STUDENT VOICES | THE 2023 CHYNN ETHICS PAPER PRIZE BEST ESSAY WINNER
Unsolved: How Investigative True Crime Soothes and Provokes Our Consciences
By Olivia Tafs, Fordham College Rose Hill ’24
True crime has been an obsession in our society since long before the invention of the internet. However, new forms of media such as podcasts, Netflix documentaries, YouTube, and even sites like Reddit and TikTok have transformed how we relate to true crime narratives. In particular, they have given rise to interactive true crime investigations of unsolved or potentially mishandled cases in which listeners are invited to pitch in with their own observations, tips, and research. These pieces of true crime media are often wildly popular and have extensive real-world effects; for example, the podcast Serial, the Netflix series Making a Murderer, and even the recent TikTok investigation into the disappearance of Gabby Petito. In this essay, I will explore how this new field of true crime content relates to the moral discomfort associated with the genre. I will argue that “highbrow” unsolved narratives that invite involvement from viewers implicitly seek to avoid the sense of exploitation that is inherent to true crime. However, not all investigative crime content fits this mold; other creators use the involvement of their viewers to double down on the dramatization and voyeurism inherent to the true crime genre, sometimes with painful real-world consequences.
True crime viewers, readers, and listeners have long struggled with an uncomfortable sense of voyeurism, exploitation, and even dehumanization of people affected by violent crime. One blog writer’s musings on true crime sum up this discomfort well; “My passion for true crime, which has always been a mixed bag, has become downright uncomfortable a thing for me, of late. I feel conflicted. I feel myself toeing the line between what is informative, and what is entertainment” (Martine). The writer expresses a common sentiment; that it “feels” okay to engage with true crime content when one is simply becoming informed on real-world problems, but that there’s an invisible line between that level of engagement and using true crime for entertainment, thrills, and personal enjoyment. Some forms of true crime media seem to bypass this level of self-reflection entirely, with glib titles like Wine and Crime, My Favorite Murder, or Southern Fried Homicide. However, most people who engage with true crime content experience at least some degree of self-consciousness about the nature of the genre. One thinkpiece from Vulture refers to true crime, above all else, as “addictive,” whereas the book Fear, Justice, and Modern True Crime calls it a “guilty pleasure” on the very first page (Bolin, Cecil 1). This terminology, widespread in discussions about true crime media, implies that it is harmful or bad for us, but that we just can’t stay away. Despite the casual and flippant nature of some true crime media, for the most part, it is a given in our society that ingesting true crime content is taboo and guilt-inducing, and different true crime pieces grapple with those qualities in different ways.
One way that some true-crime media attempts to distance itself from this sense of discomfort is by creating “highbrow,” polished true-crime narratives that avoid the pulpy undertones of more traditional true crime. The podcast Serial is an example of this type of content, which arguably kicked off the entire thriving true-crime podcast phenomenon. Listeners describe Serial as having a “prestige sheen”; it, and other podcasts made in its mold, are “conspicuously well made…so far from vulgar or sensational” (Bolin). As someone who has listened to Serial not once, but twice, I’ve found that, despite its subject matter, it creates the same atmosphere as listening to the news on NPR or putting on This American Life on a quiet Sunday morning: serious, quiet, somehow both intimate and professional, and giving off a faint but distinct sense of moral superiority. However, the tone is not the only way that Serial attempts to set itself apart from the feeling of exploitation and violence that pervades other true crime; its fundamental sense of purpose is also completely different. Instead of just explaining the facts and the eventual conviction or acquittal of the accused party in court, in the way that classic shows like Dateline or Forensic Files might, “the primary question underlying Serial’s narrative is whether justice has been served” (Cecil 23). Listeners have seized on this investigative mindset, dedicating their free time to combing through the timeline, cellphone records, statements, and court transcripts to determine the guilt or innocence of Adnan Syed, formerly accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999 at the age of 17 (Levenson). Even now, close to a decade on, the Serial Reddit page gets new posts, comments, and questions every single day, with close to 70,000 members. This sense of purpose doesn’t just add to the entertainment value of Serial; it also works to make ingesting true crime content more morally palatable, allowing listeners to feel like there’s a real and compelling reason to get involved beyond their own morbid curiosity. The incredible level of involvement that both the host, Sarah Koenig, and the audience have had in the real-life story depicted in Serial has transformed the true crime genre with wide-ranging impacts.
