The story of serial killer Ted Bundy is not one from the 21st century, however, Netflix has made it into one. In the film “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile”, this story is told once again. The story is about Ted’s path of trials that eventually lead him to death after he is sentenced to the death penalty.

The film is based on the true events that took place in the 20th century. This makes this example into an interesting one, as there is a change in how the death of Ted Bundy is perceived.

Originally, Ted’s death was a ‘spectacular death’. Not only was his death a spectacle, but his trial was also broadcasted live on American television. The whole country was able to see everything that happened in court, and also live announcements of his execution. In this video you can see people cheering as they leave the building in which Bundy was executed. The rest of the people also respond to this in a festive way. They hold banners, cheer, and even set off fireworks.

The attitude towards death in the film, however, has been reframed into the “your death” mentality. The whole story is filmed through Elizabeth’s perspective. Elizabeth (Liz) was Bundy’s girlfriend at the time he was first arrested, and she held onto his innocence for quite some time. Liz does not want him to die: there are a lot of emotions and there is a real fear of losing him. The film is made in such a way that you empathize with the main character Ted, although he is a sinister murderer. You as the viewer do not want him to die. This also causes emotions and fear to the viewers, which is a whole new dimension.

The movie is an excellent example of how the society's view of death keeps changing and how this feeling can be changed merely by the way in which you tell a story.