Thinking about the last year and the effect that key experiences have had upon me I was minded to consider the TV show “Dexter”.
The premise is of the show, for those who haven’t seen it, is that Dexter is a serial killer through whose eyes we view the stories told. In short, we are getting to view the world through the eyes of a psychopath.
And yet…
REASON 1: Dexter is believable.
Most people who I have spoken to about viewing this show admit that, after a few episodes, they can begin to relate to Dexter. By the end of the second series of the show I found myself very much at home with Dexter’s view of the world… despite how far removed from my own beliefs that view is.
Dexter is a very believable character and one who reminds us how close we are to his “darkness”. As the series progresses and explores the morality of Dexter’s “code” and his vigilantism we are asked to consider the ramifications of the kinds of statements and ideas that get bandied around. Justice, for many in the West, seems to include this idea that a “just killing” is possible… especially if we are killing a murderer we can’t convict via the due process of the law.
You should consider watching Dexter because it will show you a possibility that few of us are prepared to consider: we might be just like him.
REASON 2: Dexter is a show about moral choices.
In a society that has, for the most part, turned away from religiously inspired moral codes this TV show shows us how a psychopath can build a very solid and reasonable moral “code” to justify his choices. In short, the show explores some of the consequences of the existentialist assertion that we must make our own purpose in the world. Dexter chooses to indulge his pleasure for killing through the medium of vigilantism. The show asks us to question that kind of personalised morality.
One thing I personally enjoy about Dexter is the manner in which he is fanatically committed to his moral “code”. One of the interesting questions it poses in my own mind is the degree to which we should commit to any moral system. Throughout Season 3 of the show one of the over-arching questions seems to be whether Dexter should tolerate the loosening of his “code”.
You should consider watching Dexter because it will help you to explore the nature of a moral code.
REASON 3: The show is non-religious.
This is a show in which religion plays little, if any, part. Dexter is an atheist materialist psychopath. The people around him are the kind of folk who might nod to some vague sense of religious belief but who don’t show any commitment to such a belief. I can think of just one episode in which any character enters a church through the first three seasons… and it’s not Dexter.
Why is this significant? For me it’s because this is a show that is dealing with some important social, moral, political and spiritual ideas without much reference to religion. Is this how a society that has relegated religion to a personal choice will begin to tackle the big questions? That is an interesting move within the medium of television.
You should consider watching Dexter because you’ll be faced with some tough questions without the religious answers.
Enjoy!