Credited with superhuman intellect and abilities, the "serial" sex killer emerged in the 1980s as a dominant figure in American popular culture. In a decade marked by conservative politics and resurgent fundamental Protestantism, the serial killer was accused of attacking the traditional values underpinning American society and proved a suitable symbolic harbinger to manipulate public fear for political gain. Better to Reign in Hell examines the people and events which led to and perpetuate this panic-notably President Ronald Reagan and the New Right-and the founding of the Behavioral Sciences Unit, as well as the social repercussions the serial killer has on a society imbued with the belief that its origin and destiny has been manifest by God.
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About the Author
Stephen Milligen is a Lecturer in American Studies at the University of Ulster
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
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media and sociological study of serial killers,
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This review is from: Better to Reign in Hell: Serial Killers, Media Panics and the FBI (Paperback)
While not questioning the accepted view that serial killers are demented, Milligen is interested particularly in the origins of the image of serial killers and the reasons for its persistence despite considerable evidence that it is not accurate. Thus the content is basically on media studies, political agendas, and creation of the image of politicians and law-enforcement organizations, notably the FBI. Right-wing politicians, especially, have made use of the fear of crime, including serial killers, for election gains; and the FBI going back to the era of J. Edgar Hoover has publicized its attention to serial killers by creating a "profile" and frequent news reports on its leads in trying to solve cases. According to FBI and other widely publicized law-enforcement "profiles," serial killers are brilliantly cunning and commit their crimes over a large geographical area. But as Milligen proffers, while some serial killers (e. g., Ted Bundy) are exceptionally intelligent and do commit their crimes in far-flung places, many have low IQs and commit their crimes in local areas, as evidenced in those cases where numerous bodies are uncovered in a killer's backyard. But attributing high intelligence to a serial killer and assuming that his or in rare instances, her crimes are committed over a vast and unpredictable area explains why law-enforcement authorities cannot seem to catch a serial killer or prevent such a high number of wanton killings. This is an absorbing mix of true crime, sociology, and media studies. Many will find it especially captivating considering the current interest in and controversy over horror films and other images of and actual acts of violence in the culture.
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