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Recently convicted felons with complex and traumatic stories have been elevated to celebrity status. Generation Z’s growing cultural influence has targeted some convicted felons. The people we choose to uplift in addition to the media we consume has a larger effect than some may think. And to view people like Erik and Lyle Menendez, Gypsy Rose Blanchard or Anna Delvey in the same way as we do celebrities contributes to the consequences of sensationalizing criminality.

The allure of true crime is not a new concept to the American public, but there is something distinctly different about the ways in which high-profile crimes show up in our culture today. In July of this year, Gypsy Rose Blanchard, famous for her conviction of second degree murder in the killing of her mother, appeared on an episode of “The Kardashians.”

In September, ABC announced that Anna Sorokin, who conned hundreds of thousands of dollars out of New York banks and high society members under the pseudonym Anna Delvey, would appear on Dancing with the Stars alongside an Olympic medalist and an Oscar nominated actor. On Oct. 19, Saturday Night Live cast members Marcello Hernández and Michael Longfellow appeared on Weekend Update dressed as the Menendez brothers and called them “sex symbols,” adding that “people like the Menendez brothers way more than doctors.”

Each of these venerated figures’ claims to fame are based on complicated and layered crimes committed by people with psychological issues. Their cases are each representative of greater societal issues, including child abuse and sexual assault. But by treating and viewing deeply troubled individuals the same as their televised counterparts, we disregard the distressing and uncomfortable realities of crime, further dehumanizing the victims.

Musical artists, actors, comedians or television personalities all provide some kind of service to their audience, resulting in their fame and renown. The appeal of celebrities used to be based on the art they create, a persona that resonates with a particular demographic or simply entertainment.

But the Menendez brothers, Blanchard and Delvey lack all of this. They haven’t concretely contributed to society or to their fans, yet they have nevertheless found themselves in a complicated mire of parasocial admiration.

Their stories can teach us a tremendous amount about the world we live in and should be paid attention to with empathy and respect, not admiration. To cast them as cultural figures or sex symbols shows that our generation can’t critically or maturely reckon with sensitive topics at the forefront of social media.

In several instances, the stories of convicts have been brought to life through the creation of limited series, including “Monsters,” “Inventing Anna” and “The Act.” Young people quickly formed fandoms, created video edits of the shows’ respective characters and countdowns until their prison releases. These actions blur the line between culture and reality and dehumanize these figures who have traumatic lives, glorifying them as mere characters in a television show.

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The line between being interested in something and being a fan is heavily obscured. While this may not seem too harmful on the surface, it strips humanity away from these figures and removes the important social and moral nuance that lies within their stories.

To be clear, I see no problem with people like the Menendez brothers, Delvey or Blanchard existing within the public eye or with people re-evaluating their reputations. But the fact remains, none of the people mentioned in this story should be given similar attention to a traditional celebrity.

Their stories may have brought them into the limelight, but their identities are more than their crimes. These criminals were forced into their fame, and are unprepared to meet the expectation of their newfound fanbases. If we continue to treat them in this way, it will create and normalize a culture where trauma victims and criminals are perceived as pop culture figures.

Every time we place flawed individuals on a pedestal, we erase their humanity and take away their control over their own life, reducing them to the caricature of themselves devised by the genre of true crime. Next time we find ourselves with a criminal of the moment, let’s acknowledge the startling implications of giving them it-girl or sex symbol status.

Ben Newman is a freshman at Syracuse University. His column appears bi-weekly. He can be reached at ibnewman@syr.edu.

Published on October 27, 2024 at 11:53 pm