As Mrs. Turner walked out of the Adult Detention Center and her eyes went around. As she continued walking on E. Warren Avenue she sees her apartment building but she continued walking past it. She goes to meet an old friend. With the help of her friend she plans on killing her husband and son. A week later she shows up with a gun in her hand at Mr. Turner’s house. Mr. Turner opens the door and his jaw dropped. As he opened the door she took her gun out of her purse and aimed it at him, threatening to shoot him. Ben, their son, sees them and hides behind the couch. He watches as she shoots his dad in the chest. He then runs out of the house through the back door. Days go by and Ben Turner is away from both of his parents and is having nightmares of what he saw. The incident lead to Ben Turner becoming abusive and alcoholic.
Statement:
Some of the behaviors and actions people do define them as monsters. In the film Disturbia, viewers learn monsters could be people living in their neighborhoods. Monsters don’t have to look any different than humans to be considered monsters. In the film Disturbia, after the death of his father, Kale is home arrested because of his troublemaking. Because of his loneliness in his room he starts spying on his neighbors. Based on news reports Kale has seen, he suspects Mr. Turner, his neighbor, as a serial killer. In the film, the serial killer is the monster. In the film Disturbia, the director D.J. Caruso focuses on social paranoia. In the film, the media and the people are all investigating to find the serial killer, and this shows the fears of uncontrollable behaviors and the sense of injustice. Viewers see fear from Kale’s perspective, the fear of having a suspected serial killer neighbor. The fear of being watched by a murderer and the fear of being the next victim. It’s important to emulate this in the adaptation because it would be a really good way to empathize peoples’ judgments on what’s monstrous and what’s not based on physical appearance and actions.
In the film, I like the limited perspective Kale had because he used binoculars and video camera only which makes sense because he couldn’t leave the house. I like the themes behind the story of the film. The theme compassion for example, D.J. Caruso created a community outside Kale’s window that is a sample of the population. The theme of self-reflection, Mr. Turner’s mystery serves as a distraction for Kale but also makes Kale aware, someone might be spying on Kale. I like how no one other than Kale noticed Mr. Turner is the suspected murderer. The film demonstrates how everyone is doing their own business but also they are living around a threat. I don’t like how the story is more about Kale and his background more than Mr. Turner. It’s very important to talk more in depth of the consequences and the actions that lead to Mr. Turner current stage of violence.
Changing the setting of the film would help us learn about Mr. Turner. This would explain the leading factors to monstrous behaviors. This could be achieved by doing a prequel of the film Disturbia where it’s about Mr. Turner’s childhood. By changing the setting we don’t need to focus on Kale as much or at all. This would show how society creates a monster. Since Kale is not going to be in the adaptation, the story would have a more broad perspective. If the movie is changed to a contemporary time period it wouldn’t be as different since it happens anytime in history. If I were to include Kale then it would be important to change the technology used by Kale to spy on his neighbors. Changing Kale’s character into a more mature young adult it would change Kale’s perception. For the adaptation a prequel would be an important one because it would show Mr. Turner’s life that leads to him being a murderer.
In the adaption of the film, it’s important to focus on what leads to Mr. Turner becoming a monster and how people react to it. To comment on contemporary society the adaptation would include actions taken by society that results in the formation of a monster. Doing so it would include today’s culture and politics. The main concern the audience of the adaptation should wonder about is how society views monstrous actions as power and intelligence.
In the film, I like the limited perspective Kale had because he used binoculars and video camera only which makes sense because he couldn’t leave the house. I like the themes behind the story of the film. The theme compassion for example, D.J. Caruso created a community outside Kale’s window that is a sample of the population. The theme of self-reflection, Mr. Turner’s mystery serves as a distraction for Kale but also makes Kale aware, someone might be spying on Kale. I like how no one other than Kale noticed Mr. Turner is the suspected murderer. The film demonstrates how everyone is doing their own business but also they are living around a threat. I don’t like how the story is more about Kale and his background more than Mr. Turner. It’s very important to talk more in depth of the consequences and the actions that lead to Mr. Turner current stage of violence.
Changing the setting of the film would help us learn about Mr. Turner. This would explain the leading factors to monstrous behaviors. This could be achieved by doing a prequel of the film Disturbia where it’s about Mr. Turner’s childhood. By changing the setting we don’t need to focus on Kale as much or at all. This would show how society creates a monster. Since Kale is not going to be in the adaptation, the story would have a more broad perspective. If the movie is changed to a contemporary time period it wouldn’t be as different since it happens anytime in history. If I were to include Kale then it would be important to change the technology used by Kale to spy on his neighbors. Changing Kale’s character into a more mature young adult it would change Kale’s perception. For the adaptation a prequel would be an important one because it would show Mr. Turner’s life that leads to him being a murderer.
In the adaption of the film, it’s important to focus on what leads to Mr. Turner becoming a monster and how people react to it. To comment on contemporary society the adaptation would include actions taken by society that results in the formation of a monster. Doing so it would include today’s culture and politics. The main concern the audience of the adaptation should wonder about is how society views monstrous actions as power and intelligence.
