Post by oscarheithaus on Nov 1, 2014 15:30:11 GMT
Crime, not only in America, but throughout the western world, is a fascination that has existed for hundreds of years. True crime is the grandest form of these stories, as it is appeals to our sense of realism. It is evident all around us, as everything unreal we experience tries to feel true. Why is it that horror movies that are able to display the words "Based on a true story" are so much more intriguing to us than the others? The same theory applies to our take on crime. It is a morbid fascination widespread across the country, keeping the media afloat, as they feed horror stories of murder and death to the eager public. It is our obsession with real crime that makes it so that a couple of anchors talking to a camera about it are able to pull as many viewers as a crime show on a high budget, that might try to act true, but isn't. Within the novel, the murder of the Clutters, the truest form of crime to those living in Holcomb revealed much about the nature of the residents, and also limned the extent of their reactions,a nature of interest that not only brought about a bombardment of questions for Dewey from the interested public, but also a mass panic about the town. "Locks and bolts are the fastest-going items. Folks ain't particular what brand they buy; they just want them to hold." This mass panic around the once trusting town would never have occurred because of fear of something like an alien invasion that was seen in a movie, but with this real crime so close to home, the fear that they could be next prompted extreme interest and fear of the townsfolk. This same mass fear was seen during the Cold War, where bomb shelters where planted in yards like flowers, because of the realness of the danger. The reality of a Soviet bombing prompted extreme intrigue and fear of the public, just as the real crimes of serial killers and other offenders does today.