Throughout history, more specifically the history of entertainment, people have been fascinated with crime. It began, maybe, with the infamous Jack the Ripper, to Jeffery Dahmer, or Ted Bundy. This kind of entertainment grew to become “true crime”. It comes in many different forms, like documentaries, podcasts, literature, or even drama tv shows.
True crime focuses on the telling of crime stories that include killers, victims, accidents, etc. It’s very popular throughout the world and social media, and even within our school. Andrea Becancourth (10) is a fellow Wylie High student who enjoys true crime and everything surrounding the genre.
“In 2020, I saw a Tiktok video of people talking about the Menendez Brothers and a few other scrolls that led to the JonBenet Ramsey case. I started being invested in reading news articles and watching court cases too,” Becancourth said.
While many students and others enjoy it, many who are uninterested wonder why they like listening to twisted stories and wrongful acts. But students have a reasonable explanation, and it isn’t as criminal as it can be perceived.
“I find [true crime] interesting in analyzing the psychological aspects of the victim and the criminal. Hearing the witness, victims, jurors, and prosecutors opinions during investigations can also expand my mind,” Bencancourth said, “It can educate others on how to make the justice system better and what needs to be called to action. It makes people think of how to make this world a better and safer place.”
True crime is also known to interest people to have a career associated with crime, called criminology, like forensic scientists, lawyers, police officers, or criminal investigators.
“Recently, I’ve been thinking about being a Forensic psychologist or a detective… I want to understand why people are the way they are and who made them into the person they are now,” Becancourth said.
With the emergence of the internet and easy-to-access information, people can find out more about crime and how interesting it is without difficulty. As true crime grows in popularity, it can teach students who are interested in criminology useful information, ways to investigate, and interesting stories to remember. It can teach other students the same skills and still remain entertaining.