Dissecting the Darkness of Dexter

Abstract

One of the most ground-breaking of recent vehicles for the exploration of the concept of the serial killer is the TV (television) series Dexter. Season 1 is a close adaptation of the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter (2004) which is the first in a series written by the Florida-based writer Jeff Lindsay. The TV series was adapted by James Manos Jnr and first shown on the cable station Showtime in 2006. Set in Miami, the series explores the world of Dexter Morgan who leads a double life as forensics expert and serial killer. To date five seasons have been broadcast and a sixth is currently being filmed. What makes Dexter distinctive is the relationship it reveals between generic hybridity and ideology. Through its blend of influences ranging from the neo-Gothic to the police procedural Dexter pushes generic boundaries in innovative ways. From a political perspective, the series may be interpreted as affirming a violent assertion of a patriarchal sense of law and order. However, it may also be argued that the series’ attempts to grapple with the issues of race and gender, particularly in regard to its depiction of the Latino/a community, reveal the ways in which contemporary Miami is riven by political power struggles which have the effect of raising some subversive questions that challenge a more straightforward interpretation.