character) is a bad person. Dexter (the series) is bad in other respects. As a series, it deprives the audience of a real connection to the characters. TV is a character driven medium, traditionally, and yet Dexter seems to lack the character gumption to make me care about the characters. My roommate cares for Dexter, however I cannot find warrant in feeling for a cold-hearted sociopath. Bad, bad, bad. Is this what we have come to? The gutters and dregs of society? The people we hunt down so that we can lock them away and remove them from harming our friends and comrades? Can we not tell stories of a more redeeming quality?
The bottom line is, there is something very wrong about this show. It has an immoral taste, a misguided idea of justice, and principles that are of a negative influence. I do not think I will watch it again.