The Harm & Obsession with Biopics 

I COMPLETELY agree! The Dahmer obsession was just disturbing and disrespectful to the many people and families hurt by that psycho.

Blonde was perhaps the most dissapointing film I have ever seen. It was just a collection of creepy trauma porn fanfiction about Marilyn Monroe and did not tell us anything more about her that we haven't already seen from several other screenplays or books written by mediocre men.

the era of tiktok where people were bragging about how unphased they were while watching Dahmer was darkkkk. why is it suddenly a flex to not feel empathy? like not being effected by gore is different but to not be effected by the murder of real people is actually crazy

I, Tonya was the best biopic for me … when people start forgetting that there’s real people involved and start ignoring the victims trauma to make content is where it gets bad

I feel like the Dahmer bio-pic shouldn’t have been made, it was just truly disturbing.

What was especially disgusting ab the Dahmer series is that 1) they cast Evan Peters, who has a strong young female fanbase, 2) that Dahmer’s victims, predominantly Black and brown queer men, are NEVER given the spotlight, humanization and empathy that a fcking serial kller is given, and the victim’s families aren’t being given compensation for these projects and the exploitation of their family’s trauma. Ryan Murphy is going to hell for MANY reasons, but this was definitely up in the top 3 worst things he’s done.

Lifetime biopics (I also pronounce it like bio-pic) are the worst offenders. They’re always awful. The recent Netflix movie Blonde is lifetime level, in my opinion…

I feel like biopics like Blonde & Dahmer are basically what the movie Nope was about. These directors are chasing the spectacles of Jeffery Dahmer & Marilyn Monroe one who’s a horrible person who did horrible things that still affects people and a women who didn’t want to be ridiculed and that’s exactly what Blonde did to her and her legacy.

It’s cool to see you try something different Trin. Im here for it!

i feel like this all ties into how de-sensitized people are nowadays due to the amount of time people spend online and its so embarassing to watch unfold

the Dahmer obsession is CRAZYYY. I just recently heard on the news (from the Philippines) that a 15-year-old boy tortured and murd3red his nephew then the police found out he was a Dahmer fanatic. He was even updating his friends with videos and pics of the crime. It's so disgusting with how these biopics affect normal people.

I appreciate how Tick Tick... Boom! told the audience right out of the gate that the movie is a dramatization of what really happened

Trin if you are entering your video essay era, I am so here for it!!

i completely agree with what you said about criminal biographies because people who watch the show will find some way to sympathize when criminals and then simp over them which i find very upsetting.

This is such a good video essay, Trin pointed out so many facts and was really coherent with everything that she discussed. I'd love to see more video's like this one!

Don’t even get me started on “inspired by true events” You can just basically write whatever the hell you want-Case in point; the conjuring franchise

Phenomenal video essay for real. Wouldn’t mind more of this

One of the only biopic Ive seen and thought was done well was rocketman I think a big part of that is because Elton John actually had a say in the production Edit: I haven’t seen tooo many but I believe they can be great movies a lot of them though do not convey the persons story properly (and maybe I’m talking about blonde idk idk)

I think biopics surrounding a celebrities life, musicians in particular, then draws in the fan base of that artist as well. everyone wants to relive the (dramatized) moments like legendary concerts, when their favorite songs were written etc. then you add in that feeling of understanding the artist better. you get that sense of gaining behind the scene glimpses in that artists life. there’s something intimate about them sharing the stories that the general public wouldn’t have known was happening behind closed doors. I think for me I felt this the most with Rocketman, and the reason I think I didn’t feel icky about it or unsettled by the storytelling is because Elton John is still alive and wanted to tell his story. I think for me, the persons choice in having their story told is a big component.

i think it’s interesting to note that film/television isn’t the only part of the entertainment industry that is obsessed with biopics. broadway is as well. within the last ten years we’ve gotten so many jukebox musical biopics, specifically about pop stars. we’ve seen biopic musicals about cher, neil diamond, michael jackson, tina turner, princess diana, and more. although some of these shows have not done well financially (diana the musical is one of the biggest broadway flops in recent history), for the most part they also do incredible during award season. in 2019, stephanie j. block won best actress at the tony awards for playing cher. in 2021 adrienne walker won best actress for playing tina turner. in 2022 myles frost won best actor for playing michael jackson.