However, not all investigative true crime media appeals to the same charitable instincts as Serial. Some content instead takes advantage of this new form of storytelling to exploit real-life suffering at a whole new level of involvement. The podcast Up and Vanished, hosted by Payne Lindsay, documents his investigation into the disappearance of Tara Grinstead, a high school history teacher from the small town of Ocilla in Georgia. Lindsay’s investigation is framed as necessary due to the police’s incompetence, similar to Serial and podcasts like it which attempt to intervene in cases where traditional police work has produced unsatisfactory results. However, Up and Vanished departs from the example they set in its deliberate cultivation of fear and suspense. Lindsay uses “the voice of the narrator, sound effects, and music” to “emotionally manipulate listeners and employ tactics to make them tune in” (Cecil 86). Lindsay solicits tips from listeners and from residents of Ocilla and crashes down various “rabbit holes” where he points the finger at everyone from Tara Grinstead’s then-boyfriend to anonymous messengers on Facebook. While Linsay does use the unsolved nature of the Grinstead disappearance to his advantage to garner views and create plotlines, for the most part, he seems unconcerned with coming across as genuine or “high-brow” in execution, which is reflected in his spooky music, deliberate cliffhangers, and overdramatization. While the investigative nature of his content might ease Lindsay’s own conscience—and I think it does, given that he has credited himself for the unrelated confessions of the killers—it doesn’t serve to make the podcast more morally palatable to listeners.
Investigative true crime doesn’t only impact our moral sensibilities; it also has real-world consequences with varying ethical implications. Just last year, Adnan Syed, the subject of Serial, had his conviction overturned at the behest of prosecutors who “no longer had confidence in the integrity of the conviction” (Levenson). It’s hard to imagine that, without the public scrutiny brought on by Serial, prosecutors would have felt the need to take a second look at a conviction they now admit was based on faulty investigation and a complete failure to fulfill their legal duty to turn over all exonerating evidence. Our legal system is plagued by racism, inequality, and miscarriages of justice, so true crime media, like any other form of investigative journalism, has the potential to expose and right those injustices. However, investigative true crime content can also undercut investigations and lead to devastating real-world consequences for friends and families of victims. In the recent murders of four University of Idaho college students, true crime podcasters, online investigators, and “internet sleuths” were quickly on the case, speculating wildly on the involvement of the victims’ surviving roommates, ex-partners, and classmates, and forcing Idaho police to create a “Rumor Control” section on their website to defend innocent parties against swirling accusations (Garber). In addition to moral questions of how we as listeners feel, we must acknowledge that the subjects of true crime content are real people, and the impacts on their lives have ethical consequences as well, positive and negative.
Ultimately, it seems clear that unsolved and interactive true crime content has opened an entirely new world of moral and ethical nuance for listeners. In a world where crime content is increasingly close to home, it’s not just up to law enforcement or professional authors to parse what is exploitative, what is harmful, and what is justifiable as entertainment; we must all make these decisions for ourselves, and grapple with the sometimes gratifying and sometimes discomforting consequences of our actions.
For more information about the prize, past winners, and submission requirements for 2024, please visit the Chynn Ethics Paper Prize webpage. The deadline to submit is Friday, March 15th, 2024 and is open to ALL undergraduates.
Works Cited
Bolin, Alice. “True Crime’s Ethical Dilemma.” Vulture, 1 August 2018, https://www.vulture.com/2018/08/true-crime-ethics.html.
Cecil, Dawn K. Fear, Justice, & Modern True Crime. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2020. EBSCOhost, search-ebscohost-com.avoserv2.library.fordham.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=2458763&site=eds-live.
Garber, Megan. “The Idaho Murders Set a Grim New Low for Internet Sleuthing.” The Atlantic, 21 January 2023, https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2023/01/idaho-murders-true-crime-theories-reddit-facebook/672797/.
Goldstein, Jessica M. “The Complicated Ethics Of ‘Serial,’ The Most Popular Podcast Of All Time.” ThinkProgress, 21 November 2014, https://archive.thinkprogress.org/the-complicated-ethics-of-serial-the-most-popular-podcast-of-all-time-6f84043de9a9/.
Levenson, Michael. “Judge Vacates Adnan Syed’s Murder Conviction, Subject of ‘Serial’ Podcast.” The New York Times, 20 September 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/19/us/adnan-syed-murder-conviction-overturned.html.
Martine, A. “Entertainment and Voyeurism: Our Obsession with True Crime, and the Lines We’re Eager to Blur — Maelstrom.” Maelstrom, 18 July 2018, https://www.maelllstrom.com/musings/2018/7/18/entertainment-and-voyeurism-what-our-obsession-with-true-crime-reveals-about-the-lines-were-eager-to-blur.
The Ethics and Society Blog 