Topic one: myth and evil
According to Segal (2004), “A myth is a story with a meaning attached to it other than which it seems to have at first; and the fact that it has such a meaning is generally marked by some of its circumstances being extraordinary.” These stories have a purpose of revealing worldview of people through explanations of beliefs, practices and various natural phenomena’s. The greatest perspective which myths rely on is in relating situations to events and actions associated with gods or superhuman beings which are far away from ordinary human capability and outside his life domain. Segal (2004) observes that “These mythical events are based at different time settings which touches historical time and mostly around creation time as well as prehistory early stage. When a myth is based on a certain culture, it is often linked to that cultures religious beliefs and rituals.” The study of myth in modern learning is traceable to early nineteenth century Romanticism. Later there was introduction of different comparative approach concerning myths. According to Barthes (1993), “Sigmund Freud for instance viewed myth as an expression of repressed ideas, a view later expanded by Carl Gustav Jung in his theory of the “collective unconscious” and the mythical archetypes that arise out of it” (Barthes1993).
Myth can be considered as the inventive psychology of self-help. For a long time, human beings have been using myths to explain reasons of certain happenings in the surrounding such as mysteries in life in order to make life simpler and bearable in complex changes and situations such as death. According to Segal (2004), “myths are metaphorical representations of the content of the archetypes and can be used to provide us with information about life’s experiences.” This explains how myths play a psychological role of bringing consciousness in matters from the unconscious world.
On a focus to the nature of myth, it is appearing that they provide a difficulty in defining what is central to the story. This provides an aspect that makes myths lack “traditional” element in its story. This is because the traditional element in the myth does not always relate to the tale’s theme. This explains why it is important not to focus too seriously on myth’s elements because “what seems to be more essential is the way myths function,” Hall (1997). In addition, in a mythic tale, there is high expectation of variation which is an essential element that distinguishes myth from historical writings and those of science. Myths also are not confined to a single meaning. They will always present different possible interpretations irrespective of the used approach (Hall 1997).
Evil according to Barthes (1993) is “having qualities that tend to injure and cause mischief; having a nature or properties that tend to cause evil; mischief; not good; worthless or deleterious; poor; as, an evil beast; and evil plant.” Evil appears to be associated with bad moral qualities, wickedness, calamitous, distress, or anything that damages the happiness of a being or impairs the being and its goodness. Evil is also anything that brings about suffering to an innocent being, destruction, misfortune or harm to undeserving subjects. In a biblical perception God is considered as not the initiator of either good or evil. Lamentations 3: 38 states that ‘from God’s mouth comes no evil.’ However, evil exists in the world just like any other thing created by God. Isa. 45: 7 explains this as it states things God created, among them being darkness, peace as well as evil. Therefore, it seems that according to Barthes (1993), “evil, like everything else made by the creator, has a purpose which is part of Gods plan.” In a general perspective, evil is universally associated with any intent which on social perception is considered as antithesis of anything right. (Segal 2004).
Topic two: myth of the Monster
Monsters such as vampires are mythical creatures which are given an appearance of a human beings that are re-animated cadavers and whose existence relies on human or animal blood (Baring 1865/2006). They are considered to possess supernatural powers with mysterious body functions which include ability of changing their appearances to resemble human or scaring creatures. Different cultures have different ways in which they perceive the form of monsters, where some will use represented demons in forms of dogs, bats, and birds among others. They are believed to be responsible for serial murders: which Halttunen (1998) notes “murder of more than three people over a period of more than thirty days, with a “cooling off” period between each murder, associated with a motive largely based on psychological gratification of the serial killer.” In most cases of serial murders, sexual element is incorporated hence, in serial murders; it mostly appears that the attempted or completed murders have similarities in a sense that the preys have commonalities such as sex, race or age group among others (Halttunen 1998).
Serial murder, just like the serial killer’s present different sizes and shapes of appearance. This is attributed to the fact that their occurrence is unthinkable and people chose to believe that multiple murders are committed by killers with unique qualities that put them outside ‘with-out’ the envelop of the crowd. There are different myths in different cultures associated with serial murders, with some having their origin from obsolete studies while others from film and fiction. According to Holmes (1998), “while those early studies had their merits, they failed to provide a character, representative of serial murders as a whole.” It can be concluded that serial murder myths have their origin from “studying articulate, imprisoned, white, male American serial killers- and in limited numbers at that- about 25.” Schmid (2005)
Some of the fairytales associated with serial murders include 1888 case in Whitechapel area of London’s East End where Ripper killed at more than four prostitutes. All prostitutes died in a similar manner with each one having deep cuts on their throats which resembled marks of long canines dug in their flesh (Guiley 2005). They were in addition mutilated while their bodies were still warm upon discovery, indicating that the monster mysteriously disappeared only being interrupted. Another fairytale is a 1989 case of Allen Dodd who assaulted and killed a significant number of children. Dodd’s methods were according to Tithecott (1997), “so heinous and that the forensics labeled them as the most brutal serial murders in history.” After molesting young boys, he would then strangle them to death before dumping them in their homes. In another folk lore, a leakage of poisonous gas in a gas manufacturing industry killed all workers who shortly re-emanated as blood thirsty creatures. Any person bitten could after death become transformed to these creatures, and within few weeks, almost the entire society was filled with these “blood thirst creatures which would decompose after lacking more blood to drink (Holmes 1998).