I think bio-pics should only be done when the person is alive and can give it their thumbs up. Like the fact that people make up stories to add to make the movie more dramatic is just weird to me (considering it was someones real life) I think i tonya/ wolf of wallstreet are some of the best

I remember when Dahmer came out, and everyone in my college class kept saying how they’ve watched it or they’re about to, and I never watched it because I kept feeling icky about it even though I love Evan Peters and I’m so glad I didn’t watch it. Thanks for this Trin

I definetly agree!! I watched the first episode of dahmer and had to turn it off again. I even feel bad abt watching it in the first place now tbh. As you said, this story has been told so many times before. There’s no need to profit off of the suffering of the victims AGAIN!

I really needed this because I LOVE Evan and I refused to watch it because of the feelings of the families and how crazy people went over it and I was just now starting to consider watching to see Evan’s performance but thank you for reminding me why I held my stance. I think filming it fucked him up too which I also hate for him.

Trin, this is seriously an amazing video! I think we all appreciate the work you put into it and simply had the best time watching it

you can tell that Trin's wanted to make video essay for a while. This is so good please make more!

Yes, I love this style of video essay, and hope that Trin will do more of them in the future.

So well spoken, researched and overall just an interesting video. I completely agree with you!!

I loved this video essay!!! Often when it comes to biopics, it’s just really frustrating when a certain person has already been exhausted by media (news, film, etc). Some people’s stories deserve rest (like Marilyn Monroe), while some don’t deserve to be retold in a “new light” (like Dahmer). I also still love biopics but it’s vital to look up what events are fictionalized or exaggerated.

Another vital thing to note about the appeal of biopics is the ability of the audience to root for and relate to the protagonist. While fictional movies have the audience rooting for the main characters, we know it is not realistic. There are certain attributes of the story that we know could never happen in our lives. In biopics though, there is a certain level of parasocial ness that the audience begins to feel for the person whose story is being portrayed. We know that this person succeeded, and at the end of the day, what makes us so different from them? Why should we not have the same opportunities as the person's life story we are watching? This idea, combined with the fact that we don't know what part of the biopic is fictional (on first watch, or without further research into the historical figure) creates that deep obsession from the audience's perspective. I definitely agree with the points you made in the video, and I think this "relatability" factor is just one more reason that biopic films/shows are in constant circulation!

thank you for talking about critically consuming things at the end. i'm so frustrated with the state of social media and fanbases right now because it feels like everything is based around "oh you have to love every single thing about this movie/show/album and the company/artist behind it otherwise you're a hater!" and it's like... i actually love talking about how to improve the things i watch?? i don't get how it's fun to just make your entire identity a piece of media, especially in this case something that is very obviously corporate, fabricated, and harmful.

Dude, I have been thinking about the ethics of making biopics for a couple months now. My go-to examples tend to be The Imitation Game and Amadeus. Both are examples of good movies that don’t accurately portray the subject, but they each go about it in different ways that makes Amadeus feel like a more ethical way to do it than The Imitation Game. In Amadeus, the story of Mozart’s life is presented in this heightened reality that the audience couldn’t possibly take seriously, so they leave the movie thinking some of that probably did happen, but not the way it was presented. The Imitation Game, on the other hand, presents itself much more earnestly, so people leave that movie thinking that it’s an accurate portrayal of the life of Alan Turing and his efforts to build the first reprogrammable computer to crack the German Enigma codes in WWII. The issue, or course, is that most of it was completely made up. It’s even worse in that case, because the story of what happened at Bletchley was only declassified a few years before the movie was made. Most people had never even heard of Alan Turing, let alone knew what he had done. It feels very unethical to just lie about his life story and present it as though it’s actually what happened

this was SO well said. Along with the things you pointed out, people start "falling for" the murderers/horrible people that are displayed which is one of the worst things about it imo

a biopic will never end up on my favorites list. my favorite part of art in general is when its original and creative like people make whole new worlds yet the industry keeps popping out these with all that money not to say that every biopic is bad but they always feel unnecessary

The Coen brothers took a jab at the "based on a true story" with Fargo. Which I believe was probably for some of the reasons you mentioned. Then another movie called "Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter" (not by the Coen brothers) went further with it and was about someone who found a VHS copy of Fargo and believed that it WAS true, which then became a central part of it's plot. The movie is not so much a joke though, it touches on some heavy subjects, and Rinko Kikuchi gives an amazing performance as well.

Loved this video. I feel like you synthesized all of my feelings about biopics, but ESPECIALLY regarding true crime biopics. That said, I absolutely would watch a Mary, Queen of Scots biopic lol. She's pretty fascinating.

You need to do this more often, this is such a cool concept for new content!!

