Ashley Collett Aileen
Ashley Collett
Aileen: Life of a Serial Killer
PSY 100 (Introduction to Psychology)
Larry Zbach, Ph.D.
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Abstract
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Introduction
Aileen Wourons was the state of Florida’s first female serial killer. In her time in the state of Florida Aileen murdered seven men. “Aileen Wourons was born February 29, 1956, in Rochester, Michigan” (Capitalpunishmentincontext.org, 2018). Aileen Wourons was a hitchhiking prostitute and a murderer. “In the late 1980s, when Wuornos was in her early 30s, she shot and killed seven of her johns. She was caught after stealing and wrecking a car belonging to one of her victims” (Medium, 2018). Aileen claimed that the murders were in self-deference. Later, in the interviews leading up to her execution she changed her story many times. Many believe that she murdered her fist victim in self-defense. While the other victims were either just for the thrill and money or a type of PTSD from her first victim. “Unexpectedly Aileen suddenly announced she had killed the seven men in cold blood, not in self-defense as she had pled previously, and she wanted to die immediately (“Aileen Wuornos – Nick Broomfield’s Official Website”, 2018). Throughout her life Aileen experienced many traumatic experiences. From her birth mother abounding her; sending her to her abusive grandparents, no father in her life and becoming pregnant and kicked out of her home at the age of 14. With all the trauma in her life one would think Aileen suffered from some type of PTSD along with other undiagnosed mental illness.
I watched two documentaries on Aileen. Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer. and Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer Both movies where directed by Nick Broomfield. The first movie: Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer. Looked into the life and family members of Aileen making some time of profit from her sentence. The second film and Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer. Mostly restated the first film while digging deeper into Aileen’s life and partners. Hoping to shine some light on her sentence and the truth to what happened and why.
Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer (1993) is a documentary film about Aileen Wuorons, made by Nick Broomfield. It documents Broomfield’s attempts to interview Wuornos, which involves a long process of mediation through her adopted mother Arlene Pralle and lawyer, Steve Glazer. The film essentially highlights the exploitation of Wuornos by those around her and questions the fairness of her trial, given the vested interests of the police. “The film raises a number of questions about official corruption, not least of which is whether in fact she a serial killer at all is, or if that label was just a commercial means of selling Aileen Wuornos and her story” (“Aileen Wuornos – Nick Broomfield’s Official Website”, 2018).
Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer is a 2003 documentary about Aileen Wourons, also made by Nick Broomfield. The film was used as a follow-up to his 1992 film Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer. The film focuses on Wuornos’ declining mental state and the questionable judgment to execute her despite her being of unsound mind.
My critique
Conclusion (1)
• Who was Aileen?
• Movie?
• Her problems?
• My critique
• When did she die and how?
References:
Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer | Netflix. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.netflix.com/title/60033282?source=35
Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer | Netflix. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.netflix.com
Aileen Wuornos – Nick Broomfield’s Official Website. (2018). Retrieved from http://nickbroomfield.com/Aileen-Wuornos
Capitalpunishmentincontext.org. (2018). The Case of Aileen Wuornos – The Facts | Capital Punishment in Context. online Available at: https://capitalpunishmentincontext.org/cases/wuornos Accessed 15 Sep. 2018.
Medium. (2018). Revisiting Aileen Wuornos in Light of #MeToo – Ashley Wells – Medium. online Available at: https://medium.com/@misswellstoyou/revisiting-aileen-wuornos-in-light-of-metoo-835fac5aa51d Accessed 15 Sep. 2018.
