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Serial killers and Psychopaths

University of Texas at El Paso

RWS 1302
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Serial Killers and Psychopaths

Serial Killers and psychopaths are nothing new in todays society. Many people look up

to them and want to be like them in order to get fame and attention. Serial killers are all vicious

monsters, show no remorse, and also get the sudden urge to kill with no explanation. What

makes them want to kill? What is their motivation to keep killing? What past experiences did

they go through to be mentally ill and to trigger their urge to want to kill? Is there a difference

between serial killers and psychopaths? This debatable topic has been reviewed by two media

sources. Both of these sources talk about serial killers and psychopaths. Real stories, an award

winning producer of documentaries, posted a video online, Psychopaths (Crime Psychology

Documentary), in which they show actual serial killers being interviewed that talk about their

experiences during the time they killed. The video also has specialists throughout the entire

video speaking about their condition and showing actual facts about the condition as well as

examinations of the brain. In comparison, Springer published a book by Adrian Raine, Violence

and Psychopathy, stating actual evidence and facts that prove as to why being a serial killer is an

actual sickness. It talks about many real-life cases that involve women, men, and also children

that are considered to be psychopaths and serial killers. The purpose of this analysis is to be able

to distinguish both sources and to be able to explain which source delivers the message better to

their respective audience. This analysis will also determine what source used a better way to

relay the topic and help better understand what the topic is all about.
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Audience and Purpose

In the video posted by Real Stories, Psychopaths (Crime Psychology Documentary),

uploaded to YouTube on March 15, 2017 the intended audience are teens, parents, reality TV

watchers, and possibly even victims. The video is 47 min long which is very lengthy and gives

the opportunity for the message to be relayed easier to the audience. It does a great job on

explaining to the audience what a serial killer is how being a serial killer also involves

psychopathy. What helps this video the most in relaying the message is that they have actual

serial killers being interviewed who have committed crimes such as mass murders or killings that

have earned them a lifetime in prison. It is very easy to understand the topic since scientists and

psychologists explain everything throughout the video. It is easy to understand the video because

they do not use any complicated vocabulary and it shows visuals to back up everything they say

and to give examples. On the other hand, the video does lack some background information such

as talking about mass murder rates and more background on the type of examinations they

provide these serial killers with.

The book Violence and Psychopathy published in 2013, by Springer, directs the focus of

the book on people such as students who are interested in researching the topic in more detail. It

is intended for people looking for case files and for information that talks about how

psychopathy originated and how long researchers believe it has been around. The book is very

lengthy which helps relay the message better. It shows may visuals such as images, graphs,

examinations, and case files that show exactly everything in detail and results of patients. The

book does a great job of explaining everything in detail and giving definitions of what everything

is. It also provides images of the bran of a psychopath versus a brain of a normal human. On

the other hand, it is harder to understand this book since the vocabulary used is more advanced
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and uses medical terms since they are dealing with a condition and examinations. For example,

Individuals who are less autonomically responsive to aversive stimuli such as social criticism

during child would be less susceptible (Raine, 2013) many people who read this might have a

hard time understanding some of the advanced vocabulary words.

Both genres do a great job of teaching the audience about the subject, but the YouTube

video by Real Stories does the best at showing the audience about the condition. The video does

a better job at speaking to the audience since it can keep them engaged with sounds, pictures, and

visuals.

Rhetorical Issues: Ethos, Pathos, Logos

Both of the media sources provide the audience with different type of ethos,

pathos, and logos. Both of the sources are using different methods to relay their topic to their

audience. For example, in the YouTube video Psychopaths (Crime Psychology Documentary), it

is easier for them to use pathos and get the audience involved in an emotional way since it can

play sound effects like music that brings tension or makes you feel sad which have a lot to do

with how the person engages in the topic. The video also does a great job in using ethos, since

they have the actual serial killer having an interview. Which convinces the audience that serial

killers are different than normal people. In the video, the serial killers also admit to being sick

and feeling no remorse for what they did and the people they killed. This shows the audience the

thinking of what a serial killer goes through daily. On the other hand, the book Violence and

Psychopathy lacks pathos but is very strong in logos. The book is a lot stronger in logos since it

provides graphs, examinations, and brain scans. It is more convincing to the audience because

they are receiving real life information. The book is not so strong in pathos since it does not get

the audience involved with feelings. The book is straight forward with providing facts and not
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opinions or emotion. On the other hand, the video Psychopaths (Crime Psychology

Documentary) seems to show a lot more opinion.

Structure and Delivery

The way both genres relate their message is completely different. The video, Psychopaths

(Crime Psychology Documentary), begins with showing a serial killer speaking about his life and

the current time he is serving in prison because of the crime he committed. He then begins to go

more into detail about how the crime occurred and what led him to do it. Throughout the video

many more serial killers appear while there are also specialists giving some background

information on the case. The video is very lengthy and gives just the right amount of time to

deliver the message to the audience.

In the book, Violence and Psychopathy, it immediately begins by telling exactly what the

condition is, where it is believed to come from, and how long they believe it has been around.

The book later goes on to talk about brain scans and what different part of the brains are called

and what it means when they are activated. They also show you brain scans between a normal

person and a serial killer considered to be a psychopath. This source uses a lot of potential

information with a lot of advanced vocabulary that makes it difficult for someone to understand

what message they are trying to relay.

Conclusion

The genres analyzed were both made in completely different ways although they related

to a similar audience and topic. The YouTube video Psychopaths (Crime Psychology

Documentary) is a lot more understanding and easier for people to get in engaged since it uses

common vocabulary. Another thing that makes the video easier to understand is the visuals it
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provides to show you exactly how psychopaths are made and how they become serial killers. The

second genre which was the book Violence and Psychopathy, was a lot harder to understand

since the vocabulary used was more medical and advanced. It made it harder for an average

person to understand what the writer meant. While both gave the same message out to their

intended audience, I believe that the YouTube video Psychopaths (Crime Psychology

Documentary) did a better job at explaining the topic to the audience. The video made it a lot

easier to talk about the topic since it had visual, sound effects, and real scenarios. It helped the

viewer stay engaged in the topic.

Raine, Adrian, and Jos Sanmartin, editors. Violence and Psychopathy. Springer, 2013.

Real Stories]. (2017, March 15). Psycopaths (Crime Psychology Documentary) Real Stories

[Video File]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60vK6Uw9sSE