Research Summary
The film Disturbia is a modern interpretation of Rear Window. Instead of the lead being in an accident and confined to his apartment, Shia LaBeouf stars as Kale Brecht, who is placed under three months house arrest for punching his Spanish teacher in the face. I was drawn into how Kale's boredom lead him to watch his neighborhood, which then lead him to finding a serial killer neighbor. Yet, at the same time, I was unsatisfied with how we didn’t have a female character that had an outstanding part in film. All the female characters in the film are there to support Kale to grow as a protagonist. After the death of Ms. Brecht’s, Kale’s mother, husband her relationship with Kale falls apart, she cares about him, but he keeps disappointing her. As the movie goes on, her relationship with Kale gets better. She ended up helping Kale to kill Robert Turner and their relationship seems to be getting better. Ashley is Kale’s new neighbor who after a while she recognizes that Kale is spying on her and she does not do anything about it which suggests she likes the attention. All of Turner’s victims in the film are females. My research focused on the physiological studies that would explain the stages of violence development of a murderer and it also focused on the differences between a female and male murderer. This research will inform my adaptation of the story told from a female perspective with a female and a male serial killers characters that would take place in Detroit, Michigan.
Annotated Bibliography
“Female serial killers in the United States: means, motives, and makings.” *
This article focuses on female serial killers (FSKs) and so they consulted mass media reports of demographics, motives, methods, mental health, and victim characteristics of 64 FSKs who committed their crimes in the US from 1821 to 2008. In Harrison’s study they found
...that FSKs were typically White, educated, have been married, and held a caregiving role (e.g. mother, health care worker). Nearly 40% of FSKs in this sample experienced some form of mental illness. Their most common motive for murder was financial gain, and their most common method of killing was poisoning. FSKs knew all or most of their victims, and most were related to their victims. In all cases, FSKs targeted at least one victim who was a child, elderly, or infirm – those who had little chance of fighting back (383).
Harrison’s study will inform my project because it discusses all of the aspects that would motivate and make the female character in my project to become a more realistic serial killer.
“Why Is Detroit the Most Dangerous City in US?”
This article focused on what makes Detroit a dangerous city. Although Detroit has lost half of its population, the crime rate in Detroit outdistances that of any other large city in the United States. “A total of 298 murders were reported in Detroit last year. The only cities with more murder cases were Chicago and New York, whose populations were about four and 12 times larger than Detroit’s, respectively.” Since it’s more common for murderers to live in Detroit. McIntyre’s writing helps with developing the setting of the my adaptation.
“Serial killers: offender's relationship to the victim and selected demographics.” *
The presented paper focused on the validation of the hypothesis among members of the law enforcement community, forensic psychologists, criminologists and profilers that “serial killers are mostly white males in their twenties and thirties of above average intelligence who usually commit intra-racial murders of strangers.” This is collected through the study of 21 serial killers and their 97 victims. The examination of the offender’s relationship to the victim would support my adaptation. This would explain why in some instances the offender’s relationship to the victim is the same as the victim’s relationship to the offender, but in the cases of voyeurism and stalking, the relationship becomes asymmetrical.
“Dirty Dozen: America's 12 Worst Serial Killers”
This source provides a list of names of serial killers that have lived in the United States. One of the worst serial killers in history was Charles Manson who “had a terrible childhood like most serial killers. He had no known father and his mother was a criminal who eventually rejected her son. Manson spent almost all of his early years in reform school or jail.” This article can help me develop Mr. Turner’s character. From this source I can take away the childhood and the violent actions of the listed serial killers and try to apply it to Mr. Turner’s character.
“The Making of a Serial Killer”
This source explains how “large number of the most gruesome crimes were committed by psychotics, not psychopaths.” This gives me a detailed explanation of the stages that lead to the making of a serial killer. “Psychopathy is a personality disorder, much like narcissistic personality disorder. Personality disorders are potentially more permanent and less curable than psychotic diseases.” This would provide my adaptation with the information that supports the actions taken by the two serial killers.
“The social study of serial killers”
This is an important source to include because it identifies “the three aspects of serial killing that are often taken for granted, but that are intimately tied to the emergence of serial murder in its contemporary guise. These include the rise of a society of strangers, the development of a culture of celebrity, and cultural frameworks of denigration and marginalization.”
Works Cited
Brogaard, Berit. “The Making of a Serial Killer.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 7 Dec.
2012, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-superhuman-mind/201212/the-making-serial-killer.
Harrison, Marissa A., et al. “Female Serial Killers in the United States: Means, Motives, and
Makings.” Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, vol. 26, no. 3, June 2015, p. 383. EBSCOhost, libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,uid&db=edb&AN=102578627&site=eds-live.
Marks, Kelley. “Dirty Dozen: America's 12 Worst Serial Killers.” Soapboxie, Soapboxie,
soapboxie.com/government/Dirty-Dozen-Americas-12-Worst-Serial-Killers.
McIntyre, Douglas A. “Why Is Detroit the Most Dangerous City in US?” 247wallst.Com, 24/7
Wall St., 6 Oct. 2015, 247wallst.com/economy/2015/10/06/why-is-detroit-the-most-dangerous-city-in-us/.
