Media Reaction Worksheet - Essay Example

? Media Reaction Worksheet MEDIA REACTION WORKSHEET The media is an important part of any community; it is mostly used to highlight weaknesses or strengths of the community (Steinberg, 2009). In most cases, the highlights are depicted to correct a situation in the community. As an example, Dexter is a movie series shown on the CBS television and has a lot of highlights that it unearths about the crime scenes in Miami (Lindsay, 2009). In this TV series, Dexter is a forensic expert in the Miami metropolitan police department and has a secret life profile as a serial killer. He justifies his killings by saying that he only kills those who deserve to die. In this case, he refers to those who are themselves serial killers and their killings are not justified. He acquired this act from his foster father who trained him the act of killing. Dexter has a stepsister with whom they grew together; she is an officer at the station. Among the main characters are Dexter, Debra, Angel, and Harry Morgan. This TV show has a lot of diversity and depicts numerous stereotypes. Dexter who in one way is a forensics officer for the metropolitan police shows an example since he is also a serial killer. This is a depiction of Dexter’s unreliability and diversity. He is supposed to help those who are being killed, but instead he kills (Lindsay, 2009). In this TV series, Dexter, the main character depicts diversity. He is seen to have two life profiles in which he performs all the activities as required. He is a serial killer and a good forensics officer in Miami. He kills other serial killers secretly and covers his tracks such that no one can discover who he really is. He spends time with the police officers, he also has a girlfriend who is a single mother with two children, but they do not notice any unusual thing with his life. He has instincts that direct him to serial killers like him; he portrays them as being his potential preys. He takes time to study why another serial killer kills before attacking him (Lindsay, 2009). Another person depicting diversity, in her character, is Debra. She is a foster sister to Dexter, but has a lot of hate for him and is ready to point him out as a suspect during cases concerning the ice truck killer (Lindsay, 2012). She developed hate when her father showed more interest in guiding Dexter than her. She is supposed to support Dexter in all situations now that he is the only close person she grew up with since her father died. Sergeant Doakes James exhibited diversity in his character, when he had a lot of suspicion that Dexter is a killer though they work together in examining murder scenes. James hates Dexter and most of the time uses abusive words at him. Sergeant James is supposed to have trust and faith in his partner for them to work together smoothly (Lindsay, 2012). Dexter also has a problem with his feelings and personality but only covers them (Lindsay, 2009). The flashbacks, in the series, depicts Dexter’s foster father coaching him on how to fake feelings for different situations and occasions. His lack of feelings for different situations is also depicted when he fails to know how to handle his girlfriend. His girlfriend shows a lot of interest in making love to him, but he remains adamant and unshaken about the situation. In situations of grief, he is forced to frown on his face when in reality he has no feelings at all. He is even forced to wear dark glasses so that people fail to notice that his face does not have any sign of grief. This was seen when a victim was saved from the ice truck serial killer and brought to the hospital while everyone was pitiful of the situation, he was not (Lindsay, 2012). In the TV show, the life of a serial killer is depicted stereotypically. Serial killers are presented as people who can also do killing only for good. Killing for a reason is a rule given to Dexter by his foster father (Lindsay, 2012). He is advised only to kill those who deserve to die; only those who have also killed others, but without justified reason of doing so. This reasoning cannot justify death to a person. If found guilty, a person is supposed to be taken for trial and be judged according to law and not to be killed by a serial killer. Dexter who is depicted as a serial killer lives a normal life and even works in a police department. This is very ironical as the same police department in which he works is the one supposed to investigate his actions and bring him to justice. The police officers are also depicted not to be very effective in doing their work. While the Miami metropolitan police officers are looking out for serial killers, they have one amongst them (Lindsay, 2012). As police officers, they are supposed to use their instincts to set up traps in which Dexter can be caught as a serial killer. From this, it is clear that the stereotypes presented in the TV show have a lot of diversity. This is the main reason why the Miami metropolitan police officers are incapable of tracking Dexter and bringing him to trial. In the above examples, most stereotypes have been used against the type character they present. Considering Dexter, he is a forensics officer working with police officers (Lindsay, 2012). Instead of showing loyalty to the police officers, he is in turn a deadly serial killer who is difficult to track. He is deadlier than the other serial killers are because he has knowledge of blood sampling and forensic evidence of the crime scenes. In addition, Sergeant James has a strong feeling that Dexter is a serial killer, even though, they are partners working together to find serial killers. Dexter is also used to depict an exaggerated belief about his intention for killing. He stands firm in killing only those who deserve to die and even aborts his killing mission of a boy when the boy told him the reason for him killing his friend (Lindsay, 2009). In this case, he justifies that he is a reasonable serial killer, which is not true. Serial killers cannot justify their actions even if they kill for purposes of revenge. In conclusion, Dexter as a TV show has a lot of teachings to the public. It successfully presents diversity even at the very crucial place; the police station. It clearly shows how people can have characters, which their close friends or family do not know. Since childhood, Debra has not been able to highlight that Dexter has a killing habit and that he grew up into becoming a serial killer. Dexter successfully lives life having two profiles. He leads a normal life by having a job and a cover up girlfriend. He fits well in both situations; the first is being a serial killer and the other is being a forensics assistant of the police. He is a feared serial killer since, even a boy who was also a killer feared him so much. The boy knew that Dexter was much more advanced in his skills than he was. When at crime scenes, he uses his killing skills to impress his colleagues and show how he has studied and mastered forensic discovery of crime scenes. References Lindsay, J. P. (2009). Darkly dreaming Dexter : a novel. New York: Vintage Books. Lindsay, J. P. (2012). Double Dexter : a novel. New York: Vintage Books. Steinberg, S. R. (2009). Diversity and multiculturalism: a reader. New York: Peter Lang. Read More