Crimetime: The serial killer

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bigidea/stories/s673006.htm

Time: 01.08 - 3.26

Broadcast 5.00pm, Sunday 15/09/2002 n Radio National's Big Ideas

Part One: The Serial Killer

Part One is an examination of the emergence of the serial killer in popular culture. The serial killer has emerged as a major figure in crime fiction and film in the past 20 years. The phenomenon began in the 60's with Hitchcock's film Psycho, but really came into its own in the 80's and 90's with films like Silence of the Lambs and American Psycho.

This program examines the serial killer: who is he and what makes him tick? How real is he? And most importantly, what is it about him that has captured our imagination? Interviews include the crime writer and author, Patricia Cornwell, ex-FBI agent, Robert Ressler, forensic psychologist, Louis Schlesinger and many others.

1. From the above paragraphs, what do the following expressions appear to mean?

to come into one's own

a) reach a climax

b) inherit something

c) fulfil one's promise

d) obtain one's birthright

to make someone tick

a) anger someone

b) please someone

c) motivate someone

d) tame someone

to capture someone's imagination

a) fascinate someone

b) frighten someone

c) constrain someone

d) horrify someone

2. What ingredients do we find in the films and works of writers like Cornwell mentioned in the text?

Part 1

The introduction is an excerpt from a novel or film about a serial killer. The text has been cut up into 9 sections and re-ordered. Put it into a logical order, then listen to check your solution.

· The kind of guy you don't remember after riding up twenty floors alone with him inside an elevator.

· He could be anybody.

· Out there somewhere is a man, I thought.

· Sleeps with a roof over his head, and has the usual number of fingers and toes.

· He had become the self-appointed dark ruler of the city, an obsession for thousands of people he had never seen, and an obsession of mine.

· He is ordinary by most standards.

· He is probably white, and much younger than my forty years.

· Mr. Nobody

· Walks upright.

Part 2

1. How does Cornwell justify her interest in serial killers? What is the most frightening thing about serial killers, in her view?

2. What examples of serial killers does Cornwell give? Why is the idea of random killing so unsettling? What expressions does she use to convey this 'deeper level' of fear?

3. How have Psycho, Silence of the Lambs, and American Psycho affected the evolution of public interest in serial killers? Give dates.

Postlistening

The journalist asks:

But who is the serial killer, and what makes him tick? And, most importantly, what is it about him that has captured our imagination?

How would you answer her? Are these the right questions to ask?

Answers

The introduction is an excerpt from a novel or film about a serial killer. The text has been cut up into 9 sections and re-ordered. Put it into a logical order, then listen to check your solution.

1 Out there somewhere is a man, I thought.

2 He could be anybody.

3 Walks upright.

4 Sleeps with a roof over his head, and has the usual number of fingers and toes.

5 He is probably white, and much younger than my forty years.

6 He is ordinary by most standards.

7 The kind of guy you don't remember after riding up twenty floors alone with him inside an elevator.

8 He had become the self-appointed dark ruler of the city, an obsession for thousands of people he had never seen, and an obsession of mine.

9 Mr. Nobody

Part 2

1. How does Cornwell justify her interest in serial killers? What is the most frightening thing about serial killers, in her view?

Patricia Cornwell:

I am simply exploring violence through the vehicle of a novel, and the real violence that I see in our society, to me what's most heinous and frightening, is the random violence: it's the stranger who breaks into the house and abducts the child at knife-point.

2. What examples of serial killers does Cornwell give? Why is the idea of random killing so unsettling? What expressions does she use to convey this 'deeper level' of fear?

Patricia Cornwell:

It's the stranger who tries to car-jack, and drags somebody out of a car and kills that person; it's the serial killer who stalks somebody he does not know; these are the most frightening cases because they're absolutely random, and they're frightening on a much deeper level to us as individuals because they're the ultimate de-personalisation. If you don't even have a name when somebody takes away your life, you are absolutely eradicated. You are consigned to oblivion, in a sense. And that is a very frightening thought – it's sort of like an existential nightmare to people.

3. How have Psycho, Silence of the Lambs, and American Psycho affected the evolution of public interest in serial killers? Give dates.

Hitchcock started in 1960s, SofL and AP made it really popular in 1980s

The Big Idea:

In the past twenty years, the serial killer has emerged as a major figure in crime fiction and film. It began in the 1960s with Hitchcock's film Psycho, but really came into its own in the 80s and 90s, with books and films like Silence of the Lambs and American Psycho. But who is the serial killer, and what makes him tick? And, most importantly, what is it about him that has captured our imagination?

Postlistening

The journalist asks:

But who is the serial killer, and what makes him tick? And, most importantly, what is it about him that has captured our imagination?

How would you answer her? Are these the right questions to ask?

Transcript:

Part 1: The Serial Killer

[...]

[dramatised extract:

"Out there somewhere is a man." I thought. "He could be anybody. Walks upright. Sleeps with a roof over his head, and has the usual number of fingers and toes. He is probably white, and much younger than my forty years. He is ordinary by most standards. The kind of guy you don't remember after riding up twenty floors alone with him inside an elevator. He had become the self-appointed dark ruler of the city, an obsession for thousands of people he had never seen, and an obsession of mine. Mr. Nobody."]

Patricia Cornwell:

I am simply exploring violence through the vehicle of a novel, and the real violence that I see in our society, to me what's most heinous and frightening, is the random violence: it's the stranger who breaks into the house and abducts the child at knife-point.

The Big Idea:

Crime writer Patricia Cornwell is known internationally for her Kay Scarpetta series, which focuses almost exclusively on a serial killer.

Patricia Cornwell:

It's the stranger who tries to car-jack, and drags somebody out of a car and kills that person; it's the serial killer who stalks somebody he does not know; these are the most frightening cases because they're absolutely random, and they're frightening on a much deeper level to us as individuals because they're the ultimate de-personalisation. If you don't even have a name when somebody takes away your life, you are absolutely eradicated. You are consigned to oblivion, in a sense. And that is a very frightening thought – it's sort of like an existential nightmare to people.

The Big Idea:

In the past twenty years, the serial killer has emerged as a major figure in crime fiction and film. It began in the 1960s with Hitchcock's film Psycho, but really came into its own in the 80s and 90s, with books and films like Silence of the Lambs and American Psycho. But who is the serial killer, and what makes him tick? And, most importantly, what is it about him that has captured our imagination?