Comparing and Contrasting two Films: "In Cold Blood" vs. "Monster" (Essay Sample)

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Is a devastating childhood a good enough reason to become a murder of the innocent? From some people's point of view, it could be due to the psychological damage done to the offender and one can argue that they are not conscious of what they do. Others would rule that out since they have seen others who have gone through an even worse childhood and despite this, they grow up to be good people.
"In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote and "Monster" by Christopher Berry-Dee are similar in many ways because they have an almost identical storyline about the murder of innocents. The movies however also have several differences. "In cold blood" and "Monster" are non-fictional films based on actual events that occurred to real individuals. "In Cold blood" depicts the crime committed by two ex-convicts Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, one night of the year 1959. The duo murdered four members of the Herb Clutter family in their home in Kansas in the process of a robbery gone wrong. "Monster" is a film about a woman known as Aileen Wuornos who murdered six men within two months. In both the films, the characters who commit murder have each had devastating past life experiences and these seem to be the driving force towards their violent nature.
Perry had a rough life as a child, the father was constantly abusive, his mother was an alcoholic who later died by choking on her own vomit and his two siblings committed suicide living one who was so scared of him that she cut all contacts with him. Richard Hickock, Perry’s friend had a relatively decent childhood and the parents’ relationship with him was a normal one.
Richard however, was involved in an accident that disfigured his face. Aileen from "Monster" also had really bad childhood experiences. Her father let his friends violet her repeatedly for years and when she dared tell anyone she would be beaten up by the father. She later turned to prostitution for a living at a tender age and earned a varied rate of income depending on the person she offered services to.
There are however differences in the past lives of these characters that would show the specific sources of dismay and damage of character to them. Aileen frustrations were directed towards men; she was possibly of the opinion that all men are brutal and deserves to be dealt with in the same way. This is seen by the fact that all her victims were male and mostly those who sort out her services. In cold blood, however, the characters seem to have problems with the rest of the world and at times even with themselves. This is attributed to the fact that Richard Hickock views other people as having a problem with his looks after the accident and Perry views have a problem with the world for the way his family members "abandoned" him.
In both the movies, the characters, in the middle of their hopelessness and frustrations find someone they can relate to in terms of having a devastating life haunting them. Richard become friends with Perry when they find themselves serving a sentence for minor crimes and their friendship seem to give them some hope through the many plans they devise in order to live a good life.
Although the plans they make are always illegal, they manage to get excited at how things will turn out when they are successful. Aileen, when thinking of committing suicide, meets Selby and she gives up the idea of killing herself as she sees meeting Selby as a sign to keep living. This is after Selby told her of how her family made her a victim of homophobia and she suddenly felt a bond between them developed by the unfortunate mistreatment by their families.
Looking at how the partners related to each other in the two movies, it can be deduced that one pair had both partners participating in the crimes that were carried out while the other pair had only one participate. Richard and Perry, when coming up with a plan to get money, they were both present at the crime scene and both participated in organizing the crime. Selby, however, was always absent when Aileen carried out her crimes. She would even argue with Aileen when she learned of her crimes.
One thing that can be noted about the killings in both the movies is that they were not purely intentional. The first time Aileen killed was due to self-defense when the client raped and tortured her. After this, she quit prostitution only to come back to it later and kill other clients for the fear of experiencing what she went through with the first person she killed. In "In cold blood”, Perry murdered the members of the Clutter family out of the fear that they might assist the authorities in getting them into custody. Both the characters did it to protect themselves.
Richard and Perry despite having the common goal of getting enough cash to retire somewhere peaceful and having a sense of connection, the duo had trust issues and each one had a problem with the other’s personal life. For instance, Perry was having trouble with his friend’s habit of getting intimate with a lot of women. Richard, on the other hand, had trouble with Perry’s arrogant nature. Perry is used by Dick as a means of checking his own self-image, often looking down on him or dispute his more "childish," eccentric, or effeminate qualities, Dick does this to compare him with Perry in order to convince himself of being normal. On the other hand, Perry prides himself on being sensitive, "exceptional," even "artistic" as compared to Dick. However, each of them looks to the other for attestation of his own masculinity, Perry desiring for Dick to see him "hard, as much the ‘masculine type’ just like he considered Dick to be and Dick hanging onto Perry for his "killer instincts,”
Aileen and Selby had a relatively different kind of relationship. Apart from the two being involved sexually, Aileen displayed her affection and care for Selby notwithstanding the fact that Selby betrayed her.
In both movies, the perpetrators of the crime had mental problems. During the investigations in the case of Clutter family murder, Richard and Perry were diagnosed with mental illness which was connected to the events they underwent in their younger years. The mental health of Dick was affected by a feeling of disappointment to his parents repeatedly coming to him. He possibly saw his peers rejecting him and had the feeling of isolation due to his constant lying behavior and the problems that he causes.
His lies would arguably come out naturally. His complicated life could have led to him having a severe depression too. Perry, on the other hand, is distrustful and suspicious of others, feels that others are unfair to him and tends to feel that others discriminate against him in the process are not able to understand him. Perry is seen to be excessively sensitive to what people say about him and cannot stand being made fun of. He greatly longs for understanding and friendship, though he is reluctant to confide in others, but when it happens, he expects to be misunderstood or even betrayed. Aileen was also diagnosed with mental instability,...