The "Dexter" Syndrome.

Anyone watch DEXTER on Showtime?

Dexter is an American television drama series based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay and adapted for television by Emmy Award-winning screenwriter James Manos, Jr., who wrote the pilot episode. Set and produced in Miami, the series centers on Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a serial killer who works for the Miami Metro Police Department as a blood spatter analyst.

Dexter basically is a man with a troubled past. He saw his mom murdered when he was 3 years old. A police officer, Harry, adopted him because it was his fault Dex’s mom got killed. He was suppose to protected her because she is an informant for the police regarding a drug dealer cases, but he failed, then he adopted Dexter. Dex grew up and become a very smart man, but he has a dark side, he is a sociopath.

He likes to kill people, not just a regular killing, but a thoughtful clean ones. He killed only criminals or “people who deserves it”. An interesting fact is that Dexter works for the Police Dept. as a blood spatter analyst LOL. The only one who know about his secret was his brother, who is also a cold blooded killer, but he died. Dexter killed him!

Basically, Dexter is a very controversial series because it is a great story, but it is also a very brutal one. In a way it promotes Dexter as a “hero” or should I say a superhero for a modern life. Here are the facts : Dexter became a sociopath who is also a blood thirst killer because he was traumatized since he was 3 years old. Saw his mom murdered and sitting inside that place with a flood of blood. He loves people who obey the rules but hates those who breaks it. BUT, does it mean that he could kill any criminals and get away with it? Does it mean that one can take anyone’s life and consider it pays the “debt” they owe to the society?.

Yes, it was a very interesting movie, a good one I should add. But it is also a kind of movie that makes us “love” the evil. We kinda want Dexter to get away because he is the main character in that series and he is the “hero”. The one that we like, the one that we feel pity for,the one who killed criminals, the one who makes the story fun to watch. But at the same time, inside your heart, you know that he is wrong. He is as sick as the people he killed. He is a lost soul who blamed his past and hide in his monster’s mask. He doesnt wanna get heal, he doesnt wanna stop doing the killing, he loves the it. The only thing that keeps him to kill everyone is his “human” side. His human side still have feelings toward the innocent people. But, he wants to satisfy his addiction by killing. The question is who can I kill? the bad people, the criminals!

Is he a hero because he killed criminals and made the world a better place? Does he making a difference in people’s life by killing those criminals? For whatever reason, he doesnt have any right to kill anyone.

But why do we love dexter? is it because he is the main character in that series or is it because the devil wants us to see it as “good”? It's almost like watching a movie and says “the good side of Hittler” or “a good side of Al Capone." Of course people has a lil splash of good side no matter how bad they are. But does it mean we just see the good and forget about the bad sides, or does it mean we are in denial?. We know he is bad but hey lets see if he has something good left.

What if there is no good side of somebody? Can someone has nothing but evil in his life or we are just too blind to see it?

People said that some people are not human at all. But they are human, might be trapped or lost, but still a human. Why do people kill? Many reason! But that is not the answer or the right question in this case. What should we do to prevent it? Can we prevent killing?. Even in a country where killers are punished in a very brutal way, people still kills.

Why does Dexter wanted to put other people in line to cover up his act? Is he a coward, or is it because he doesnt wanna be the “bad” person?. Does it because he still wants to kill? selfish? or maybe he is just a human just like the rest of us who tried to do anything we can to survive life.

In his world, he needs to put others on his spot in exchange of his own freedom, its a jungle law, kill or be killed!

I am not just talking about Dexter but also about all of us. There is a dark side in all of us, an animal side in us. 

What keeps us human?

What keeps us sane in this insane world? What makes us different than Dexter?

We all express our hate, love and justice in a different way. Dexter express it through his brutal killing. We express it by yelling or being quiet, but we EXPRESSED it. We let people know what we feel, even for those who says they dont have feelings at all. They still expressed their feelings by their action. Dexter is not your average boy next door. He is different, he said he has no feeling or cant feel anything, but does he telling the truth?.

Killing is expressing his feeling. What do we get from his killing? An expression of something powerful inside his heart, something strong, unforgiving and cold. An expression of someone who hates life because he lost it when he was a kid. An expression of someone who wants justice and take it into his own hands. An expression of a lost soul who wants to see good but doesn't know what good is all about. An expression of someone who is very angry at happiness because he never had any. A screaming for help but no one can hear it.

If you look really close at this case, you will see a hole and that hole is empty. Because no one can reach to that hole. If he let other to reach that hole, the other party must be God. Because human is not perfect in his eyes, because he is a human being and he knows what human could do to others. He needs something or someone bigger than human, a power beyond his own.

xoxo,

Lindsay

Images are taken from google