This will seem silly but it's the kind of thing that occupies my brain. Last night I couldn't sleep and this entire blog took over my thoughts.
First, I'm not talking actual murder. I'm talking fiction, both literary and in film/tv. It goes way back! I'll start with my favorite author, Edgar Allan Poe. He was an American author who's tales usually featured someone who becomes fixated on taking the life of someone else. This person accomplishes the deed and then slides down a twisting, turning, slippery slide of insanity until they are revealed as the murderer.
This template is somewhat followed throughout American story telling right down to modern tv where we have shows like CSI, Law and Order, and Bones. These shows almost always feature a murder that is the focus of the entire episode until the bad guy is discovered and arrested.
Now to my second favorite author, Agatha Christie. Christie is our English template. Here tales usually feature a murder that brings in the investigators. The murderer in these tales is different from their American counterparts though. The English murderer feels a need to cover up the crime, not content to hide in the shadows, this murderer sets about picking off everyone in town. I think of it like they are leaving a trail of breadcrumbs (bodies) for the police to follow right to their door.
This, English, template is followed in English tv shows like Wire in the Blood, Midsomer Murders, and Inspector Morse. In these shows the police (usually) go in to investigate one murder and end up with several before they finally catch the bad guy.
Now that isn't to say it is the only way it goes for either side! The US has shows like Criminal Minds where the focus is on serial killers. The difference is the police go in knowing it's a serial and that multiple bodies are expected by all. I'm not as familiar with British tv, though I love it and watch all the mysteries I can find on Netflix, so I can't name a counterpart across the pond though I'm sure one exists.
Don't think I'm putting any kind of stereotype on anyone! Please! This is all in fun =D.