Different cultures have different representations of the myths of serial murders in form of monsters or the serial killers. As stated earlier, some cultures will represent their mythical serial killers in form of re-emanated corpse with an appearance of human beings capable of transforming into different physical features while others will use other animal images such as bats and dogs to bring out demon monsters (Walkowitz 1992). American society has been the leading society in serial murders with its myth associated with African Americans as they are the race with serial killers twice as many as white Americans. The factor associated with this issue is the victimization of African Americans by the society who are denied necessary police protection due to poverty and discriminated and as a result they become self-defensive and arrogant an attribute that becomes integrated to inhumane activities (Kidd-Hewitt and Osborne 1995)..
One of the reasons why serial murders are mostly associated with monsters such as Vampires, Rippers, and demons, is because it is a common form of entertainment as it satisfies people’s curiosity about “after life.” as most of these creatures appear as dead people or animals their re-emergence is significantly cultivating for example, Chinese culture believes that if a dead person is walked over by an animal such as cat, he comes back to life in a different form (Tithecott 1997). As a result, people tend to enjoy seeing their beliefs in reality. Also, it appears that these source of entertainments are somehow a representation of the other unknown worlds, maybe the world after death, which people find interest in exploring before due time. Fear of unknown drives people to explore the unthinkable such as these myths portray. Walkowitz (1992) notes “by following our illicit desires to their logical endpoint in death, we have created a nightmare culture, a horror-movie culture, one in which we are led back again to the source of our mysterious fears by forces over which we have no control” (Schmid 2005).
Topic 3: Little Devils versus Little Angels
Young people use what is available as the foundation of their later life. Thus as they chose their role model, they emulate him/her and identify with his/her traits. Media for instance is the most influential role model of young people’s attitudes and expectations. It is through media that young people have realized that they are capable of influencing their decisions and their expectations from the society. Media’s portrayal of children in different perspectives has been the major origin of myths about young offenders, particularly in relation to violent offences. It is through media where children in developing countries have been portrayed as war and disaster victims, resulting to loss of their humanity and individuality. Children in these areas have always been brought out as helpless victims who turn out to be violent (Morton 2004).
Sereny (1995) notes, “when children do feature in the news, they are often portrayed as stereotypes such as, ‘starving children in Africa’ and ‘irresponsible teenagers in America’.” These different portrayals of children besides providing opportunities for myths about young offenders, has also created different perceptions associated with children’s sex, age or race. For example, despite the fact that small boys are more likely to be victims of crimes in comparison to girls, they have always been perceived as “more dangerous” than girls. Also children who lack quality education and those from poor families are perceived to have a higher tendency of getting involved in criminal activities (Jewkes 2004).
As children grow up with this perception, they tend to associate themselves with them and engage in activities associated with their status. Through watching mythic children movies or reading their stories, they tend to drift to the side which best suits them. As they copy the trait of their models in the movies, they unconsciously or consciously apply them practically. These consequences can be witnessed the event of October 1993 case where 10-year-old boys murdered a two years old boy. Myths about young offenders in general have been a significant contributor of moral decline in children who feel these myths are representation of their real world (Sereny 1995).
In the same way, the portrayal of children as helpless creatures/being by media has also been the origin of myths about young victims of crime. There have always been influential pictures showing different ways of mutilated children such as a dead body of a child killed in 1976 on the uprising of Soweto among others. It is through this representation of children that have given rise to introduction of new stories and movies concerning children as victims of shocking victimizations such as child rape and voodoo killings. This as a result, eroded children right’s expression and consequently cases of child victimization have erupted worldwide. A research carried out in 2001 about children and crime according to Sereny (1995) showed that “48 % of involved children were depicted as the perpetrators and 52% as the victims. 70% had boys as the offender and only 32 had boys as the victim while in girls, 10% were depicted as offenders and 91% as victims” (Sereny 1999).
Topic 4: Whores, Witches and Bitches
The origin of myths surrounding women and crime can be traced from the very attributes associated with prostitutes and witches. As early as cases of prostitution can be traced, they have always portrayed common traits which include dependency and helplessness among others. Due to these characters among many others associated with them, they have been taken advantage of by men and fellow women by making them undergo intimidation and physical assault. In poor societies, girls have been considered to engage in commercial sex to keep up with their basic needs. In U.S, African Americans have been known to contain the greatest number of “whore and bitches” due to their status of poverty and low education levels (Heidensohn 1996).
