Creating Cultural Monsters: Serial Murder in America

Serial murderers generate an abundance of public interest, media coverage, and law enforcement attention, yet after decades of studies, serial murder researchers have been unable to answer the most important question: Why? Providing a unique and comprehensive exploration, Creating Cultural Monsters: Serial Murder in America explains connections between American culture and the incidence of serial murder, including reasons why most identified serial murderers are white, male Americans. It describes the omnipresence of serial murder in American media and investigates what it would take to decrease its occurrence.

Presenting empirically supported arguments that have the potential to revolutionize how serial murder is understood, studied, and investigated, this volume:



Places the serial murder phenomenon in a cultural context, promoting qualitative understanding and the potential for reducing its frequency
Includes an illustrated model that explains how people utilize cultural values to construct lines of action according to their cultural competencies
Demonstrates how the American cultural milieu fosters serial murder and the creation of white male serial murderers
Provides a critique of the American mass media’s role in the development and notoriety of serial murder
Describes the framework on which the majority of definitions of serial murder are based
Drawn from years of dedicated research of Dr. Julie B. Wiest, this volume presents a new approach to the study of U.S. serial murder, offers important implications for law enforcement and mass media, and forms a basis for future research on serial murder, murder, and violence in the U.S. and in other nations.

Dr. Julie B. Wiest is an assistant professor of communication and sociology at High Point University in High Point, North Carolina. She earned a doctorate in sociology from the University of Tennessee and a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of Georgia. Wiest also has nearly a decade of experience in print and electronic journalism and published a book in 2006 titled We Were There, a compilation of the World War II narratives of 30 veterans.

Introduction Important Implications Major Contributions Book Organization Part I: What We (Think We) Know about Serial MurderFundamentals of Serial Murder Who Studies Serial Murder? Law Enforcement Personnel Academic ResearchersJournalists and True Crime WritersPrevalence of Serial MurderDefinitions of Serial MurderDistinguishing Serial Murder from Other Types of MurderDefining Serial MurderA Working Definition of Serial MurderThe "Typical" Serial MurdererPopular Portrayals in American MediaCommon Characteristics Identified by the FBI and Academic ResearchersRace Gender Sexuality Nationality Similarities with Other Types of Offenses Other Serial Crimes School Shootings White Supremacy Existing Explanations for Serial MurderPsychological ExplanationsSocial Psychological ExplanationsSociological Explanations A New Direction Part II: A Sociocultural Approach to Understanding Serial MurderCultural Context of Serial MurderSerial Murder in American Popular Culture Serial Murderers as Monsters and Celebrities Marketing Murderabilia Cultural Context of Human Behavior: How Culture "Works" Broadcasting Culture "Tuning In" and Cultural Competencies Building Lines of Action Applying the Model of American Culture American Cultural Values: Contextual Features Suitable for Serial Murder Regard for Violence Individual Accomplishment and Competition Masculinities and PrivilegeThe Criminal ExperienceRisk Taking and Thrill Seeking Power and ControlBroadcasting Cultural Values: The Role of the American Mass Media Representations of CrimeModel of Media Coverage Narrative Structure Initial ReportsNotoriety and Record Setting Need to Know Why Anniversary Stories Missing Victims Social Typing Tuning In: Accepting the Messages Regard for ViolenceIndividual Accomplishment and Competition Masculinities and Privilege The Criminal Experience Risk Taking and Thrill Seeking Power and Control Culturally Familiar ImageryBuilding Lines of Action: Using Cultural ValuesImplicationsToward a Deeper Understanding Investigative Considerations Decreasing the Incidence of Serial MurderMessage Consistency Protections for All Appendix: MethodologyReferencesIndex Author