Social Anthropology & The Serial Killer.
Jul 23, 2014 16:00:16 GMT
killerchaser, trickofthetail, and 2 more like this
Post by pendleton on Jul 23, 2014 16:00:16 GMT
Some people on the board have expressed interest in hearing more regarding my theories on social anthropology and what it can tell us about serial killers. There's a lot involved but I'll try to boil it down to what I think is important without being too long winded. I'm posting this in the Cafe as I don't know where else it fits on the board. Administrators feel free to move it to where you see fit.
Anthropology is the study of the human animal past and present. Human's as animals are fairly weak when compared to other predators in nature. Most of you could barely fend off an attack from a mid-sized dog, never mind some of natures larger predators. But although we haven't developed sharp teeth or claws or great strength, we have developed big brains. This has allowed us the ability to communicate. To work together with one another. We learned long ago that this was our species best chance for survival. This is the basis of society.
Flash forward thousands of years and let's look at the modern day serial killer. What do we know about him and his place in society? Usually we find the serial killer on the margins of the upper-working class or the lower middle class. Surprisingly we find the modern serial killer is also often profoundly conservative. So what causes him to break away from his values and from the protection of society to become this lone wolf? Rejection. The modern serial killer comes to feel excluded from a class in society he desperately wishes to join. So he takes up a campaign of vengeance. He murders strangers, who through their appearance, actions and location, come to represent the class that has rejected him. Through these actions the modern serial killer achieves his goal beyond his wildest dreams. Those that rejected him now fear him. That fear is power. The media treats him like a celebrity. In modern society fame is power. Through the actions of killing the modern serial killer quickly goes from feeling worthless as a social human animal to becoming the human equivalent of the silver back. The ultimate alpha male.
Many of you will question the sexual aspect of serial killing. If all the serial killer seeks is power in society then why does his killing almost exclusively involve sexual behaviour? Some think that serial killers choose to victimize women because it's the ultimate show of dominance over the males of the society they wish to punish. They disregard the sexual obsession in the crimes as being something of an afterthought. Having your cake and eating it too. I'm sure after taking in so much about the sexual nature of serial killers on this board that you'd tend to disagree. I do too. I believe that it's a combination of the two. There are people that will do almost anything for fame and wealth (for an example, turn on your tv and find any reality show) but even they won't kill for it. Killing is a very primal thing. Sex is also a very primal thing. I believe that the serial killer's strong, obsessive, sexual fantasy world erodes that equally strong conservative social value of "though shall not kill" to a point where the idea of killing becomes possible, then plausible, then unstoppable.
But you can see how there is far more to be gained than just sexual pleasure from serial killings. The killings can also be seen as a sub-political, conservative protest that nets the serial killer a substantial social profit of celebrity, identity, revenge and power.
There is much, much more that can be discussed on the subject but that is the basis of theory.
Anthropology is the study of the human animal past and present. Human's as animals are fairly weak when compared to other predators in nature. Most of you could barely fend off an attack from a mid-sized dog, never mind some of natures larger predators. But although we haven't developed sharp teeth or claws or great strength, we have developed big brains. This has allowed us the ability to communicate. To work together with one another. We learned long ago that this was our species best chance for survival. This is the basis of society.
Flash forward thousands of years and let's look at the modern day serial killer. What do we know about him and his place in society? Usually we find the serial killer on the margins of the upper-working class or the lower middle class. Surprisingly we find the modern serial killer is also often profoundly conservative. So what causes him to break away from his values and from the protection of society to become this lone wolf? Rejection. The modern serial killer comes to feel excluded from a class in society he desperately wishes to join. So he takes up a campaign of vengeance. He murders strangers, who through their appearance, actions and location, come to represent the class that has rejected him. Through these actions the modern serial killer achieves his goal beyond his wildest dreams. Those that rejected him now fear him. That fear is power. The media treats him like a celebrity. In modern society fame is power. Through the actions of killing the modern serial killer quickly goes from feeling worthless as a social human animal to becoming the human equivalent of the silver back. The ultimate alpha male.
Many of you will question the sexual aspect of serial killing. If all the serial killer seeks is power in society then why does his killing almost exclusively involve sexual behaviour? Some think that serial killers choose to victimize women because it's the ultimate show of dominance over the males of the society they wish to punish. They disregard the sexual obsession in the crimes as being something of an afterthought. Having your cake and eating it too. I'm sure after taking in so much about the sexual nature of serial killers on this board that you'd tend to disagree. I do too. I believe that it's a combination of the two. There are people that will do almost anything for fame and wealth (for an example, turn on your tv and find any reality show) but even they won't kill for it. Killing is a very primal thing. Sex is also a very primal thing. I believe that the serial killer's strong, obsessive, sexual fantasy world erodes that equally strong conservative social value of "though shall not kill" to a point where the idea of killing becomes possible, then plausible, then unstoppable.
But you can see how there is far more to be gained than just sexual pleasure from serial killings. The killings can also be seen as a sub-political, conservative protest that nets the serial killer a substantial social profit of celebrity, identity, revenge and power.
There is much, much more that can be discussed on the subject but that is the basis of theory.
