The following work focuses on the phenomenon of the serial killer, which has emerged in the recent decades as a popular theme in (television) series; the spectators of the series themselves are also central to this thesis. The basic concepts that define a serial killer are presented, followed by a historical overview of the rise of this type of content, and the theory of spectators/viewers within the frame of consumer culture. The object of the case study is The Fall, its main character and the structure of the series itself. The theory of the spectator and the concept of pleasure of watching are then applied to the case study. The analysis reveals a parallel between the serial killer and the viewer; just as the serial killer acts to give existence to otherwise unreachable fantasies, the viewer uses the series to fantasize about something they cannot achieve in other ways. The viewer, or consumer, strives to experience pleasure from the content they watch – the more deviant, the better.
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