Dexter Plug

I enjoy Dexter. I might enjoy this TV show a little too much. I certainly hope it doesn't say too much about my personality. I think the problem is that I agree with the show a little too often. The world could definitely be a better place if a couple of the people in it were missing.

One thing I noticed about the way I watch shows is that I continually put myself into the shoes of my favorite character of the show. Dexter happens to be my favorite character in Dexter. This doesn't mean that I go around killing people, but more that I think more objectively. I also replicate his stride to some extent. Watching this show makes me take his presence, while not reproducing all of the same actions that he does. I don't have to commit murders to feel emotionless.

One of the things that I noticed about Dexter is that he does have emotions. At least, he has had emotions recently, and he really doesn't seem to know what to do about it. I don't even know if he recognizes they're there. In fact, from re-watching the show with friends, I notice that he's had emotions since the beginning. They become more evident later on, but they don't just appear from nowhere. This reminds me of the movie Equilibrium (also worth a plug at some point). They all say that they have no emotion, but even the people who are on the special medication show happiness or depression. They just stifle it harshly. I believe this is kind of like what Dexter does. He doesn't actively suppress it, like the drug in Equilibrium does, but he tends towards behaviors that are wholly logical and this pushes out any chance of expression for the emotions that he does have.

Many have labeled Dexter a psychopath. This bothers me. Why is thinking something out logically make a person a psychopath? Most smart people already think they're above the law. The next step is only getting away with it. I know many smart people who do drugs because they know that they won't get caught. The only difference between them and Dexter is that Dexter knows how to not get caught for crimes a little more difficult to pull off. I don't see why executing justice can be considered a bad trait in a person.

Obviously, I don't agree with serial killers in general. Most serial killers have no moral reason for picking their victims. Many times the logic of a psychopathic murderer doesn't resemble our own logic. However, Dexter's logic not only resembles ours, but resembles the logic we sometimes wish we had. Dexter's emotionless is something many of us couldn't live with, but I still posit that he isn't emotionless, but has a very good control of his emotions. This is certainly something that many of us have wished to have at one point or another. I mean, his emotional control is the reason for his logical nature; the bits and pieces of him that look so desirable.

So here I stand, claiming that we all have a little Dexter in us all the time. We all have a little piece of logic that shines out even in the most stressful times of life. There is even a darkness inside each of us. I think it's amazing that Dexter can analyze situations so perfectly most of the time, even accounting for human psychology, but still can't see that he's not that different from other people. He just knows how to get away with it better. He continually tells himself that no one is like him, but he's not the messed up one. The people that he takes out are the messed up ones. He's just a cleaner of the scum of the earth. Dexter is an inspiration. He doesn't inspire me to kill, but to make the world a better place. Dexter is a positive influence and should be a staple of any TV viewer's diet. Watch it.