Pakhomou, Serge-Moses. “Serial Killers: Offender’s Relationship to the Victim and Selected
Demographics.” International Journal of Police Science & Management, vol. 6, no. 4, Winter 2004, p. 219. EBSCOhost, libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,uid&db=edb&AN=15073042&site=eds-live.
Haggerty , Kevin, and Ariane Ellerbrok. “The Social Study of Serial Killers.” Racial Profiling |
Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/publications/cjm/article/social-study-serial-killers.
Annotated Bibliography
“Female serial killers in the United States: means, motives, and makings.” *
This article focuses on female serial killers (FSKs) and so they consulted mass media reports of demographics, motives, methods, mental health, and victim characteristics of 64 FSKs who committed their crimes in the US from 1821 to 2008. In Harrison’s study they found
...that FSKs were typically White, educated, have been married, and held a caregiving role (e.g. mother, health care worker). Nearly 40% of FSKs in this sample experienced some form of mental illness. Their most common motive for murder was financial gain, and their most common method of killing was poisoning. FSKs knew all or most of their victims, and most were related to their victims. In all cases, FSKs targeted at least one victim who was a child, elderly, or infirm – those who had little chance of fighting back (383).
Harrison’s study will inform my project because it discusses all of the aspects that would motivate and make the female character in my project to become a more realistic serial killer.
“Why Is Detroit the Most Dangerous City in US?”
This article focused on what makes Detroit a dangerous city. Although Detroit has lost half of its population, the crime rate in Detroit outdistances that of any other large city in the United States. “A total of 298 murders were reported in Detroit last year. The only cities with more murder cases were Chicago and New York, whose populations were about four and 12 times larger than Detroit’s, respectively.” Since it’s more common for murderers to live in Detroit. McIntyre’s writing helps with developing the setting of the my adaptation.
“Serial killers: offender's relationship to the victim and selected demographics.” *
The presented paper focused on the validation of the hypothesis among members of the law enforcement community, forensic psychologists, criminologists and profilers that “serial killers are mostly white males in their twenties and thirties of above average intelligence who usually commit intra-racial murders of strangers.” This is collected through the study of 21 serial killers and their 97 victims. The examination of the offender’s relationship to the victim would support my adaptation. This would explain why in some instances the offender’s relationship to the victim is the same as the victim’s relationship to the offender, but in the cases of voyeurism and stalking, the relationship becomes asymmetrical.
“Dirty Dozen: America's 12 Worst Serial Killers”
This source provides a list of names of serial killers that have lived in the United States. One of the worst serial killers in history was Charles Manson who “had a terrible childhood like most serial killers. He had no known father and his mother was a criminal who eventually rejected her son. Manson spent almost all of his early years in reform school or jail.” This article can help me develop Mr. Turner’s character. From this source I can take away the childhood and the violent actions of the listed serial killers and try to apply it to Mr. Turner’s character.
“The Making of a Serial Killer”
This source explains how “large number of the most gruesome crimes were committed by psychotics, not psychopaths.” This gives me a detailed explanation of the stages that lead to the making of a serial killer. “Psychopathy is a personality disorder, much like narcissistic personality disorder. Personality disorders are potentially more permanent and less curable than psychotic diseases.” This would provide my adaptation with the information that supports the actions taken by the two serial killers.
“The social study of serial killers”
This is an important source to include because it identifies “the three aspects of serial killing that are often taken for granted, but that are intimately tied to the emergence of serial murder in its contemporary guise. These include the rise of a society of strangers, the development of a culture of celebrity, and cultural frameworks of denigration and marginalization.”
Works Cited
Brogaard, Berit. “The Making of a Serial Killer.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 7 Dec.
2012, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-superhuman-mind/201212/the-making-serial-killer.
Harrison, Marissa A., et al. “Female Serial Killers in the United States: Means, Motives, and
Makings.” Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, vol. 26, no. 3, June 2015, p. 383. EBSCOhost, libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,uid&db=edb&AN=102578627&site=eds-live.
Marks, Kelley. “Dirty Dozen: America's 12 Worst Serial Killers.” Soapboxie, Soapboxie,
soapboxie.com/government/Dirty-Dozen-Americas-12-Worst-Serial-Killers.
McIntyre, Douglas A. “Why Is Detroit the Most Dangerous City in US?” 247wallst.Com, 24/7
Wall St., 6 Oct. 2015, 247wallst.com/economy/2015/10/06/why-is-detroit-the-most-dangerous-city-in-us/.
Pakhomou, Serge-Moses. “Serial Killers: Offender’s Relationship to the Victim and Selected
Demographics.” International Journal of Police Science & Management, vol. 6, no. 4, Winter 2004, p. 219. EBSCOhost, libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,uid&db=edb&AN=15073042&site=eds-live.
Haggerty , Kevin, and Ariane Ellerbrok. “The Social Study of Serial Killers.” Racial Profiling |
Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/publications/cjm/article/social-study-serial-killers.