On the other hand, as a result of the dangers and difficulties they encounter, prostitutes invented strategies of dealing with the situation. Some employed these strategies as a means of self-defense while others as a means of robbing their victims. These traits included choking, scratching, stubbing, and drugging their victims among others. From these traits, myths associated with female crimes found their origin.
Their helplessness and dependence characteristics portrayed women as being victimization while their defensive strategies gave rise of their perpetrator’s character in myths. On the other hand, based on witches’ perspective, the origin of myths around women and crime can be traced back in 1400. Around this era, Pope Innocent VIII according to Heidensohn (1996), “declared “witches” as heretics, after which witches became gender-related to women and the stereotype of a witch being an elderly and dangerous woman.” This followed execution of witches among whom 80% were women, mostly in their late middle age (Jones 1937).
From these perspectives women have been depicted as enemies of the society and have been represented as savages by mythic folklores. As perpetrators, they have been portrayed as strangling their victims who fall as their prey during sexual acts. They have also been known to use drugs to win over their victims, in ways that range from drugging their victims hence becoming unconscious and easy to steal from, to drugging with the intention of killing them. This also involves witches who, through magic, made their victims suffer or even kill them (Morrissey 2003). Women have always been the victims of crime compared to men due to their vulnerability; hence they have been taken advantage of by men as well as other women. Hatred for witchcraft has also seen women becoming victims of crime. Brutal mutilations and assaults (physical and psychological) such as rape and beatings have always been an observable fact towards women. As a consequence, murder of spouse, rape, other physical and psychological assaults have been invented by women as offenders as well as being used towards them as victims. Cases of prostitute murders are common as well as men murdered or robbed by prostitutes (Kennedy 1993).
Topic 5: The Foreign Menace
According to Lombroso (2006), “all racial differences are either genetic (hereditary, inborn) or cultural (acquired from society after birth).” Unlike the former which is self-governing on the customs or norms associated with man’s society, the latter is flexible and can be dropped or changed through social changes. Theories such as Aryan invasion theory in India have been used to explain the differences between people living in the same country but holding different status due to their colors and language. This also explains how one community which feels superior to other community decides to offend the other to an extent of driving them out of their geographical location (Young 1996).
Growing together in the same area for instance will make both blacks and whites adapt similar characteristics, in form of language and dress code among others. Nonetheless, the dissimilarities brought about by skin and eye color, facial features and hair texture among others will always bring a difference between the involved groups. Each group will always be on the lookout of what can make it a superior group than the other. The search for superiority identity is more than not accompanied with negative activities undertaken to suppress the other ethnic groups, through threats, intimidation, and in extreme cases physical attack. This physical attack might come in different forms which might include, robbery, arson, rape of women from other groups, and mass killings. This for instance has been and still is a phenomenon in America where white Americans have always been on a move to suppress black Americans. As a result, cases of crime between the societies have been common (Warner 2000).
Racial myths got their origin from the competition of power and resources by different groups living in one geographical area. Fear of other communities being dominant, attempts to explain how one group is the dominant one over the other or why the other group is and should not be powerful among others have been the originator of racial myths. In nations characterized by racism, there are always observable boundaries set to distinguish between the groups involved which ranges from who to associate with to where to be and not and at a given time. These include both social boundaries as well as physical ones. Minority groups are always being denied access to places, material and even services such as quality education and security. (Lombroso 2006).
This racial difference has always been differently represented by different cultures. In America for instance, the racial difference has been represented by difference in education levels, freedom of movement as well as freedom to assets ownership. Blacks have always been denied access to various places, schools including level of education as well as possessing assets such as firearms. Some of these have been attributed to their mental inability to approach issues requiring memory only such as education and handling interpersonal issues. Other cultures such as the Middle East nations have been known to use political, geographical and religious boundaries to denote racial differences. Cases of bomb attacks are common towards other groups in an attempt to suppress their political power, intimidate their religious practices or push them out of their locality. Other foreign menace particularly in Africa have been associated with wealth or material possession where foreigners are confronted with claims that they are denying “original” owners their independence and chances of possessing what is theirs (Lombroso 2006).
In conclusion, criminal mythology has proven that though it puts us in the picture, in a great extent, it brings out such a distorted view of reality that we no longer have a full understanding of the true and extent of crime. This is so because in its explanation concerning the daily happenings, it takes a dimension which simplifies the unthinkable, though on critical evaluation, their applicability makes no sense. In addition, they use fiction in bringing human related issues which are supernatural such as re-emanating corpse of a bewitched person to punish the offender drifts us off from the normal approach to crimes. In addition, in explaining certain critical issues in human life such racial differences, a distorted view which contradicts to the reality or scientific proof is always a phenomenon. Simply put, criminal mythology has an element of giving serious crime soft texture, drifting away the truth and extent of crime.
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