I really enjoy these discussions, but two suggestions: 1. Watch the entire series, then discuss. Taking the serial approach doesn't add much here, and a lot of the questions you raise are answered in later episodes. For instance, the show becomes much more race conscious (with a saintly Jesse Jackson no less!) and focuses more on the victims. 2. Do a bit more research beforehand. You knew you would discuss race--why not confirm the racial makeup of Dahmer's victim pool before the pod?
Interesting topics if you discuss the rest of the series: 1. Psychopath vs. sociopath. Bundy and Gacy were psychopaths. Dahmer was a sociopath, with deep affection for his victims. 2. Lionel Dahmer's steadfast love for his son--hardwired? Because Lionel had similar obsessions? 3. Were the late-'80s / early '90s a golden age for how U.S. society treated gays? They were pretty much free to do their own thing, tolerance went mainstream, but there was no societal obsession with gender, no over-the-top valorization, no gay marriage, etc. 4. What explains Dahmer's volume spike in the months before his arrest? Confirmation bias--he was emboldened by never getting caught? It doesn't sound like killing itself got Dahmer off, it was what he did with the corpses--so he suddenly wanted a bigger collection?
I really enjoy these discussions, but two suggestions: 1. Watch the entire series, then discuss. Taking the serial approach doesn't add much here, and a lot of the questions you raise are answered in later episodes. For instance, the show becomes much more race conscious (with a saintly Jesse Jackson no less!) and focuses more on the victims. 2. Do a bit more research beforehand. You knew you would discuss race--why not confirm the racial makeup of Dahmer's victim pool before the pod?
Interesting topics if you discuss the rest of the series: 1. Psychopath vs. sociopath. Bundy and Gacy were psychopaths. Dahmer was a sociopath, with deep affection for his victims. 2. Lionel Dahmer's steadfast love for his son--hardwired? Because Lionel had similar obsessions? 3. Were the late-'80s / early '90s a golden age for how U.S. society treated gays? They were pretty much free to do their own thing, tolerance went mainstream, but there was no societal obsession with gender, no over-the-top valorization, no gay marriage, etc. 4. What explains Dahmer's volume spike in the months before his arrest? Confirmation bias--he was emboldened by never getting caught? It doesn't sound like killing itself got Dahmer off, it was what he did with the corpses--so he suddenly wanted a bigger collection?