I've seen many a biopic including The Social Network, My Friend Dahmer, Extremely Wicked Shockingly Evil and Vile, and The Bling Ring to name a few. I also watched the Dahmer series because I love Evan Peters, and somehow I never really thought about how the over-saturation of these stories would affect and hurt the families of the victims until after I already watched it. It especially upset me when I heard that the families didn't even know this was happening or that some of them were actually be depicted without their consent or knowledge. I cannot imagine having a limited series come out about my sibling's murderer and then myself being a character without me even knowing about it. It's just upsetting and honestly embarrassing that it took me until Dahmer to really see the harm. On another note, ever since the show You came out I've been more worried that violence against women would increase, and these biopics of murderers also aren't helping. Now I'm not saying that we should ban this "genre" all together but I just get terrified that people might get ideas from this type of media. And this is like a super side note but ever since Dahmer, Evan Peters has been seeming even more sad when he is in the media. Now obviously I don't know him personally and maybe he is actually totally fine and I'm just seeing things, but it almost feels like he has just become more low-spirited since working on that project. But if that is the case then honestly I couldn't blame him, playing such dark and evil characters (not just Dahmer but in AHS) must take a tole on you.

i LOVE the way you’re saying everything your way of presenting is so so good and unique

OKAY not to get all philosopher on your film video essay, but launching off what you mentioned about audiences wanting the role to be difficult, I think our society in general has a desire to equate difficulty to quality because of our efficiency-driven capitalist world. we view success as something to be earned, and that sort-of American dream "effort equals results" colors how we view art. art is the least "effortful" form of success one can have, yet, especially in America, the most prominent wealthy people are all "artists" (performers but whatever). So we as a society want that success to be earned somehow, and in a way that we can process and judge for ourselves. I think that's why modern art is so controversial, why it seems all you have to be is complex to be deemed "meaningful", why people fucking HATE pop bands, and why retellings of events we can compare the retelling to are so popular. We need every success story to defend itself with trials and tribulation, because otherwise, the American dream falls apart.

this video is so excellent, trin! i agree media is powerful and our interest in biopics is an open discussion. i’m so glad you had fun making this and i hope to see more video essays from you!!

I truly believe that Rocketman is the best biopic and just a top tier movie! It’s so creative and visually gorgeous something that is very Elton-like. Mostly because Elton himself was a producer for the film. Which just goes to show that biopics work best when the one it is about is there to consent and write the truth. Also the movie is R rated because it didn’t shy away from the ugly truths of his life, because of this R rating it was robbed from winning any awards. Showing that they cared for telling Elton’s story rather than just making another bad cash grab. I could write and essay on the genius and beauty that is Rocketman

our societies obsession with romanticizing killers is seriously scary

I haven’t even watched all of the video but I can tell it’s gonna be good, keep doing video essays Trin!

TRIN I LOVED THIS VIDEO ESSAY!!! this question about the morals on biopics especially with Dahmar was in my personal statement for uni and the fact that my favourite youtuber made a video essay has made me so happy :)

This is a really great well-written video essay. Hope to see more content like this from you. Fantastic job as always, Trin!

I really like how you cite your sources IN the video! I've seen a lot of people just put it in the description, but I appreciate how you include it in the video itself :-)

trin PLEASE make more video essays this video is truly amazing and i agree the the points you made in this video

we need more videos like this!! loved everything from the takes to the editing

I really enjoyed this video essay. I would love to see more of them from you. Love hearing your perspective and seeing the responsibility and care you put into inspiring thoughtful discussion on this controversial topic with respect to Blonde and Dahmer. A few of my favorite biopics worth seeing in recent years are Judy, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, and Richard Jewell

These are my favorite type of videos you make!! Thank you for making such enjoyable videos for us to enjoy throughout the years

i love when you do different styles and discovering new formats!!!!!!

I think about this with jail interrogation videos lately too tbh….like the amount being spit out for “entertainment” and “education” is beginning to desensitize a lotttaaa ppl

Haven’t seen the video yet, but I reccomend the Elton John bio pic it’s a very enjoyable movie and John himself approves of it

I actually like a lot when you do this kind of videos. You are always the best Trin!

I LOVE that you made this video, good for you on taking your time with it, its so well done. very proud and would love to see more videos like these!!!!

omg plz do more video essays

absolutely amazing job on this video essay trin

Great video researched very nicely. Would definitely like seeing you do more video essays like these

trin video essays >>>>

this video was so well done, would LOVE to see more video essay style content!!

Fantastic video as always, really like the way you did the essay!!. As for biopics, it can be a slippery slope. There are some that are absolutely classics(some of my favorite movies or acting personal are biopics) and give actors opportunities to reach their goal. However, it can at times help to glorify people we aren't suppose to, silence the true voices that actually went through the events or have valid criticisms of the project, make some of the viewers see them as only fictional characters to where we even joke about a victims trauma or just be so inaccurate you wonder why its even based on a true story. Regardless, we are still gonna get biopics till the end of time and since we are having more open conversations about it ,it can be even better .

