Ed Gein Expert Discusses Netflix Series 'Monster' and True Crime Glamorization

Netflix Series 'Monster: The Ed Gein Story'

• 💡 The leading Ed Gein expert, Harold Schechter, discusses the new Netflix series "Monster: The Ed Gein Story."
• 📌 Schechter notes that Hollywood often takes liberties with true crime stories and he is interested to see how the series treats Gein's story and if it relies on his book, "Deviant."
• ⚠️ Schechter's primary concern is when viewers assume the dramatized events in the series are strictly factual, as the show has taken "quite a few liberties with the facts."

Glamorization of Killers

• 🎭 The discussion touches on the accusation that Ryan Murphy's series glamorize killers, a practice not exclusive to him.
• ⚡ Examples include Zac Efron portraying Ted Bundy and Charlie Hunnam portraying Ed Gein, with Hunnam being a conventionally attractive actor.
• 🧠 Schechter acknowledges that psychopathic killers have historically been glamorized and mythologized in American history, citing figures like Jesse James and Billy the Kid.
• 🎯 He states he has no inherent problem with the way Gein's story might be treated in terms of glamorization, drawing parallels to historical figures.

Ed Gein's Portrayal and Legacy

• 🎭 While Charlie Hunnam has been made to look somewhat like Gein facially, he does not possess the ripped physique seen in promotional material.
• 🌍 The expert believes the series will make Gein more widely known to the public.
• 🔍 Schechter's book, "Deviant: The Shocking True Story of the Original ‘Psycho,’" is presented as the primary source from which Gein's story has become known.