The «Dexter Syndrome»

The «Dexter Syndrome»

by Marcel Danesi and Mike Arntfield
Epub (Kobo), Epub (Adobe)
Publication Date: 19/04/2016

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  $126.99

The serial killer has become an obsession ever since Jack the Ripper became a media sensation, embedding a new and horrifying type of murderer into our cultural consciousness – one who kills darkly and in the dark. All popular media – print, radio, television, and so on – have become absorbed by this new figure. This book traces its diffusion through all media and discusses what this reveals about modern society. Using the Dexter saga of novels and television programs as its basis, the book argues that a «Dexter Syndrome» has emerged whereby we no longer see a difference between real and fictional serial killers. The psychological and social reasons for this are explored by tracing pop culture texts themselves (movies, novels, etc.). Above all else, Dexter’s concept of a «moral code» forms a thematic thread that allows the author to argue that our contemporary moral nihilism has produced the demand for horror and horrific characters like serial killers, who have replaced medieval demons and monsters.

ISBN:
9781454199519
9781454199519
Category:
Art: financial aspects
Format:
Epub (Kobo), Epub (Adobe)
Publication Date:
19-04-2016
Language:
English
Publisher:
Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers
Marcel Danesi

Marcel Danesi is a professor at the University of Toronto. He has written extensively about puzzles, including this trilogy published by Harlequin Books: Total Brain Workout, Extreme Brain Workout, and Complete Brain Workout. He also creates puzzles for the Toronto Star's "That's Puzzling" weekend supplement and he composes brainteasers for the Canadian edition of Reader's Digest.

In addition, he writes a puzzle blog for Psychology Today. He has also published academic books on puzzles: The Puzzle Instinct: The Meaning of Puzzles in Human Life and The Liar Paradox and the Towers of Hanoi: The Ten Greatest Math Puzzles of All Time. He appears frequently on major media, such as CBC and NPR, to discuss puzzles and their meaning for brain health. He has founded a research center at the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences to explore the use of puzzles in education.

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