I love watching these and now im craving Trins thoughts on all the live action movies popping out lately

YEEEAAAAA im living for this video-essay-era !!!

Trin... I LOVE THIS VIDEO FORMAT!! Do it more pleaseeeee

I would say biopics can be a slippery slope. Movies like Rocketman and The Fabelmans are relatively harmless. But true crime ones can be harmful as you said. And movies made about dead people that can’t defend themselves if they are portrayed in a false way

Such a brilliant video, Trin, oh my god. This is such a great essay and the way you communicated your arguments were so precise. Thank you for speaking on this and making me feel like im not going insane. (Coming from a person with family who believed that the Dahmer series was well written and not that disrespectful.🤠👍) This is going in my favourite video essays playlist right now lol thanks love

ok ok video essay!! i’m so excited omgomg

Trin in her video essay era????? I’m so excited

Please do more vids like this! Your way with words are so intelligent and I’d love to hear your opinions more on topics like these :)

just saw the Joan is awful black mirror episode and this video hits …

Amazing video!! I totally think you should do more video essay type stuff in the future!!

i totally agree with the points you've made about changing the perception of historical times and events through changing their fictionalized narratives! i'd also like to add that this renewed interest in biopics has lead to, in my opinion, a very mercenary view on people and their personal tragedies. if something horrible happens to someone, the public has decided that story no longer belongs to them, and that filmmakers and show-runners are not only allowed but entitled to create entertainment for an audience to gawk at, thereby making this person into a spectacle. it leads to people being treated like characters, like commodities, and i find it profoundly disconcerting.

love the video essay!! i watched the first ep of dahmer with a friend who really wanted to watch it and i am somewhat interested in true crime... i couldn't stomach that first episode :( i felt so disturbed knowing that these were real people, i really don't know how people watched it through. true crime biopics feel so gross to me, at least don't do them for crimes that people are still very much alive from?? other types of biopics are hit or miss to me, but i feel like in general we should just back away from them bc clearly the average person isn't going to look up interviews or behind the scenes, they're going to think the film is mostly accurate and relay that misinfo elsewhere

AHH trin i love this video essay era of yours!! the branching out of content is so fun to watch (though i also love your movie commentaries) and im just so proud of how far you’ve come!! but bestie…where are the links you said you’d put in the description?

OMG TRIN VIDEO ESSAY ERA, I'M READY!!!!

I love this format of video! it's great seeing u having fun and doing different things. it would be so cool to see this on women's representation in the horror genre if you were thinking of doing more

loving this format

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE

love youu sm trin!!

lovinggg video essay trin

Omg I love your video essays and this one perfectly summarised what I've been thinking recently with the rise of biopics. I feel like what makes a good biopic is that it has a story to the film/show because otherwise I would just watch a documentary. And that leads to the question: who has a life that is a story worth telling? Because some stories definitely shouldn't be told in a film/show form (like you said with Dahmer) and some life stories are just too boring/generic that making it into a film/show means you end up rewriting history for more action and conflict to engage audiences. That's why I think a biopic like Rocketman worked really well because not only did Elton John have a very eventful life but they framed the story of the film around not only his rise to fame but his addictions and the ongoing struggle with his identity and how he overcame this. Whether or not you are a fan of Elton John you gain something from his recovery story. People have voiced how his story from this film has helped them when they were struggling, which is why I think people should really think about who's story should they dedicate a biopic to? Because not everyone deserves a biopic and just because you are a famous person doesn't mean your life is interesting enough for a film/show to be made about it.

great video! Loved this style and the topic!

I loved this Trin!!

you can see how dedicated you were making the video!!!

Love this video essay era for you

I just clicked on and I’m already begging for you to do more video essays fr

if this video was more fun for you to make, I encourage you to do ore video essays like this! Idk about everyone else who watches your videos, but I could listen to you talk about literally anything and enjoy it lol

I would love to see more of this from you

purrrrrrr trin video essay era lets go

“im not moral king high ground im a 20 year old girl im just doing a little essay i dont want to tell you what your morals should be”

bio-pic>>>bi-ah-pic

I love this!!!!! Please more video essays about aspects of film you're interested in!!!!!

I love Trin Lovell's videos. Have been watching since the pandemic. I honestly agree with her points. I am honestly happy that in 2023 Award season, "Everything everywhere all at once" won so many awards for their originality and creativity.

Loved this style of video!

Am here for your essay era

im so here for the video essays

please make more of these!!!

AMAZING video trin 🫶🫶

god i loveee your bangs