True Crime Talk with Teacher Robin

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Hello, welcome to another class. I’m Robin and today we are going to talk about true crime docuseries and podcasts. So why have I chosen this topic? Because true crime is a genre that has exploded lately. So if you watch Netflix, for example, I’m sure you have seen a true crime docuseries. So I’m going to tell you what all of this means. 

First, let’s start with genre. So a genre is a style or category of art, music or literature. So true crime is a genre of a TV series in this case. So true crime is defined as nonfiction, so true story, nonfiction, literary podcast and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people. Okay, so this is again, a true story. So this genre covers, follows the lives of real people and crimes that actually happened. 

So why am I telling you this? Because I’ve said it many times before, watching films, watching series and listening. So in this case, with podcasts, listening to podcasts, will help you improve your listening skills. Now, it’s a little bit easier with the TV series or the docuseries, which is a series in the form of a documentary. So in the past, they were long, like film version. And now, recently, they have been made into what’s called the docuseries, which are shorter episodes, about the same, about the same topic. This is true crime. So watching these, the series with subtitles in English will help you to improve your listening and also your reading as you read the subtitles. Podcasts are a little bit more advanced because they don’t always have a transcript, which is the written version, or subtitles, but it’s good practice. So it can be a challenge. If you want to listen to a podcast about true crime, I’m going to give you some, some examples, some recommendations, then. This is a good challenge for you to improve your listening skills in English. 

Okay, let’s talk about the different types of true crime because there are many. So true crime you can find series docuseries or podcasts about serial killers. So a serial killer is someone who has killed more than two people. Okay, so serial, that means like many, many people. Murder mystery in general. So also whodunnit, so when someone is murdered and you’re trying to find who the murderer is, whodunnit is another word for that, like, who did it, who committed the crime? Okay, some series, docuseries follow more of the forensics. So this is the science, the evidence when the police collect like the footprints, or they find different evidence that was left blood, etc. And they examine all of this, this is all part of the forensics. Okay. Some other types of docuseries, cold cases. So these have become very popular lately. A cold case is a case that was not solved at the time. So let’s say there was a case in 1950, for example, and the police were not able to find the murderer, let’s say. But now with advances in technology or new evidence that has emerged, that has come up, they are able to open the case again, and possibly solve it. So this is a cold case. So a case that was not solved. But that maybe now with new evidence, new technology can be solved. Okay, there are also stories about internet scams. So the true crime, it’s not always about murder, it can be about any kind of crime, abuse, etc.

So my question and a question that many people ask is, why do we like to watch true crime? It’s something, as I said, that has exploded, has become so popular lately. But these are stories about murder, abuse, scandals. Why do we enjoy watching this? It’s kind of interesting. So let’s look at some, some possible reasons why. Okay, some of these stories are, these real-life situations are relatable. Maybe not the murder aspect, but some of these people you can, you can identify with, you could say they’re like me or we have a similar life situation. So in many of these cases, you might identify or connect with someone in the, in the story. All right. There’s also an element of gossip, of scandal. So something that is surprising or shocking, this is like a scandal. Because these are true crime cases, they actually happen, they received a lot of media coverage. So this could be something that you saw on the news, and that later, later on, they made this docuseries, this documentary about it. And, and you’re watching. So it’s a story that you already know, okay, because of the media coverage. Sometimes they are stories about celebrities or high-profile cases, which means people who are well-known, like OJ Simpson, the OJ Simpson murder case, for example. That was very high profile, because it’s about someone who was a well-known football player, so someone who many people followed. And then some other ones, maybe you didn’t know the person before, but they have this kind of quirky, strange, eccentric, which means weird behavior. They’re kind of different. And it makes you want to see more, okay, and I’ll and I’ll give you an example of that in a minute. There’s the element of intrigue, you want to try to solve the case, yourself, you want to see if you, from the clues on the TV show or the podcast, if you are able to, to solve the case. Okay, so there’s this element of intrigue, you want to know more. And also storytelling. So these are stories, they are true stories that they are stories. So it’s like you’re following a story. Maybe there’s a narrator, or the director has a storytelling technique that is very easy to watch, you want to follow. And there’s always the element of good versus evil. So this is an element in all kinds of literature, for example, and in true crime, as well. There’s a good guy, or person, and a bad guy. So this is always, this is what happens, and it’s what we’re used to. 

Alright, so now I’m going to give you some recommendations of docuseries. You can find all of these on Netflix, some TED Talks, you can find online, and some podcasts that you can listen to on Spotify or online as well. Okay, and a little bit of a mix. So we have Making a Murderer. So this one kind of had a cult following, which means a group of people really became involved in this case, and really believed after watching the series that this man, his name is Steven Avery, that he was innocent. So sometimes watching the series can develop this following so people really become invested in the story. Okay, another one is Night Stalker. So this is about a serial killer. The Keepers. This is about an abuse scandal in a Catholic school. Okay, so it’s a different kind of story. But it was very interesting to watch. The Staircase, so about a man who may or may not have pushed his wife down the stairs. Okay, The Confession Tapes. So these are tapes of someone who confessed to many murders. But the question is, did he actually commit these murders? So very interesting. The Amanda Knox story, this was a girl who studied abroad, an American girl who studied in Italy, and was convicted of murdering her roommate. Okay, so another interesting story to follow. And finally, Tiger King. So this has had a lot of followers in recent, in the past year or two. And it’s about a man in the United States who keeps exotic animals and was convicted of murder for hire, which means that you hire another person to murder someone, okay? And he is a quirky and eccentric character. So when I was talking about these characters that you just want to know more about, so this man that Tiger King is one of them. 

Okay, as I said, the TED Talks, if you want to go online, and search in TED, and if you look for true crime, they have all kinds of TED talks about forensics, about specific cases, and even about why we like to watch true crime. So check those out. 

And a few podcasts recommendations. Now there are many, many podcasts and as I said, it’s a little bit more advanced because you don’t have always you don’t always have subtitles to listen to. But I recommend these ones. Criminal. This is a really good one. Every episode talks about a different case. Serial. Now in this one every season follows a different case and they do a series of interviews with people who are in jail. So it’s very interesting. And also My Favorite Murder, which is about murder stories, but it’s also a comedy. So it has that kind of element because the women who do this podcast are comedians. Okay, so there are many more podcasts. 

But now I want you to tell me in the comments, do you like true crime? Which series or podcasts do you enjoy? Tell us in the comments. And if you want to tell me, why do you think people enjoy this? If there’s something I haven’t mentioned, or why you specifically enjoy watching true crime? I enjoy it, but it’s true as I said before, it’s kind of strange. Because of the the subject of these, they are crimes, murder, abuse, etc. So, it’s kind of interesting that we love these docuseries so much. So tell me in the comments. I hope that this class has been useful for you. I hope you learn something and I will see you back here next week. Take care. Bye!