Dick Lochte:
> No writer ever went broke (or had to stay up late
working
>out plots) by following the Jack the Ripper formula.
Why? As any actor can
>tell you, it's the bad guy roles that get the
notices. Bad guys are more
>fun, more exciting.
>Who needs a fully dimensional murderer? Just make him
a wacky
>genius with a particular tic. He likes to poke out
eyes because he saw
>Mommie kissing Santa Claus. He likes to remove livers
from brunette females
>because his older sister would steal the liver off
his breakfast plate.
I think in 3 things that probably count. First, public, in a
wide sense, gets caught by the good guy-bad guy formula,
which took shape in literature since Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,
approaching to the modern vision of human nature. But I guess
the public you are talking about, Dick, feels uncomfortable
when someone that looks as themselves kills 10 people. But
then, and second, a *good reason* for the killings brings
some comfort to their spirits, allowing them to take distance
from the killer. In third place, the reason is easy to
understand without dissapointing the public, so you can dress
it with naif psychology, one of those childhood traumas that
you mentioned with good humor.
Alfredo
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