On Nov. 17, The New York Times reported that Brendan Dassey will be released after the appeal to his overturned conviction is settled. Dassey, along with his uncle Steven Avery was the subject of the highly touted Netflix docuseries "Making a Murderer". In 2007, Avery and Dassey were found guilty of the sexual assault and murder of Teresa Halbach. The documentary brought up questions regarding the validity of Avery and Dassey’s convictions and created a national dialogue about America’s criminal justice system. Viewers of the program submitted a petition to the White House to have Avery and Dassey pardoned in the wake of the evidence presented by the show. Along with true crime podcast Serial, "Making a Murderer" has tremendous power to interest citizens in the criminal justice system and marks a shift from the traditional conditioning to support “tough on crime” policies that crime shows usually present.
In a Jan. 2016 article, Forbes called "Making a Murderer" Netflix’s most important show ever. The article asserted the show had a high level of significance because its basis in truth hooked viewers from the start. Viewers felt an immediate engagement with the series and the outcome of the trial because they learned intimate details about the case. Additionally, the series exposed the inner workings of the criminal justice system to viewers and exposed the potential for corruption. Though many Americans have experience with the criminal justice system, for some, their experience is limited to the crime dramas on television. Shows like "Making a Murderer" and “Serial” exposed a large subset of viewers to aspects of the system of which they were unaware. "Making a Murderer" asserted clearly that the showrunners believed judicial misconduct occurred in Avery and Dassey’s original trial.
Viewers feel a similar engagement with fictional crime dramas, but these shows often push viewers toward “tough on crime” policies. In their study on crime in primetime television, Patrick Jamieson and Daniel Romer found that fictional crime dramas create a culture of fear among viewers. These shows cause viewers to overestimate the amount of violent crime that occurs in the United States and, as a result, they create an irrational fear of violent crime among viewers. Furthermore, they state that fear can cause viewers to throw support behind policies that are perceived as tough on crime, in order to promote the highest level of safety. Crime dramas are some of the most consistently popular television shows in the United States, so this culture of fear was built over time. With the emergence of shows like "Making a Murderer," the culture is changing. The show has shifted the public’s interest toward the flaws of the criminal justice system, rather than its strengths.
Crime dramas and shows like "Making a Murderer" are framed to create maximum entertainment value, but they still bring up questions about real life issues. Unlike the characters in fictional crime dramas, the “stars” of "Making a Murderer" are real men who may or may not have been wronged by the criminal justice system. Over the course of the show, viewers build a kinship with these men through television screens and the wrongful conviction argument sets the agenda for a point on the greater faults of criminal justice. Dassey’s release shows the power of the show in agenda setting within the criminal justice system. Though media typically engenders support for “tough on crime” policies, "Making a Murderer" inspired its fans to fight for the release of Dassey and Avery. The evidence unearthed on the show even caused a federal judge to overturn Dassey’s conviction. In the end, shows like "Making a Murderer" may be built to entertain, but they capitalize on true crime events to expose perceived faults in criminal justice and mark a small change in the entertainment media narrative from “tough on crime” to skepticism of the system.
Carly Mulvihill is an Opinion columnist for the Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at c.mulvihill@cavalierdaily.com.
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